Page 27 of My Three Hometown Hard Hats

“Sure thing, Mags,” he says, wrapping both his arms tightly around me.

My arms are trapped beneath his hold at my sides, my feet dangling without purchase on the ground.

“What the heck are you doing?” I squirm in his hold, trying to break free. Even when my feet touch down again on the sidewalk next to the rest of the group, his arms stay wrapped around me.

Relenting, I relax against him, watching as my mom pulls a U-turn. She waves out the her window, pulling away from us.

“I’m starving,” Evelyn whines.

“It isn’t even lunchtime yet,” Conrad tells her.

She wiggles her head from side to side at him. “So?”

“I could go for an early lunch,” I tell her.

She whips around, beaming up at me. “Yes, this is why you’re my favorite.”

She grabs my hand, forcefully pulling me away from Brooks. With her hand in mine, we start to make our way to the food stands set up along the avenue that’s currently closed off for the festival.

“Hey, I’m hungry, too,” Brooks speaks up from behind us. “Can’t I be a part of your favorite group?”

“No, you’re a boy. Walk with the boys.” She gestures to Conrad and Austin, who are both trying not to laugh.

We split up to get a couple of different kinds of food and meet up on the lawn behind the food stands. When Evelyn and I walk over with our corn dogs and lemonade, we find the guys all sitting in a shaded spot under a big pine tree.

“Picnic time,” she says, shimmying into the space between Brooks and Conrad.Obviously, she loves them. I can’t blame her.

We all sit in a circle, sharing all the different foods. I lean forward, taking a bite of the gyro.

I can feel sauce on the side of my mouth, but before I can wipe it away, Austin is there swiping it with his thumb. His hand lingers there a beat longer than necessary.

“Always cleaning me up,” I tell him.

“I guess so.” He stares at me with such a mix of emotions, I can’t even begin to wade through all of them.

“Can we go shopping now?” Evelyn asks, taking the last bite of her corn dog.

Austin turns to look at her. “Sure, if that’s what you want to do.”

We clean up all our trash and head for the nearest street lined with vendor booths. Evelyn eagerly skips, getting a bit ahead of us.

“If you can’t see us, then I can’t see you, Evelyn,” Austin says, not freaking out about her having a little independence.

He’s such a good dad, and that makes him even hotter. If that’s even possible.

Evelyn finds a stand with flower crowns for kids and yelps with excitement.

“There goes twenty bucks out of my wallet,” Austin chuckles beside me. “What color do you want, honey?” he asks her.

She points to one with a mix of blue and purple flowers. The woman makes sure the crown is the right size for Evelyn, fitting it perfectly for her.

“You look gorgeous, Evie Girl,” Brooks tells her.

She grabs his hand, walking back up the opposite side of the street, not wanting to miss any of the booths.

I find myself walking between Conrad and Austin. The urge to reach for both of their hands burns through me, but I resist, keeping my hands at my sides.

Moving down the next street, Evelyn stops at a face painting stand. “Hadley, will you get your face painted with me?”