“What do you guys want to do today?” I asked as I carefully slid the last pancake from the pan and onto the serving plate. Autumn grabbed it and carried it over to the breakfast table where Hunter was waiting, still in his pajamas with the sharks on them.

“Well, it’s the last day of Hunter’s spring break,” Autumn pointed out. “I think we should let him decide, don’t you?”

I grabbed the coffee I’d made for Autumn, and I went to join them for breakfast. The light was filtering in through the window, and I could tell it was going to be a warmer day than it had been before—not that the warmth in my heart wasn’t more than enough right now.

“So what do you want to do today, Hunter?” I turned to my son as he tucked into his first pancake, slathering it in maple syrup the way he always did. I swear his appetite had increased the last few days like being around Autumn again had lifted a weight from his shoulders.

“There’s a carnival by the pier,” he told me once he’d chewed and swallowed, taking a sip of his orange juice to wash it down. “I saw a sign for it yesterday.”

“We should totally go!” Autumn seemed excited by the thought. “I used to go to that one all the time. I think it’s the same one. It used to run over the last weekend of spring break when I was a kid. It’s cheesy, but it’s really fun. And the food is great.”

“Well, then it’s decided.” I grinned at them both. “Carnival it is.”

We got dressed and cleaned up, and I drove the three of us across town to the carnival. I had never thought Hunter would be interested in something like that, but it seemed like he was getting better about opening up with what he really wanted now that Autumn was around. She was a great influence on him. I hoped these last few days had been enough to lift the worry in her mind that she wasn’t enough for him—for us—because she was. She was exactly the kind of woman I had always dreamed of having in my life for Hunter. Kind, funny, gentle, understanding, smart. It was just a damned good bonus that we happened to like each other so much as well.

When we arrived, the place was already thronged with families. Where Hunter might have normally been a little wary about the huge crowds, he took off out of the car and toward the entrance at once, forcing Autumn to hurry to keep up with him. I watched for a moment as the two of them sped off together and then took up a dignified jog to catch up. I wanted to remember every little moment of this, of how good it felt to really have a full-blown family beyond me and Hunter.

I paid our entry fees, and Hunter paused for a moment as soon as he was through the gate. He seemed a little taken aback by how much there was, as though he had no idea where to get started. I had to admit, there was a lot going on here—a carousel, a chair swing, dozens of stalls selling toys or deep-fried treats, and others that were set up with simple games where you could win soft toys or pretend guns for your trouble.

“This is exactly like the one that was here when I was growing up,” Autumn sighed as she looked around. “Man, I haven’t been down here in so long. I should make more of an effort.”

“Where do you recommend we start?” I asked, putting my hand on Hunter’s shoulder to make sure he didn’t go speeding off again. “As the woman in the know.”

“Hmm.” She tapped her finger against her chin ponderously. “How about we start with the rides? Then food and then the games so if we win something, we don’t have to lug it around with us all day.”

I nodded. “That sounds great. How’s that for you, Hunter?”

“Sure,” he agreed, clearly glad to have a little guidance in the face of all this fun stuff to do. He grabbed Autumn by the hand and headed straight for this crummy little rollercoaster that looked like it was about to give out at the seams, and I went after them.

We spent the first hour doing all the rides at least twice. Hunter loved every second of it, peering at the mechanics of the carousel as we waited in line and asking the man at the desk how it worked. Then we moved on to the food, which was ridiculously greasy and fatty and also ridiculously delicious. I hadn’t eaten a funnel cake in years, and as soon as I took a bite, I was transported back to being Hunter’s age, kicking my legs against a bench on the side of the pier one day in late Fall. Autumn smiled at me as I ate.

“Good?” she asked, and I nodded.

“Great,” I replied. Hunter was trying to get his mouth around a huge cone of ice cream, and I quickly pressed a couple of napkins into his hand before things got out of control.

“We should do this all the time,” Hunter said, sighing with satisfaction.

“Well, back to school tomorrow,” I reminded him. “But we’ll come here again next year, huh?”

“We could take some more time off,” Hunter asked hopefully. “Maybe another week?”

I laughed and shook my head.

“Nice try, buddy, but I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that.” I ruffled his hair. “You have to go back to school, and we both have to go back to work. Right, Autumn?”

