Page 38 of Falling for Her

He looks at Lincoln, who tries to hide his smirk. “I guess so,” he mumbles begrudgingly, “but only one time.” He holds up his finger.

“Yes!” I pump my fist in victory. “I’m going to go get dressed, and you can show me your tree house, and then we can maybe take a walk to the park.” I look at Lincoln. “That’s still okay for me to do with him, right?”

“That’s fine,” he confirms. “I’m going to get breakfast going.”

“I’ll meet you back here in a bit,” I tell them, grabbing my cup and heading to my little apartment. I have a quick breakfast, shower, and dress in a pair of jean shorts and a light-gray cotton T-shirt over a white sports bra. The shirt hits right above the shorts’ button. When I step outside again, Asa is already waiting for me.

“Come on.” He slips his hand in mine. “Let me show you the tree house.” As we climb up, Lincoln watches from the back door, wearing his uniform of black pants and a shirt.

“This is cool,” I say, ducking my head inside the tree house. There are two beanbag chairs pushed against one wall, the deck of UNO cards between them. “There’s enough room for you to have a sleepover in here.”

His eyes widen, and he rushes to the doorway. “Can we, Dad?”

I poke my head out above Asa’s to see Lincoln glaring over at me. “I think sleeping outside on a hard floor in a sleeping bag sounds like a great night!” I try not to laugh as I roll my lips together. “Too bad girls aren’t allowed.”

We spend the morning in the tree house, where he shows me all his little cool things. “I have to go,” Lincoln says, irritated and ignoring the request. “I don’t know what time I’ll be home.” Asa climbs down, and Lincoln kisses his head. “I trust you two will stay out of trouble today.”

I roll my eyes. “We’ll try our best,” I assure him and hold up both hands, crossing my fingers. He shakes his head and heads for his truck. “Have a nice day,” I call to his retreating back.

He just grunts.

“So, ready for the park?” I ask Asa, who nods enthusiastically.

After the park, we stop at the bakery on Main Street, where I get a matcha and he gets a lemonade before heading home. He’s telling me a story as we approach the house, and I notice the driver’s side mirror is hanging off my car. I look up at the sky and pinch my nose. “Are you okay? Did you get a brain freeze?” he asks me.

“No, I’m okay.” I walk away from the car, hoping he doesn’t see. “Let’s get inside and relax for a bit.”

I unlock the front door, and he immediately settles on the couch.

“I’ll be outside for a second,” I tell him as he pulls up a video on his tablet.

I go back out to my car and study the damage. Not only is the mirror broken, but there’s also a long, deep scratch along the side, and a crack in the windshield. I find the number of the garage in town, and a man answers after two rings.

“Is this Brock?” I ask.

He grunts. “Who’s this?” He didn’t say yes or no, but from the grunt, I’m going to assume it’s him.

“Hey, it’s Finley, Collins’s friend. You lent me the fishing rods?”

“Okay,” he says.

“I’m—” I close my eyes. “It looks like someone sideswiped my car.”

“When did this happen?”

“I’m not sure. I left my car parked on that dirt road by the creek for a while yesterday, and it was pretty narrow.” I think back to yesterday. One of Collins’s friends who works at the hospital had dropped Asa and me off at the creek on her way home from work so I could get my car, since Collins was on a call. “I was kind of tired and distracted, but I’m sure I would have noticed this. The damage looks pretty bad. I have to watch Asa, so I’m not sure when I can bring it in, but can I make an appointment?”

“We can just pick it up and get back to you tomorrow with an estimate.”

“Really? That would be great. Do you need my credit card number?”

“No, we’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re at Burke’s place, right?”

“I am, yes.”