Until Autumn

“Look at this sweet face,” I say, rolling June’s bed back so that nurse Tracey can get a good look at her, and just as I knew she would, June brings out the biggest puppy dog eyes. “Let me take her out of her misery and fix her up.”

June’s bottom lip pouts out as she looks to Tracey. “My daddy said that I can get a bunny when my arm gets all better. If I take too long, he might change his mind.”

Fuck yeah, if I could high-five this kid right now, I would.

Tracey groans and glances back to the board before letting out a sigh. “Fine. You can take OR4. It’s freeing up in thirty minutes, but you owe me.”

“Yes!” I cheer, making June laugh. “The most expensive bottle of wine I can find is coming your way,” I tell her before all but skipping away. I start heading to OR4 to get June prepped for surgery when those same booty shorts from outside catch my attention. “Hey, Autumn,” I call before I have a chance to reign it in.

She turns back and gives me a beaming smile before meeting me halfway. “What’s up?” she asks, glancing down at June and checking her over.

“Listen, I just wanted to stop you and say thanks for looking out for June and November today. You really didn’t need to do that.”

“Well, if I’m honest,” she says, “I think November would have dragged me by the ear if given the chance. I just thought it was the right thing to do. I wanted to help.”

I nod, appreciating her more than she will ever know. “My family means a lot to me,” I tell her.

“I know,” she whispers, quickly glancing around. “I would have done it anyway, but knowing that she is your family made the decision to get in the ambulance that much easier.”

I step toward her, blatantly aware of the way June watches and listens to every little movement and word spoken before her. “What are you doing tonight?”

Autumn raises a brow, a soft smile spreading across her pink lips as she watches me through those sparkling hazel eyes. “Why?” she says, making me work for it.

“Let me take you out to dinner.”

Suspicion enters her gaze. “What for?” she questions. “To thank me for helping November and June today?”

June grins from her hospital bed and looks up at us. “Sounds like a date to me.”

I glance back down at the five-year-old girl who is too smart for her own good. “Listen, do you want to come out of your surgery with four arms, a tail, and a horn?” June makes a show of zipping her lips but can’t help the laugh that comes shooting out of her mouth, making me wonder just how well the pain meds that the paramedics gave her are working. I glance back up at Autumn who’s grinning from ear to ear. “Yes,” I tell her. “I mean it exactly as a date.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, watching me with way too much confidence and clearly realizing that the ball is in her court. She considers me for a long, drawn-out moment that drives me insane before finally straightening. “Let me scrub in on June’s surgery and you’ll have yourself a deal.”

I look her up and down, taking in the black tank, the shorts, and the dirt covering her legs, most likely from being on the ground while helping June at the park. “Are you sure?” I ask her. “It’s supposed to be your day off.”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay then,” I tell her. “But you have two seconds to get your ass ready. We’ll be in OR4 in thirty minutes.”

“Yes,” she cheers before grinning back at me. “And for the record, I like Italian.” And just like that, she’s gone, racing down the hallway, intent on being the very first one in that OR.

I watch after her, a goofy as fuck grin stretching across my face. “It happened, didn’t it?” June says, looking up at me as I start pushing her through the halls to get prepared.

“Did what happen?”

“The BOOM,” she says with far too much enthusiasm. “You’re going to marry her.”

My gaze snaps down to hers to find her looking back at me with a knowing grin and I realize that there’s no point in lying to her. She can see it just as clearly as I can. I let out a sigh and get back to pushing her through the halls. “Yeah,” I finally tell her. “Just don’t tell your father or your uncles. They’ll never let me live it down. In fact, don’t tell your mom or aunts either. They’ll have the wedding planned and venue booked before I even have a chance to take her on a first date.”

“Okay, I’ll just tell grandma then,” she grins wickedly. My face drains of color and it takes me the whole way until we reach OR4 to realize that the little devil is fucking with me.