Wide Open Spaces (Shooting Stars #2) - Aurora Rose Reynolds Page 0,25
long breath, I repeat, “Me too.” Silently wondering why my stomach feels the way it does.
“Zach has my cell.” He steps back, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. “Get it from him and we’ll make plans for you all to come over to dinner one night. I live in a nuthouse surrounded by mostly women, but it’s clean and smells good. Plus, they’re always cooking something that nine times out of ten taste good, so I can’t complain too much.”
I smile at that. My dad would love knowing his friend is married with girls. He would definitely think it’s some kind of karma for the way Paul used to get around.
“I will definitely call and set something up,” I agree, giving him one more smile.
“We better go before the bear wakes. We’ll catch up soon.” He lifts his chin to someone behind me then turns away, taking a step back I watch him and the boys start to load into the truck then turn to look for Aubrey coming face to face with Zach.
“We’ll be back soon,” His eyes drop the length of my body and his voice softens. “Get inside, baby, and take care of my girl.”
“Don’t call me baby.” I narrow my eyes, watching his lips twitch before he pulls his gaze from mine. “Stay with Shel, gorgeous.”
“I will, Dad,” Aubrey agrees, as I feel his fingers slide over mine briefly before he turns and starts to walk away.
“Make sure the boys stay away from that Bear Zach Watters.” I call out to his back as he heads for the truck.
“Will do baby.” He mutters back without looking at me and I huff in annoyance hearing Aubrey giggle behind me.
Turning I smile at Aubrey wrap my arm around her shoulders and lead her towards my house. As soon as we reach the steps and I know no one can hear us, I dip my face to her ear, and whisper, “Den is super cute.”
“I know,” she whispers back, and with that, I open the door, smiling at my feet, then get to work cleaning up the mess the bear left behind.
“Mom!” Hunter yells into the house, before the front door closes loudly and the sound of his feet hit the hardwood in the hall.
“In the kitchen!” I yell back, tying up the garbage bag Aubrey and I filled with smashed dishes from the table and opened boxes of food from the cupboards. Zach was right; the house wasn’t too bad considering there was a bear in it. Most of the damage was in the kitchen, where the bear decided to have the breakfast we left on the table before going through the cupboards, where it had obviously smelled food.
“Aubrey, your dad said to tell you him and Steven are home,” Hunter says, coming into the kitchen.
“Okay,” she replies, then looks at me. “Do you want me to help you with anything else before I go?”
“No, honey.” I smile, handing over the garbage bag to Hunter so he can take it out the back door to dumpster at the back of the house. “Thanks for helping me with everything.”
“It was fun.” She smiles and makes her way over to the sink to wash her hands.
“Well, next time, I say we do something a little more fun when we hang out, like make cookies or bake a cake.”
“Really?” she breathes, as her hands pause under the water and her eyes lock on mine.
“Absolutely,” I reply softly, studying her. Wondering why she seems so surprised. “I really enjoyed spending time with you today.”
“Me too.” She takes her eyes from mine then turns off the sink and ducks her head as she moves past me toward the front door. I don’t know what’s wrong, but something about her reaction isn’t sitting well with me.
“Aubrey,” I call gently, while I watch as she shoves her feet into her sneakers that she had taken off before we mopped.
“Yeah?” she answers to the floor. I feel myself frown, not sure what to do, because it seems like she’s trying to get away from me as quickly as possible.
“Thanks again, honey.”
“Sure.” She stands, opens the door, and steps out onto the porch without looking at me. When she’s down the front steps, I bite my lip then call her name again. Her eyes come to me, and the pain I see there makes my stomach hurt.
“Come back anytime, and I really mean that. If you see my van outside, you’re welcome to come over.”