16. The Best Dad in Kissing Springs?

**MEADOW BOYD**

A melia rushed up to me, her smartphone held out like a microphone. “Good evening, Mayor Boyd. Who are you rooting for to win the annual Cheer for a Cause competition at halftime of this homecoming game?”

I smiled as Phil, the new Kissing Springs Post cameraman and photographer, focused the camera at me, and I hoped my nose wasn’t too red on film in this frosty late-fall weather. “Well, as mayor and as wife to Dillon Montgomery, I’m rooting for Dillon and Opal’s team. I love their cause. The Arts for All program at the Boyd Theater is near and dear to my heart.”

Amelia’s brow arched, and her head cocked, with a peculiar look in her eye, as if reminding me that as Mayor of Kissing Springs, I really should root for all.

I backtracked. “Oh. But, of course, the other team’s cause, Books for Babies, is equally amazing. Go Teams!”

My nervous chuckle and side step around her didn’t stop another question from her lips. She’d proven herself to be a persistent purveyor of the news in my hometown.

“Are you ready to announce whether you’ll be running for mayor again in the next election?”

“No, but I assure you, once I know, you’ll be the first person I call to share the news with the constituents of Kissing Springs.” Ugh. Amelia just wouldn’t let up about this, bringing the topic up any time we ran into each other lately.

The fact was, marriage, motherhood, and mayorship had been a lot to juggle the past few years. Pride always overtook me when I thought about my journey, my family, and my now-bustling town. But with baby number three on the way, doubts crept in along with needing more rest.

She turned off her microphone and Phil focused the camera at the cheer teams. She’d finally brought the newspaper into the digital age, adding a stellar website and news online for all to read, and our brief exchange caught on video would be at the top of it in the morning, no doubt.

“Seriously, Meadow, give me something. It’s been a slow news month, and it’s killing me here.” She eyed the three cups in a drink carrier in my hands. I’d love to stay and chat more and give her a solid answer, but Dillon and I still hadn’t reached a decision about my potential run for a re-election. “Other than reporting on the upcoming Harvest Festival, there’s little news lately.”

“Then I can’t wait to see your full coverage of the Cheer for a Cause in tomorrow’s paper. Talk soon,” I called out and rushed away, because I couldn’t miss this. The competition was about to start and I spied Dillon and Opal waiting in the end zone.

Dillon was not only the best husband in Kissing Springs, but the best girl-dad ever. They’d practiced for two weeks straight at the school. I didn’t know how Dillon managed it all between running his busy company, being an amazing father to Opal and our girls, and seeing to my every need as I grew another baby inside of me.

For his daughter, he’d put his all into this competition, hoping to win. Considering how much I loved watching him perform when he was dancing for Hot Derby Nights, I knew about his competitive spirit.

More than just good small town fun, this annual father/daughter cheer competition was not only hilarious to watch every year, but serious happenings in town. Businesses sponsored it, people had side bets on it, and the old church biddies stirred up plenty of gossip about it. Particularly about one dad on the opposite end of the field standing with the other half of the cheerleaders.

Nate Harland had come back to town this fall, surprising us all with a new wife, Tori, and her teen daughter Porsche. Last we knew, he lived in Las Vegas after he’d left town one Thanksgiving a few years ago and hadn’t been back, even missed out on his sister’s wedding. But Jayne took it all in stride and, just last week, forgave him and welcomed him with open arms again.

“Here you go. The high school concession’s best hot cocoa with marshmallows. Perfect for this chilly football night,” I said as I offered a cup to Jayne and another to Tori, then sat between them. Tracy framed up the other end of our group, on Tori’s left.

“Oh, thank you. My blood isn’t used to this weather yet,” Tori’s voice wavered through chittering teeth as she wrapped her hands around the cup for warmth, sporting long nails with intricate designs painted on them.

I eyed her thick, dark makeup and overly teased tinted hair, black leather jacket, and lack of a scarf. While she might be stylish for Vegas, the thin coat definitely wouldn’t be enough for the fall in Kentucky if this cold spell kept up.

