Page 38 of A Match Made In Fall

“So the answer is no to inviting him to join us today,” I add, glancing at my mom.

She sighs. “I don’t understand what the big deal is. It’s just a pumpkin patch. A fun, relaxed day.”

“An outing with my family, me, and my fake boyfriend—it’s not happening.”

“Fake?” she counters. “You’ve gone out with him, and you’re going out a second time. Clearly the first date was a success and things are progressing very quickly.”

“We had a great time together,” I admit. “Which is exactly why I don’t want anything to mess it up. Your little plan will throw a wrench in everything.”

She smiles smugly. “Not a chance, judging by the way that man looked at you. I had a feeling nothing could mess this up, and that was before you spent any time together. He’s already hooked.”

I groan because this is pointless. “Anyway, I think Jude is ready to get this show on the road. Let’s go.”

Thankfully they both agree. We gather our things and head outside to Sammy’s SUV.

I scroll through my phone as we make our way to the patch. “On another note, I have my follow-up with the doctor tomorrow. I’m hoping he says I can stop wearing this stupid boot.”

“Don’t you think it’s too soon?” my mom asks from the backseat. She has one arm draped over Jude’s car seat holding on tightly.

“No, he said everything looked good at my last appointment,” I remind her. “I need this thing off so I can get back to my life.”

Neither my mom nor Sammy say anything, so I glance back and forth between both.

“Okay, what’s going on?” I ask.

My mom clears her throat. “We just don’t want you to rush it. Healing takes time. What if you do too much and it only makes it worse?”

“I’ve been healing for weeks,” I say. “I trust the doctor knows what he’s doing.”

Sammy looks in the rear-view mirror at my mom. Clearly, they are having one of those silent conversations.

“Just say it,” I exclaim.

“Okay. We aren’t ready for you to leave yet…” Sammy says.

I turn around to face my mom. She’s focused on Jude, adjusting the car seat straps.

“Mom, I’m not going to just take off if the doctor tells me I’m clear.”

She shrugs. “We’ve just really loved having you home. It’s been a long time since the family’s been together.”

A lump starts forming in my throat.

“I know, Mom,” I say, reaching my hand back. “I promise I won’t just pick up and leave no matter what the doctor says.”

“Okay.” She pauses for a few seconds. “And you just started seeing Austin. You should at least give it some time to see where things lead.”

I let out a heavy sigh. I should’ve known this was coming.

Thankfully we arrive at the pumpkin patch, which interrupts our conversation. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. I know Mom’s intentions are good, but I have a whole life and a career I love waiting for me. And if I have new people in my life when I leave here, that’s just an extra bonus.

Nothing says fall quite like a visit to a pumpkin patch, and this one feels almost too perfect to be real. I feel like I’m walking through a movie set. Rows of pumpkins and gourds of every shape, color, and size stretch across the rolling green hills, carefully lined up like something out of a fairy tale. Hay bales are scattered throughout the fields, and behind them the trees are bursting with the fall colors—deep reds, oranges, and golds. It’s so magical I could stay here forever.

And we aren’t the only people here taking photos. There are several families wandering between the rows carrying babies in sweaters, parents kneel on the ground trying to get toddlers to smile, and groups of kids run through the patch clutching tiny pumpkins. And I’ve never seen more people in flannel shirts.

Sammy brought along a little red wagon, and Jude rides happily inside it, chewing on one of his toys as we pull him through the patch. Every so often he lets out a squeal of excitement as the wagon moves through the grass.

I can’t deny how much I’m loving this time with my family. An injury is what brought me home, and for a while I could only focus on the frustration of it all and how it paused everything I worked hard for. In this moment, I feel beyond grateful breathing in the autumn air. The amount of joy I feel watching my chubby little nephew in his wagon is so overpowering, tears threaten my eyes.