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Lately, all I wanted to paint was trees. Big, bushy, evergreen trees. Pine trees and cedar. Hillsides covered in trees. Mountain valleys. Close-up studies of individual trees. Trees. Trees. Trees. I’d never used so much green paint in a week before. My latest painting was a tall, narrow tree with speckles of frost on the branches. I was attempting to add a squat little pine cone when the doorbell sounded.

Both kids were home, so I wasn’t too concerned. Likely a friend of theirs or a salesperson Soren could dispense with as easily as I. Besides, I was in a terrible mood and had been all week. I went back to the pine cone only to hear Shelby behind me.

“Dad. The paramedic guy is back.”

“Tell him I’m fine.” I didn’t bother turning around. And yes, I was being all kinds of chicken, but avoiding Percy had served me well thus far. “Ankle is all healed. I’ll text him later.”

“Tell him yourself,” Shelby shot back, and I whirled to find Percy standing alongside Shelby.

“Oh.” I swallowed hard. “Hey, Percy.”

“I’m making loco moco for dinner.” Shelby’s cooking phase had continued after the school year started, and she was now having fun exploring many of the Hawaiian dishes of my childhood. She gestured between Percy and me. “You should ask Percy to stay.”

“I don’t think…” I trailed off because she was already heading back to the house, undoubtedly as sick of my mopey mood as I was. And now that Shelby was gone, I was alone with Percy, who looked at me expectantly.

“So, you’re fine?”

“Yeah.” I stretched out my healed leg. “All better.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’ve been avoiding me.” He gave me a harsh stare. And he wasn’t wrong. I’d ducked into my car rather than do the driveway wave thing and left two texts on Read.

“I wasn’t sure what there was to say.” I shrugged, fully aware I sounded closer to Shelby’s age than Percy’s.

“Plenty.” He blew out a breath. “Would you like to go somewhere with me on Saturday night?”

“Go?” I blinked. “Where? Why?”

“I’m asking you on a date, Stu.” Percy sounded less than thrilled about this fact.

“Oh.” I let my jaw hang open for several long seconds. “You sure you want to do that?”

“I miss you.” He spread his hands wide like holding an empty basket. And lord knew I missed him too. I hadn’t realized how much we’d fallen into a routine with daily texts, funny memes, and frequent visits until it was gone.

“I’ve missed you too,” I admitted.

“And you’re the one who pointed out we’ve pretty much been dating. You deserve the real deal. Let me take you out.”

I nodded, considering this as I stared at my row of tree paintings. Somehow, it was easier to point it out when I’d assumed Percy was bailing on us than to accept his invite. I wanted what we had back, but I remained doubtful that Percy truly wanted to stick around.

“You deserve it too. I don’t want you dating me out of guilt or something.” I continued to stare at my paintings. Taken together like this, I’d made a whole forest. Funny how I’d thought I was just painting trees.

“I’m not.” Percy stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t want to let myself miss being in a relationship, but hanging around you the last month reminded me that I like having a person. And I want that person to be you.”

“Oh.” The air whooshed out of me. It had been so very long since I’d been chosen like that. I’d said I wanted to date, but the truth was I had just as many, if not more, doubts as Percy. “I’m kind of a package deal. Not everyone is up for dating a single dad.”

“Do I look scared off?” Percy gently applied pressure to my neck until I was forced to meet his steady gaze. “I like your kids. I’ll follow your lead in terms of when you want to tell them we’re more than friends, but I’m good with dating you. All of you.”

“Okay.” That reply wasn’t particularly brimming with enthusiasm, so I let my head fall onto his shoulder. “What if we’ve both forgotten how to date?”

Shrugging, Percy tugged me closer. “Then we’ll remember together. I won’t lie and say I’ve got it all figured out. We’ve both been burned before. But I don’t want to let a good thing go because I’m scared.”

Oh. I’m scared.I looked down at my forest of tree paintings. I’d been so focused on Percy’s rejection that I’d been running from my own fears. And Percy was right. We couldn’t let those worries keep us from trying. I didn’t want to have regrets. And I sure as hell didn’t want to watch him date someone else, see strange cars in his driveway, while knowing I could have had a chance.

“Good point.” I gave a decisive nod. “Let’s do this thing.”

ChapterSeven

Stu