court and force his daughter to visit him because he thought the effort would widen the gap between them.
Dawn wanted to tell him his refusal to put his footdown was the probably the wrong move. But it wasnât her place.
âYeah, I know. Kids are hard. I canât get Andrew to come for a visit, either. I even dangled caramel apples as bait,â Dawn said, wanting to reach out and pluck a pumpkin seed from Tysonâs hair, but she refrained from doing so. âHey, you got a pumpkin seed in your hair.â
âWhere?â he said, feeling around his hair, missing the thing completely.
âHere. Bend down,â Dawn commanded. He tilted toward her and she brushed away the offending seed. She wanted to fan her fingers through his hair, but friends didnât do things like that. Lovers did.
Tyson picked up the seed from where it lay on the walk. âMy grandfather roasted some of these for me one Halloween. We stayed up late munching on them and watching old vampire movies.â
He sounded so wistful. He missed his child. And he wasnât doing the right thing with her. The situation was only going to get worse. Another good reason Dawn and he were only friends. Tyson had some serious issues that needed his attention, ones Dawn would surely get caught up in.
âIt might be cool to do some of those tonight,â she said, adjusting the stemmed cap on the jack-oâ-lantern.
âDid we save the pumpkin guts?â
âYuck!â Hunter Todd cried, wrinkling his nose as he galloped toward them. âI ainât eating no pumpkin guts.â
âTheyâre not real guts, silly. Just the stringy stuff we pulled out. The seeds were in there, remember?â she said.
âCome help me pick them out, Hunter. Then Iâll showyou how to roast them,â Tyson said, tugging Hunter Todd up the steps.
Dawn pushed her hair out of her face and surveyed the front lawn. Sheâd have to get those leaves bagged up but not until after the planned festivities. Tonight, Tucker House was holding a special Halloween night out for its patrons. She and Margo had been working all day to set up small stations for the senior adults to operate for the ghosts and princesses who would be showing up when the sun sank into the Texas horizon.
A huge pile of leaves might distract the children while they waited for the ladies who did china painting and ceramics to paint their faces. Ester and Grace were heading up a decorate your own cookie table while some of the men hosted a fish for candy booth and a doughnut dunking booth. Not only would tonight be fun for the senior adults, it would allow busy parents more time for trick-or-treating with their children without having to worry about leaving Grandma or Grandpa home alone.
That was the beauty of Tucker House. Not only did they provide day care for senior adults who could not stay home alone, but they tried to sponsor âNight Outâ events that would allow caretakers a chance to go out worry-free. Nellie had been adamant about helping hardworking families with the care of their loved ones. Sheâd experienced firsthand how caring for her grandmother crimped her own social life. Tucker House even provided sitters for elderly patients who couldnât physically come to Tucker House for the event night.
âWhew! I got the doughnuts from the bakery. Mr. Neely said they were day-old but perfectly good. And the price was right,â Margo said, coming out onto theporch wearing a pinafore apron with a ghost on it that Ester had made her.
âFree?â Dawn asked.
Margoâs gold crown winked. âYes, maâam.â
Dawn glanced at Tyson and Hunter Todd hunkered down at the end of the wide porch, picking pumpkin seeds out of the remains of the gourd. She heard a couple of jokes about squishy guts and some high-pitched screams from Hunter Todd. The two heads bobbing together over the task struck a chord of regret in her chest.
Dawn wanted to tell him his refusal to put his footdown was the probably the wrong move. But it wasnât her place.
âYeah, I know. Kids are hard. I canât get Andrew to come for a visit, either. I even dangled caramel apples as bait,â Dawn said, wanting to reach out and pluck a pumpkin seed from Tysonâs hair, but she refrained from doing so. âHey, you got a pumpkin seed in your hair.â
âWhere?â he said, feeling around his hair, missing the thing completely.
âHere. Bend down,â Dawn commanded. He tilted toward her and she brushed away the offending seed. She wanted to fan her fingers through his hair, but friends didnât do things like that. Lovers did.
Tyson picked up the seed from where it lay on the walk. âMy grandfather roasted some of these for me one Halloween. We stayed up late munching on them and watching old vampire movies.â
He sounded so wistful. He missed his child. And he wasnât doing the right thing with her. The situation was only going to get worse. Another good reason Dawn and he were only friends. Tyson had some serious issues that needed his attention, ones Dawn would surely get caught up in.
âIt might be cool to do some of those tonight,â she said, adjusting the stemmed cap on the jack-oâ-lantern.
âDid we save the pumpkin guts?â
âYuck!â Hunter Todd cried, wrinkling his nose as he galloped toward them. âI ainât eating no pumpkin guts.â
âTheyâre not real guts, silly. Just the stringy stuff we pulled out. The seeds were in there, remember?â she said.
âCome help me pick them out, Hunter. Then Iâll showyou how to roast them,â Tyson said, tugging Hunter Todd up the steps.
Dawn pushed her hair out of her face and surveyed the front lawn. Sheâd have to get those leaves bagged up but not until after the planned festivities. Tonight, Tucker House was holding a special Halloween night out for its patrons. She and Margo had been working all day to set up small stations for the senior adults to operate for the ghosts and princesses who would be showing up when the sun sank into the Texas horizon.
A huge pile of leaves might distract the children while they waited for the ladies who did china painting and ceramics to paint their faces. Ester and Grace were heading up a decorate your own cookie table while some of the men hosted a fish for candy booth and a doughnut dunking booth. Not only would tonight be fun for the senior adults, it would allow busy parents more time for trick-or-treating with their children without having to worry about leaving Grandma or Grandpa home alone.
That was the beauty of Tucker House. Not only did they provide day care for senior adults who could not stay home alone, but they tried to sponsor âNight Outâ events that would allow caretakers a chance to go out worry-free. Nellie had been adamant about helping hardworking families with the care of their loved ones. Sheâd experienced firsthand how caring for her grandmother crimped her own social life. Tucker House even provided sitters for elderly patients who couldnât physically come to Tucker House for the event night.
âWhew! I got the doughnuts from the bakery. Mr. Neely said they were day-old but perfectly good. And the price was right,â Margo said, coming out onto theporch wearing a pinafore apron with a ghost on it that Ester had made her.
âFree?â Dawn asked.
Margoâs gold crown winked. âYes, maâam.â
Dawn glanced at Tyson and Hunter Todd hunkered down at the end of the wide porch, picking pumpkin seeds out of the remains of the gourd. She heard a couple of jokes about squishy guts and some high-pitched screams from Hunter Todd. The two heads bobbing together over the task struck a chord of regret in her chest.
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