Chase Our Forever (Sutten Mountain #3)

21. Liv

21

LIV

“Pumpkins!” Clara yells excitedly as she jumps out of Dean’s truck the moment he unbuckles her from her car seat.

She takes off ahead of us, running toward the large entrance to the pumpkin festival.

“Wait!” Dean calls, his eyes pinned on his daughter. “Clara, you have to stay with me and Liv, okay?” he tells her as he catches up with her and grabs her hand.

Clara bounces on her feet, clearly unamused with the pace at which Dean and I walk into Sutten Mountain’s famous pumpkin festival. “I want to climb the giant pumpkin,” Clara whines, holding her hand out for me to take.

I gladly take it as the three of us join the group of people walking toward the front entrance. Clara’s quickly become my tiny best friend over the last week, so it was a no-brainer when Dean mentioned he and Clara were going to visit the festival this afternoon and invited me to come along.

Plus, I’d told Pippa I’d see her there. This pumpkin festival is what gave me the idea of staying in Sutten in the first place, and I wasn’t going to miss it.

Clara rattles off everything she wants to do while we’re here as we make our way through the entrance. Someone hands me a map of all the different activities going on today, and I open it to find where Pippa’s pop-up will be. I have to say hi to her and get a pumpkin cinnamon roll, of course.

“This way to the giant pumpkin!” Clara demands, pulling both me and Dean forward toward a bunch of hay bales stacked on top of one another to make the shape of a jack-o’-lantern.

“It really is a giant pumpkin,” I note as we get closer. All week, Clara had been begging to come to the festival for this thing alone. Now that she’s here, she barely spares either one of us a backward glance as she runs toward it.

Dean stands next to me. His elbow brushes against mine as he folds his arms across his chest and looks at me. “You can go,” he states, his voice deep and gravelly. I’ve learned in the last week of living with him how much I love the deep tenor of his voice. It’s sexy, and I know I shouldn’t find my boss’s voice sexy…but I can’t help it. Something about it sends shivers down my spine.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” I tease, my lips twitching as I try to fight a smile. It’s officially been a week since I first showed up at his house, ready to move in. The week flew by so quickly, something that makes me a little sad because I’m enjoying it so much.

I love Clara. Spending my days with her is the best. I never saw myself being a nanny, but I’ve felt more purpose in this week alone than I ever have before.

I know I shouldn’t admit it, but I like being around Dean, too. I look forward to seeing him walk through the door after work. Eating dinner together, the three of us, has become the highlight of my day, and I’m slowly getting attached to not only Clara but her annoyingly attractive father as well.

Dean’s low growl pulls me from my thoughts. “I didn’t mean it harshly,” he begins, shifting on his feet. There’s a hard set to his jaw as he keeps his eyes pinned on Clara, who’s already made it to the top of the pumpkin. “What I meant was, you only get two days off a week. You don’t have to spend them with us.”

I keep my eyes on him, even though I know he won’t take his eyes off his daughter. I like his protectiveness of her—maybe I like it a little too much. “What if I want to spend time with you both?” I counter, watching him closely for his reaction.

Am I flirting with him? Maybe.

Is that dangerous? Absolutely.

Do I regret it? That’s to be determined.

The muscle on his jaw ticks away as he thinks through my question. It was rhetorical; I don’t really need an answer from him. I really just wanted to see how he’d react if I admitted that spending the day with him and Clara at the pumpkin festival was exactly how I wanted to spend my Saturday. I’ll say yes to going to Sunday brunch with him and his family tomorrow, too, if he asks me.

“That’s a lie,” Dean finally gets out through gritted teeth.

Everyone’s warnings about Dean have been true. He is grumpy and moody and has his guard up almost all of the time, but it doesn’t deter me at all. Because when he does let his guard down, even for a fraction of a second, it’s special. It’s happened sparingly in the week I’ve been living with him and Clara, but it’s happened enough for me to realize I’m attracted to him.

“It isn’t a lie,” I respond, letting my eyes wander to Clara for just a moment. She’s at the top of the pumpkin, her hand waving vigorously in the air at us.

I lift my arm and wave back to her, waiting for Dean to say something else.

He finally does—but not before letting out a grunt of disapproval. “My family should be here any minute. They’ll help me keep Clara entertained while you can finally spend some time alone without us bothering you.”

I ignore him, deciding to also keep my focus on Clara as she makes quick friends with someone else at the top with her. They both take a seat on the hay bale and let their feet dangle off the side.

With Clara seemingly staying put in one spot for a moment, Dean finally looks my way. I can feel his gaze hot against my cheek as I continue to stay put. “Liv?” My name comes out like a question. A deep, gravelly question where I enjoyed hearing my name from his mouth a little too much.