“I suppose this is quite the adjustment from desert living?” Jayne asked, her brow lifted, but keeping her eyes on the field at her husband, Andrew. The former manager and choreographer of the Hot Derby Nights All-Male Revue crew had given some tips and dance moves to both Dillon and Nate in our garage last week. They were hilarious to watch. Between Nate showing off one-armed hand stands and Dillon trying for high kicks. Sure, the guys were competing in this, but all in good-natured fun as girl dads.

“I hadn’t planned for the weather change. Guess I’ll have to take Porsche shopping so we can start a winter wardrobe,” Tori replied.

“I can lend you some coats and scarves until then. Opal and Porsche are about the same size, and, well, I used to be your size.” I chuckled and grinned down at my growing baby bump, running a gloved hand over it, sending a wish for it to be healthy…and a boy. Dillon made an awesome girl dad, but three was enough and I knew how he longed for a boy.

“I missed the joys of being pregnant. I was, um, in a difficult relationship when I had Porsche.” Tori stared where my hand rested, and for one second I thought she might let us in past her sometimes cold exterior that was hard to read, and explain the underlying sadness I’d detected from her since our first meeting. But she quickly recovered and looked away. “It’s not in the cards for me now.”

“You and Nate don’t want children?” Tracy’s ears perked up. “I mean, my brother has forever said that he’ll never marry and settle down in this small town, but I always knew he was full of crap. And look at him now, with you and a daughter, here, and married. I figure a baby comes next.”

“Oh, um, we don’t talk about having a family. I mean, we aren’t even trying.” Tori fumbled through a reply. “You know, just having moved here and getting settled in has been a lot. Porsche is attending school, and Nate’s working for the Knights. We moved to the farmhouse on Love Ranch, and I’m busy helping Hartlyn and Cody to prepare for the Harvest Festival. We’ve been busy newlyweds.”

“I totally understand newlywed life. For the first year of our marriage, I couldn’t get enough of Andrew. A baby was far from our thoughts then. Those were some hot times, and good practice for baby making.” Jayne wiggled her brows, then saddened. “Of course, things haven’t been easy for us in that department, but I’m determined we’ll find a way to have a child.” Tracy squeezed her hand.

“No, I meant that I-I don’t really think of Nate in that way.”

We all glanced at her, our eyebrows raised and questioning.

“In what way?” Jayne pried. “I mean, look at him. He’s my brother, but he’s clearly well-built. I don’t know what he did in Vegas, but half the time must have been spent in the gym. His team t-shirt is the largest size we have, and it’s busting at the seams.” My long-time friend elbowed her in the ribs.

“Oh, uh, I guess I meant in a fatherly type of way?” Tori replied in a wavering, small voice. When the music started and the dads and cheer teams ran and tumbled with cartwheels and flips onto the field, it put an end to this conversation. Although I doubted Jayne and her sister Tracy would let her off the hook so easily about having more kids join their expanding family tree.

“Saved by the music.” I jabbed my elbow into Tori’s ribs in jest. She shifted, looking very uncomfortable, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

The teams performed in unison at first, and the crowd laughed and clapped at the fathers trying their best. Most dressed in flippy cheer skirts with sweats underneath rolled to the knees.

They wore the same Cheer for a Cause t-shirts, Dillon’s team in purple and white, and Nate’s team in yellow and white, the school’s colors. My handsome husband and most of the dads had painted their faces in team colors as well.

The group split off into two, and the music changed up. Dillon and Opal’s team performed first, dancing to a fast-paced beat. The dads were impressive, keeping up with it.

Compared to the others though, Dillon definitely was the one with the best musicality and moves, shaking his hips and landing most of the jumps and stunts he attempted. All his time with the Hot Derby Nights paid off, and my smile sat a tad smug on my face, sure the Arts for All Team would win.

Then came Nate’s team. I noticed Tori sat up a little taller.

“Go, Porsche!” She yelled and whistled as her daughter impressed us all with her fancy baton twirling, throwing it high into the air and catching it with perfect precision.

“Here we go. I’m curious to see what moves Nate has. But I suppose you know all about his moves.” I winked at her, but she was too focused on the field to notice. With good reason.

