Page 4 of Colton’s Inferno

“C’mon.” He held out his hand. “Looks like they’re getting dessert. Want a hot fudge sundae?”

“Hot fudge is Aiden the Space Alien’s favorite.” Sammy slipped his hand into his. “And I love it, too.”

Until a month ago, he hadn’t put much thought into being a dad. But having Sammy come into his life had changed things. In fact, now he couldn’t wait to be a father. He just hadn’t had a girlfriend in a long time. Then again, living in Red Grove made it hard to meet someone new. In a town like this, Aiden was related to half the single women. And the other half? Well… He’d known them so long that they might as well be family.

His mom looked up as he approached. She waved them over. “We’re next. What do you two boys want?”

“Aiden the Space Alien loves hot fudge,” said Sammy, holding up the Martian.

“Wow,” said Ryan, scooping up the kid and the toy. Ryan was an ER doctor, who helped Matti when Sammy got caught in the cross fire of a shoot-out. After an eventful month, Aiden’s baby sister was now engaged. Maybe that was another reason he had started to think about having a family of his own. “That’s a pretty impressive prize you have.”

“Uncle Aiden won it for me. He had to get five rings on five bottles, and he did.”

“Good job,” said Ryan, holding up his palm.

Aiden gave him a high five. It didn’t matter that they were grown men. If it made Sammy happy, he’d do almost anything.

His mother walked away from the ice cream truck’s window holding three cups. Matti had two, along with several plastic spoons. “Hot fudge sundaes all around,” said Emily.

Aiden took one of the cups from his mother and a spoon from his sister.

“Here you go.” He handed both to Sammy.

Ryan set the kid on the ground.

Emily held out a sundae and spoon to Aiden. “Thanks, Mom.”

As a group, they walked toward a cluster of picnic tables. Aiden scooped creamy and cold ice cream into the spoon. He swirled it through the gooey and warm sauce and stuck it in his mouth. The sweetness from the ice cream blended with the bite of the fudge sauce. “Perfection,” he said, licking the spoon clean.

Sammy stuck his spoon in his mouth. “Perfection,” he parroted.

Matti and Ryan, with Sammy between them, lagged behind Aiden and his mother.

“Sammy seems to like you,” said Emily.

Aiden liked the kid, too. Still, he said, “It’s all because Matti brought him over to see the fire trucks.”

“Well, whatever the reason.” She stopped at a picnic table and kicked her leg over the bench to take a seat. “I’m glad that he’s a part of our family now.”

Aiden sat across from his mother and took another bite. “Me, too.”

“How’s work?” she asked.

“You know,” he said. “Busy. I’m at the station all the time.”

“Oh.” His mother seemed to deflate a little.

“What’s the matter?”

She smiled and waved away his question. “It’s nothing,” she said, lifting the spoon to her mouth to take a bite.

“If there’s something you need, then it’s not nothing.”

“It’s my dishwasher. It’s not working. The warranty is up, and I hate to throw it out.”

“I can come over and take a look,” said Aiden. He mentally flipped through his calendar. “Sunday morning?”

“So long as it’s not a bother.”