Daddy in Disguise (Crescent Cove 7)

I had to grin. “I thought you were so badass.”

“Everything but clowns. Freaking hate them. I’m surprised they don’t have a fake sewer grate so one can pop his head out and give me a damn heart attack.”

“Last year, there weren’t any. No promises this year.”

“Definitely no promises,” Laverne agreed with a cackle as she tore off the ends of our tickets and gave us back the stubs.

Macy leaned closer to Laverne. “Can I pay extra and our ride skip that attraction?”

“You don’t have that kind of cash, young lady. We don’t make changes to the route for anyone. If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.” She pointed at me. “Or have your big strong fella protect you. That’s what they’re for. That, and unclogging pipes, and carrying heavy objects, and killing snakes.”

Macy’s lips twitched as she tossed out her cider cup and the last of her cotton candy. “Anything else?”

“Nothing that lasts more than a commercial break.” Laverne motioned for us to keep moving. “Have fun, kids.”

The ride was crammed with families and kids so we ended up in the very last seats—which in this case meant wedged on the edge of the hay bales stacked side by side. The people behind us whined that they could squeeze in, but they must’ve missed that Macy was basically on my lap.

A fact I couldn’t say I minded.

“Not sure this is safe,” she said against my ear, looping her arms around my shoulders and settling in for the ride.

Justin Manning, yet another one of Beckett’s siblings, called out a greeting to all of us. He was dressed like a farmer, except he had a bloody fake eyeball affixed to his cheek and bleeding slashes on his plaid shirt and jeans.

“This is one helluva first date.” Macy wound her fingers through the ends of my hair. “If we had a bit more privacy, I’d give it an A-plus so far.”

“I can agree with that one.” I rubbed her jean-clad thigh near one of the rips in the denim, well aware that children were all around us. Thankfully, most of them were near the front of the ride, clustered on hay bales near the giant pumpkin head scarecrow with weird hollow eyes. He was clad in a similar outfit to Justin’s—plaid shirt and jeans, except his ensemble included large brown stitched-on gloves with hay sticking out of the wrist holes.

“Seems like a waste of a space.” Macy nodded at the pumpkin scarecrow as the hayride rumbled into gear. Already we could glimpse the lit jack-o-lanterns made into literal lanterns hanging and swaying from the trees we were about to drive around and between. Ghosts swayed in the breeze from the uppermost branches, and fun monsters and other frightful characters were attached to limbs and even staged along the ground.

I couldn’t wait to bring Dani. I was already missing her, but it was smart we hadn’t chanced it with her ankle just in case. In a couple weeks, she’d be completely healed and she would love every second.

“You guys ready for some speed?” Justin called.

The responses ranged from “yes!” to “hell yeah!” so he gassed it. Well, relatively speaking. This hayride only went so fast. But even with his low speed, the chilly wind was just enough to make Macy shiver, giving me an excuse to haul her that much closer. I expected her to make some snarky remark, but she just rested her head against mine and tucked her hands between my jacket and my T-shirt, creating a pocket of heat that made my breath catch.

“You’re so warm,” she said near my ear, and it might as well have been dirty talk for the effect her husky voice had on my libido.

“Would I lose points if I said you’re so hot?”

“Probably.”

“Okay, I didn’t say it.”

Kids yelled and laughed as the first spook leaped out of the darkness. Macy laughed and shook her head. “Not scary.”

“Just wait.”

We rumbled along in the darkness, the chatter on the hayride growing louder as time passed with no one jumping out from between the trees. We went through a particularly dark area where the thick branches above obscured the light from the moon and the nervous comments intensified.

“Nice night for a ride.” The edge of Macy’s short nail crept up to trace along my collarbone and the thin chain I wore.

“It is. All kinds of rides.”

“Perv.” She dug out my chain and examined the thin gold disk in the shaft of pale light from the pair of glowing eyes dangling from the trees. “Is this…oh.”

I took the disk from her and tucked it back under my shirt, surprisingly embarrassed. Thank God the light was almost nonexistent, because my flushed ears would’ve given me away.

“Dani’s baby footprint?”