Page 78 of The Sasquatch and the Hairdresser

“I do know, and I love you all, but my life is my own to live, and right now I’m exactly where I need to be.”

She sighs. “I’ll talk with Mom and Dad. I can’t guarantee I can get them to stop bugging you too, but you know how they feel about technology these days. They rarely use phones anymore for anything. Increasingly, they’ve been taking refuge deeper in the forest, away from everything and everyone else.”

Hal chuckles. “And neither of us are surprised. It’s the usual progression for sasquatches as we age, after all.”

“Except for you,” she grumbles.

Hal snickers. “We’ll see how you and Redwood are in a couple of decades. For now, I’m the family outlier, yes. It’s simply time to accept that. Be sure to give Mom and Dad my love, and like I said, it’s an open-ended invitation for all of you to come here too.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she says. “It’s been far too long since I last saw you, and perhaps that kind of travel adventure would be a good experience for your nephew in another couple of years when he’s old enough for it. Plus, he’s starting to remind me of you when you were young. It’s long past time he met his uncle.”

“I’d really like that,” Hal says softly.

“Yeah, me too. Miss you, little brother.”

They say their goodbyes, and Hal puts the phone away with a sigh of relief.

“Halcyon Maple Atwood?” I ask, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. I’ve noticed I do that a lot around Hal. Smile, that is.

Hal buries his face in his hands and groans. “Leave it to a big sister to full-name you in front of your brand-new boyfriend.”

I lean closer and reach my hand up to stroke his hair. “I love your name. It’s beautiful, just like you.” Then I whisper into his ear with deliberate softness, “Halcyon. Maple. Atwood.”

He shivers all over, and I get a heady rush.

I file that away for later. Full-naming my boyfriend has a very different effect when it comes from me—and I really fucking like it.

Just then, a server appears, sets down our bill, and takes away our now empty plates.

“Since I’m the one who invited you on this date, please let me pay,” Hal says.

I bite my bottom lip. “I’ll make it up to you once I’ve got some cash again, I swear.”

“It’s my pleasure, really,” Hal says, so much warmth radiating from him that I can’t help but wonder if he really meant what he said earlier.

That he really does see us as potential life mates, just like the penguins he loves so much.

Fuckin’ A. Hal’s turning me into a weepy romantic, making me dream of things I never thought of hoping for until now.

It takes me a minute to force my vocal cords to work. “Thank you.”

The words are inadequate for what I’m feeling, but they’re all I’ve got.

As we leave, Hal takes my hand in his again, and I swear my whole arm tingles from his touch.

Arm in arm, we stroll down Main Street. Right now, it’s decked out in Harvest Festival signage, and the old-fashioned streetlamps cast a soft glow over everything. Only a few businesses are still open at this time of night, but even the dark storefronts are familiar and reassuring. It all seemed a bit foreign and Hallmark-unreal when I first arrived in town. But now, I don’t feel like the outsider looking in. Instead, I am filled with a strong sense that I belong, that this is my home too.

“Come on,” Hal says, stopping outside the local bookstore. “Let’s go take a peek inside.”

I grin. Of course my book-loving boyfriend can’t resist a stop here—and you better believe I’ll indulge him in whatever makes him happy.

When we enter the cozy shop jam-packed with books, we’re greeted warmly by the sphinx who runs the place.

“Good evening, Hal. So great to see you outside of your weekly visit! Some great new titles came in today and made me think of you. They’re on the romance new release table.” He smiles at me. “Hello, I’m Baahir.”

“Skylar. Nice to meet you.”

“Hal’s a regular here, Skylar, so I’m sure he can point you to whatever you may enjoy, but please, poke around to your heart’s content, and let me know if you can’t find something in particular. And if you need some refreshment, the café upstairs is open as late as I am. It’s run by my husband, Avi. He just told me he still has a bit of today’s freshly made baklava, if that can tempt you.”