“Right.” She made a face at Hunter in sympathy. “But I want to come back again next year.”

“We could make it a tradition!” Hunter suggested excitedly. I glanced over at Autumn, who smiled back at me.

“Maybe we could,” I agreed.

Next for us was taking on the game stalls. They were silly little games, mostly trying to shoot down balls to land in these certain little cartons, and at first, none of us had much luck with them, but soon enough, I managed to land a prize. I watched as the guy behind the counter dipped below the top of the stall, felt around for a little bit, and then seemed to pull out the first thing he laid his hands on. He planted a large, plush teddy bear on the stall in front of us.

I picked it up and held it out to Autumn, who looked down at Hunter first.

“You sure you don’t want it?” she asked him, and Hunter shook his head.

“I think you should have it,” he told her, and she reached out to take it from me, clutching the enormous thing to her chest and wrapping her arms all the way around it.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.” She grinned at me. “What do you want to have a go at next?”

The three of us continued around the carnival, taking in all the stalls, even as the sun started to dip a little over the water behind us. It was a tiny bit cold, and I draped my jacket around Autumn’s shoulders as we rounded the last line of stalls and walked back toward the entrance. Hunter glanced up at me, and he seemed satisfied by my choice as if he liked it when I made an effort to be romantic. Well, he had to learn that shit from someone, didn’t he? I wanted my son to be a gentleman when the time came.

“Man, I’m tired.” Autumn stretched, the teddy bear tucked under one arm haphazardly. “You think we should be heading out of here? I could use something real to eat at your place.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” I agreed. I had noticed that Hunter had fallen a little quiet in the last ten minutes or so, and I knew him well enough to suspect he was getting tired and could use the break himself.

“Come on then.” I grabbed Hunter’s hand, and the three of us turned to head back down to the car. Hunter was tired enough that he didn’t try to pull away from me as he might have usually, and I felt a little swell of happiness holding his hand like this. It reminded me of when he had been really little, when he had really needed me, and I missed that so much sometimes. Autumn took my other hand and bumped her hip against mine as we walked, and warmth spread across my chest knowing that the whole family was together. I could have done this all day, just walked with them anywhere they wanted to go. It felt so right, the three of us all together like this, and I couldn’t imagine it ever getting old.

As we reached the exit of the carnival, I saw her, and I froze to the spot.

For a second, I tried to convince myself there was no way it could be her, no way she was actually here. She had to have skipped town by now as soon as she’d realized I wasn’t falling for her scheme. I hadn’t heard from her in a while, and I’d assumed she made a break for it again, but there was no mistaking her. She was facing away from me, half-turned with her eyes narrowed in the opposite direction, but it seemed like she was looking for something. Or someone. Us?

“Holden, what’s wrong?” Autumn asked, peering off into the direction I was staring, trying to make out what had caught my attention. I shook my head.

“Nothing,” I muttered. “Come on. Let’s get home.”

I ducked my head down low and prayed to all things holy that she hadn’t noticed any of us. How long had she been in there? The place was beginning to clear out now, and she could have spotted us earlier. Maybe the reason she was hanging by the exit was in the hope that she could intercept us and catch us before we got out of here. But to what end? What was Karla doing here? Was it coincidence, or had she followed us?

I hurried out of the carnival and back to the car, my heart pounding in my chest. I felt like I had seen some ghost from my past, someone raised from the dead to spook me beyond belief. As soon as we were all back in the car, I gripped the wheel and let out a long sigh. Hunter had his eyes closed and his head pressed to the window, so I don’t think he even noticed my reaction, but Autumn sure as hell had.

“What was that about?” she asked quietly, and I shook my head.

“Nothing,” I replied quickly, my voice harder than I had intended. “I just… I’m sorry. I’m tired, that’s all. It’s been a long few days.”

“Let’s get home, shall we?” Autumn smiled at me, placing her hand on my forearm. Her touch was enough to bring me back down to Earth, to remind me that Karla hadn’t seen any of us and that we had made it out of there unscathed.

“Yeah, let’s go home.” I pulled out of the parking lot and started back toward the house, Autumn’s hand still on my arm. It was at that moment that I realized she had referred to my place, for the first time, as home. That was enough to lift the stress of what had just happened long enough for me to get out a smile.