I pull my eyes from Clara and look at him. “You know, scowling at me isn’t going to change my mind. I want to spend my day at the pumpkin festival, and whether you want to believe me or not, I was looking forward to having you and Clara show me around.”

Dean’s lips press together in a thin line. It looks like he wants to say something, but before he can, a voice calls his name from behind me.

“Dean! There’s my favorite oldest brother.”

I turn to find Reed and Dean’s parents heading right for us.

“Mimi! Papa! Uncle Reed! Look at me!” Clara triumphantly shouts from the top of the jack-o’-lantern. She still sits there with the little friend she made. Her dark hair and the two orange bows I put in it this morning make her hard to miss amidst all the other kids.

“Look at you,” Shirley yells back, coming to a stop next to Dean.

“See me, Livvy?” Clara shouts.

“I see you, Clare Bear,” I respond, smiling at how cute she is.

“Clare Bear,” Reed remarks from my side. “I like it. I might have to steal it.”

I look over at him with a smile. “Come up with your own nickname,” I tease. This is only the second time I’ve met Reed, but his easygoing personality makes it impossible to not mess with him.

Reed puts his hands to his chest as if I’ve hurt him. I shake my head before stepping around Dean to give Shirley a hug.

“It’s so good to see you again,” I tell her, welcoming the feeling of her arms wrapped around me. Yesterday, Clara and I spent the morning at Dean’s childhood home, spending time with Shirley. We’d baked cookies, walked around the property, and got our share of puppy snuggles.

Shirley squeezes me tight before pulling away. “What have you guys been up to? Have you been here long?”

I shake my head. “We just got here. Clara immediately ran to climb this. Which makes sense because it’s all she talked about this week.”

Dean clears his throat. “I was just telling Liv how she should enjoy her day off and go wander the festival without me and Clara as deadweight.”

I roll my eyes. “And I was telling Dean that?—”

“I can show you around the festival,” Reed offers, cutting me off with a polite smile.

I tuck my hands into the pockets of my new jeans. I’d used the little bit of money I had left for my travels to get a few new pieces of clothing from the local boutique in town called the Chic Peak. I plan on finding some local thrift stores when I get paid at the end of next week, but until then, these were quick and easy to find while Clara and I were out the other day.

Reed must take my silence for hesitation because he lifts one of his shoulders in a small shrug. “You don’t have to. But I do know where the best stands are with the best food. I practically eat my way through this festival every year.”

I think about his offer. I don’t know him very well, but he’s got a charming smile and calming demeanor that makes me feel safe with him. I really would love to go visit Pippa. Clara and I visited Wake and Bake a few times this week, but Pippa told me her fiancé was going to be at the festival with her, and I’d love to meet him. Plus, she mentioned that her brother and his fiancée might hang out at the booth with them for a bit. I might get nervous and make a fool of myself, but I’d love to meet Marigold Evans. She wrote my favorite book and meeting her would be unreal.

“Only if we can stop by Pippa’s booth,” I counter, focusing on Reed even though I can feel Dean’s eyes on me. He’d made it seem like he wanted me to leave him and Clara alone anyway. Maybe having Reed show me around is a good idea.

Reed’s smile gets even bigger. “Of course we’re stopping by her booth first. The pumpkin cinnamon roll is the reason I don’t leave Sutten.”

“You’re in Sutten because you're working here,” Dean deadpans.

Reed rolls his eyes at his brother. “There’s plenty of places one could ski-patrol for. I just happen to live on the best mountain with the best pumpkin cinnamon rolls out there.”

His words make me smile. I like him. I never had a brother, but he’s exactly what I imagined a brother to be. He’s goofy and charismatic, and if Dean would rather spend some alone time with Clara and his family, I’ll take up Reed on his offer.

“Let’s go, then,” I tell Reed, not having the courage to look Dean in the eyes.

“That okay with you?” Reed asks, looking at his brother with a lifted brow. The two of them stare at one another for a moment. It’s as if they talk without saying a word at all.

Finally, Dean rips his eyes from his brother and does one small pass over me with a fire in his eyes before he focuses on Clara once again. “It’s Liv’s day off. She’s free to spend it how she chooses,” he all but growls.

His posture is stiff as he crosses his toned arms over his chest and stares ahead of him. His jaw is clamped so hard it must hurt, but I don’t comment on it at all. If he wanted me to stay with Clara and him, he had the chance to say so.

Reed nods. There’s a small smirk on his lips as he looks from his brother to me. “Let’s go get the world’s best cinnamon roll.” He holds his arm out for me to take, and I gladly do so, excited for him to take me to Pippa.

“I’m ready.” I laugh, letting him take the lead.

Before we get too far, I look back once, unable to resist. I find Dean staring daggers at Reed’s back. Before I can think too deeply about this new heated scowl on Dean’s face, I turn around and let Reed lead me deeper into the festival.