A Gallagher Girls & The Listen Series Promptober

Pumpkin Patch:

Haven't read Gallagher Girls? Please do not continue if you wish to avoid spoilers.

As always, please don't hesitate. Comments, feedback and any interaction are appreciated and loved!

Catherine Goode POV / Timeline: Zach Goode is ten, takes place before the original Gallagher Girls series.

Oct. 1st | Pumpkin Patch

The dark brown curls bob in and out of the rows, his little hands clutching the G.I.Joe doll and then letting one hand go to try to lift the biggest one he's seen all day.

She watches him circle it, kick it, push it. It doesn't budge. She had to admit, he was nothing if not determined. He was her kid, that's for sure.

"You're not going to let him take that home are you?"

She pushes her sunglasses onto the top of her head, squinting at the man next to her, "Hello Joseph."

He hands her a cup, the smell of cinnamon and apples wafting up from it, sickly sweet and not at all her first drink of choice. She grimaces at it, "Trying to poison me already?"

He sighs and raises his own cup, and she frowns, clicking her tongue as she tsks, "Well, now you just want me to trade cups with you, that's probably the real poisoned one."

He lets out an aggravated huff, a sound he often makes in her presence. He drinks from both cups. Satisfied, she takes one and sips it, back to watching Zach in the pumpkin patch.

She whispers, "He's going to Blackthorne."

"I heard."

"He's only ten."

"I know."

She watches him put the G.I. Joe doll in the small of his back, almost exactly like a gun. Joe frowns and she sighs, "He's such a little copycat."

Zach's arms wrap around the pumpkin and he pulls, falling backwards.

Joe smiles a little and she turns her gaze towards him, "I don't know if I'll see him much after he leaves."

Joe nods, sipping his cider, making a face that says she's not alone in wanting something stronger.

She whispers, "If I see him again, he'll really be a part of it Joe."

He watches Zach get the leverage he needs, starting to roll the massive pumpkin. He turns to Catherine, "You can get out."

She shakes her head, "I can't."

He groans, "You don't even know who you work for, Catherine. Not really."

She stands, sliding her glasses back down, "And you do?"

Her words confuse him, she can tell. They always confuse him. But Zach is rolling the pumpkin towards them and when he sees Joe he stalls.

He looks between the two and then back at her, his features remain stoic, almost not showing his emotion. But his chin wobbling gives away his fear as he asks her, "Are you leaving again?"

She smiles, "Of course not. Joe was just stopping to say hi. Let's get that pumpkin home."

Zach smiles and Joe watches them leave. Zach rolls the pumpkin and she wonders how the hell they're getting that giant thing all the way home. If it doesn't sink the boat, they'll have to get it off of it, through the sand, all the way to the house.

Catherine's hand extends towards Zach, hesitating just above him for a few seconds before running her hands through his hair. She looks over her shoulder but Joe is already gone.