The last thing Jonah wanted to do after the too-real, too-raw talk he and Mitch had the night before was to wake up too damn early on a Saturday for the farmer’s market.

He had even toyed with the idea of faking an illness or falling out of bed—or even down the stairs—just for an excuse to shut the world out for a little while longer.

If only his conscience hadn’t gotten in the way.

But Jonah knew that Pop always looked forward to the farmer’s market, and the fact that Mitch would be there too meant that Jonah already knew he’d regret it if he tried to find some lame excuse not to go.

Not that all of those perfectly good reasons had made it any easier to get out of bed that morning.

By the time the three of them had made it to the market, though, with the morning sun and the chirping birds and the smiling, familiar—if maybe still a little sleepy—faces greeting them, Jonah knew for sure he’d made the right decision.

It was hard to feel like life was unfair when he was surrounded by people he loved, beautiful flowers, fresh produce, and the kind of perfect Texas morning that only happened a few times each summer. Not too hot. Not too cold. Not too humid. Just… perfect.

Mitch leaned in close as they stopped while Pop visited with one of the stall owners. “So was it worth getting out of bed?”

Jonah laughed. It was almost as if Mitch had read his mind. Had his expression been that sour all morning? “I knew it would be worth it,” Jonah said, grinning up at Mitch. “Even if it violated my personal rule of not getting out of bed before nine on a Saturday.”

“I had forgotten about that rule,” Mitch said, mirroring Jonah’s smile. “But it makes sense. If I’d been in bed with you, I definitely would’ve wanted to stay there all morning—hell, all day if you’d let me.”

“You know I would,” Jonah winked and shook his head. “You’re such a tease. And there’s nothing I can do about it here.”

“I bet we could find a place to sneak off to if we really put our minds to it,” Mitch said, shrugging innocently.

“What are you two conspiring about?” Pop asked, saying goodbye to his friends to join Jonah and Mitch again. “Or maybe I shouldn’t ask too many questions…”

Jonah could feel his face flush as both Pop and Mitch turned to give him a nearly-identical questioning look. If the goal was to embarrass him, they were doing a pretty fantastic job.

“I think the two of you have been conspiring,” Jonah said, playfully bumping Mitch with his shoulder as they walked toward the next stall.

“Oh, speaking of conspiring…” Pop’s voice trailed off as his attention was drawn to some fresh tomatoes nearby.

Jonah and Mitch exchanged glances, but Mitch only shrugged. If they had been conspiring, Pop had evidently forgotten to let Mitch in on the secret.

“Pop?” Jonah asked after a few moments had passed.

“Hm?” Pop glanced up at him like he hadn’t just started to talk about something potentially important, then turned his attention back to the produce in front of him.

Seriously? He knew Jonah was the worst at waiting to hear secrets.

Pop used to always get such a kick out of getting Jonah to try and guess what his Christmas and birthday presents were—much to the frustration of both Jonah and his grandma.

“Did you, um… have something you wanted to share?” Jonah offered, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “Something about conspiring?”

“Oh, that,” Pop sighed, then gave a half-shrug, reluctantly turning away from the tomatoes again to continue walking. “It’s just that I have a bit of a date tomorrow night and I’d like it if you boys weren’t waiting at home for me all evening while I’m out.”

Jonah and Mitch both stopped dead in their tracks, then had to scramble to keep up as Pop kept walking, seemingly oblivious to the bombshell he’d just dropped.

“Did you say you have a—a bit of a what?” Jonah’s mouth still hung open after he spoke. Of all the things Pop could have possibly said, that was literally the last thing Jonah would have expected.

And it brought up a bunch of other questions Jonah hadn’t been expecting. Like… was this the first time Pop had been on a date since Grandma had passed away? If not, how many dates had he been on? And with whom?

Jonah thought his brain might actually explode. Or implode. Or something dramatic and probably messy.

“A date,” Pop said, simply, then looked back at Jonah with a cheeky grin. “Try not to look so shocked, hm? Just because I happen to be of a certain age doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the company of a lady friend from time to time.”

“Oh, God,” Jonah grimaced. Maybe he didn’t want to know the answers to any of those questions after all. He was absolutely in favor of his grandpa getting out there and mingling with whomever he chose, but… some details were best kept unshared.

“I think that’s great news,” Mitch chimed in, tossing Jonah an amused glance. “Anyone we know?”

“Doris, from Grind,” Pop said, making Jonah and Mitch stop in their tracks all over again.

“Doris?” they both asked in unison.

Mitch was, of course, the first one to recover. “I mean, that’s awesome. You and Doris would make a great pair.”

Pop arched an eyebrow in his direction. “She is a lovely woman. Very kind. Very hardworking. She and I have a lot in common.”

“Of course,” Jonah said, nodding as the initial shock wore off. “I’m really happy for you, Pop. Like Mitch said, it’s great news.”

“Well, don’t go picking out monogrammed towels for us or anything,” Pop said, shooting both men a mock glare. “It’s nothing too serious, just a nice evening out. But the whole reason I’m even telling you any of this is because I thought it would be nice if the two of you were able to get out and do something fun, too. I know you’ve both been cooped up with me all week at the house, and I think we could all use a little excitement to shake things up.”

For at least the third time in five minutes, Pop had caught Jonah off guard. Now he wanted the two of them to go out on a date, too?

At least he hadn’t suggested a double date, though Jonah certainly wasn’t going to give him any ideas.

“That’s a great idea,” Mitch said, beaming as he looked from Pop to Jonah. “Don’t you think so, Jonah?”

He could only nod for a moment as he searched for the appropriate words. Jonah’s brain still hadn’t completely processed the idea of Pop out on an actual date, but the thought of getting to go somewhere nice with Mitch was definitely something he was on board with.

“I do,” Jonah said, finally. “I think that will be good for all of us. Maybe we can pick up some nice flowers for Doris while we’re here, Pop.”

“Why do you think I made sure to drag you out here this morning?” Pop asked, grinning. “I knew I’d need an expert opinion.”

Jonah laughed. “You’ve really got this all planned out, don’t you?”

“I might be old, but I’ve still got a trick or two up my sleeve.” Pop nodded toward the flower stalls. “Now let’s go pick out a bouquet before all the good ones are gone.”

He wandered off in that direction without waiting, leaving Jonah and Mitch to catch up again.

‘So, what do you say?” Mitch leaned in and whispered. “Date night? Just the two of us?”

“Sounds like that was the plan whether we wanted to or not,” Jonah said, grinning. “But just for the record, I absolutely want to. Date night with you sounds… perfect.”

And even though Jonah hated that tomorrow was going to be his last night in Hidden Creek, he really couldn’t think of a better way to spend it. It would be the one part of the day he’d actually be looking forward to.