A California Christmas (Silver Springs #7) - Brenda Novak Page 0,61
the few seconds she had before Aiyana returned to take stock of the injuries to his face now that it was easier to see the bruising. “You look better than I thought you would.”
He took a sip of his coffee, drinking it black. “That fight last night was nothing.”
“Your mother won’t think it was nothing when she sees your face.” Emery bit her bottom lip as she considered how Aiyana might feel at learning her son had been hurt trying to protect her. She didn’t want Aiyana to regret being kind enough to take her in. “What are you going to tell her?”
“That some jackass at the bar picked a fight with me.”
She felt a wave of relief. “You won’t mention me?”
“I don’t see why I’d need to.”
Their eyes met and held for several seconds, and she knew that, like her, he was probably remembering their time in his bed, especially when his eyes ran over her before returning to his coffee. “I appreciate that,” she said.
“Dallas!” Aiyana yelled as she crossed the living room on her way to the stairs that led to his room.
He cleared his throat and looked toward the door. “Right here.”
“Oh. Good. You’re up,” his mother said, even though she hadn’t quite reached the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”
“Do you have to ask?” he replied. “I’m always hungry.”
She stopped as soon as she crossed the threshold and saw his face. “What happened?”
“I got into a little scuffle last night. That’s all.”
“That’s all? You’re going to look like you’ve been mugged in my wedding photos!”
Emery winced and opened her mouth to explain what really happened. After what Dallas had done for her, she couldn’t let him bear the brunt of his mother’s displeasure. But Dallas shot her a quelling glance. “If you think I look bad, you should see the other guy,” he joked.
Frowning, Aiyana lowered her voice. “You know better than this...”
He arched his eyebrows. “This one couldn’t be helped,” he said, suddenly serious and surprisingly firm.
The edge to his voice indicated he wouldn’t be questioned, and Aiyana backed off. “Okay. You’re an adult now. I’ll stay out of it. Just tell me this—is the other guy okay? He isn’t in the hospital, is he?”
“He might be,” Dallas allowed.
Emery was shocked by his honesty, but continued to turn pancakes on the griddle as she heard Aiyana say, “Oh, Dallas.”
Emery couldn’t withstand the disappointment in her voice, couldn’t let him take the blame. He didn’t really deserve it. “It was my fault,” she admitted. “Some guy was bothering me, and when Dallas tried to get him to stop, he started a fight.”
Aiyana’s expression immediately relaxed. “Oh, that’s different,” she said, putting a reassuring hand on Emery’s arm. “Don’t worry. I just panicked for a second. If there’s a fight around, somehow my son always finds it.”
“That’s not true,” Dallas argued. “At least not anymore. It’s been years since I’ve been in a fight.”
Her face took on a sardonic expression. “I guess I’m still traumatized.”
Liam and Bentley came thundering down the stairs at once, shoving each other as they entered the kitchen, each fighting to be first.
“Hey,” Dallas barked when they bumped the table, causing his coffee to slosh over the side of his cup.
“Sorry, bro.” Liam pushed Bentley off him since Bentley had landed in his lap. Then he leaned forward to get a better look at Dallas’s face. “Whoa, what happened to you?”
“Ran into a door,” Dallas said flippantly.
“No, you didn’t,” Bentley said as though he wasn’t that gullible and slid into his own seat. “You were in a fight, weren’t you?”
Dallas took another sip of his coffee. “Not a big one.”
“What happened?” Liam asked.
“Doesn’t matter now,” Dallas replied.
“Really? That’s it?” Bentley was obviously disappointed. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
“Yes, it is,” Aiyana broke in. “Let’s leave it there for now.”
Bentley shot her a disgruntled glance. “Fine, what do we have to do today?” he asked as he helped himself to the pitcher of orange juice already on the table.
“Cal needs you to help clean things up at the ranch.” Aiyana got some plates from the cupboard. “We only have one more week until the wedding.”
“What will we be cleaning?” Liam asked.
“The grounds. Mowing, weed-eating, trimming. That sort of thing.”
“I sure hope I don’t have to muck out the barn again,” Bentley grumbled.
“When we finish, can we go bouldering with Dallas?” Liam asked. “He said he’d take us while he’s home.”
“Not today,” Aiyana said. “By the time we finish at the ranch, it’ll be dark.”