Nate stood in front of his group of cheerleaders, with Porsche joining by his side, and he did one thing: removed his t-shirt. That was all it took for the women in the stadium to go wild, yelling and screaming. I thought a woman two rows up from us would faint as if she were watching Elvis in person.

Tori sucked in her breath and bit her bottom lip. Her husband posed as if he were some kind of Olympic god, flexing and showing off his broad pecs, boulder-sized biceps, and even turning around to pop out his triceps and back muscles. Tori's breathing was barely audible.

Should I put a mirror under nose to make sure she was alive?

Then the music slowed in pace, and the cheerleaders formed a horseshoe around Nate and the dads. Some others joined him in removing their shirts, not to be outdone, including Dillon.

Nate played it up to the audience, slowly gyrating his hips to the point I was nervous this show was more Hot Derby Nights appropriate versus clean family fun. But the women around here were eating it up.

If the women of Kissing Springs were happy, no telling how huge the donations would be tonight.

Tori still wasn’t breathing. I leaned over. “You’re drawing blood.” I pointed to my chin to signal where she needed to tend to on hers. She’d bitten her lip so hard, a small stream trickled down.

“Oh, uh…” her fingers automatically went to her bottom lip, dabbing at it. “Thanks.”

“Bet you didn’t realize how fun small town life can be?”

“Right. Who knew?”

“Kissing Springs has a way of growing on you and before you know it, your heart falls in love,” I said, referring to my beloved hometown’s way of being the most romantic place on earth. But something told me, despite being newlyweds, maybe she needed a little convincing as to her true feelings with Nate as well.

After the cheer competition, I waited beside the small concession building for Opal and Dillon. We’d promised Opal a hot cocoa afterward. I kept one eye out for them, while my other eye surveyed the donations adding up at the teams’ tables, each with a dry-erase board where they could write the tally as the night wore on.

Nate’s team was ahead by a lot, so far. Both programs would make out though with sizable donations, and I heard one woman in charge say this might be the year with the most donations yet.

My chest filled with pride about my hometown and how far we’d come from the first day I took over the mayor’s office. But before I could get deep into my thoughts, voices carried to me from somewhere behind the building.

“I didn’t realize my husband had those kinds of moves.” That sounded a lot like Tori’s voice.

“Maybe if my wife was nicer to me, without that chip on her shoulder about this small town, she’d learn a thing or two about me.” And that was definitely Nate’s voice.

“Given the situation, I think I’m trying.”

“No. I think you’re making this harder than it has to be, wife.”

“Oh, I’ll bet I could make it harder, husband.”

“You always do, in case you haven’t noticed.”

I turned and angled my head to see where they were and—dang—Tori pushed Nate with his back against the wall and her mouth clamped on his lips. His hands reached around to her ass, pulling her closer to him. You’d think they’d never kissed before, the way they attacked each other with such fury.

They looked hot together, too, certainly the most natural and comfortable I’d seen of them around each other since the day they’d arrived in Kissing Springs.

I blushed and turned back around with a chuckle. “Thank you,” I whispered on the breeze to no one in particular, but maybe with a nod to my ancestors who built this place, who cast a spell on the springs for love to prevail above all else.

My chest was bursting with pride. My town never failed to fill the most stubborn hearts with romance. After all, this was the romance capital of the South.

Opal and Porsche finally arrived, bounding up to me, excited to see the results of their hard work in the competition and donations board.

“Mom, can Porsche can stay over with me tonight? We want to watch a new K-Drama movie and pop popcorn,” Opal begged.

I glanced quickly back at where my eyes last left Tori and Nate, still finding them going hot and heavy at each other. My instincts told me they needed a night alone.

“Absolutely. Go on and meet me after the game. I’ll find your mother and tell her our plans. I’m pretty sure she’ll be okay with you staying over.” I winked and watched them head back to their friends.

Thank you for reading My Hot Autumn Knight, the prequel to Midnight and Mischief. While this book ends on a happy for now, I hope you’ll look forward to reading Midnight and Mischief, my next book in the Kissing Springs world to find out what happens next to to Tori, Porsche, and Nate.