We end up in the living room. I pull her down on the couch with me and wrap my arm around her shoulders. Aubrey yawns and I feel bad about dragging her over here after we had such a long day. “Tired?”
“A little.” She wiggles her feet in front of us. “We did a lot of walking.”
I reach down and draw her feet into my lap, gently working my thumbs into the arch of one foot and then the other.
She moans softly and leans back against the end of the couch.
“You think that’s why she was so testy?” I ask as my fingers keep working.
“Probably.” She opens her eyes and watches me for a few seconds. “I think she was really looking forward to the extra visit and was afraid her period would ruin it.”
I’m so not ready for any of this.
“I finally heard from Lauren. I guess this started a while ago, but it’s not a regular thing, so she didn’t bother telling me.”
“That makes sense.”
“Does it?”
Aubrey shrugs. “Some girls are really secretive about that stuff. It’s embarrassing to them. Some don’t care. I wondered if that’s what was going on today, but I didn’t want to ask and make it worse.”
“You did?” Shit, why hadn’t it occurred to me?
“Well, the mood swings. The tears…I’ve had some experience there.” She chuckles softly.
“She’s my little girl. I’m not ready for this,” I finally admit.
“Mother nature waits for no man,” she teases.
“I mean, she’s too young.” I realize my hands have stopped moving. Aubrey slides her feet out of my lap and sits up, facing me.
“She’s growing up.” Aubrey pauses. Bites her lip. “I didn’t want to say anything, but I guess you missed her flirting with Griff yesterday?”
My head snaps up. “What? I’ll kill—”
“Stop right there.” She presses her palm against my chest. “He didn’t encourage her at all. Believe me. He tried really hard to put her off without being mean.”
Yeah, I’ve known Griff a while and that sounds exactly like how he’d handle that situation. “Thank God it was him and not some other asshole.”
“Right, but my point was, she’s not a little kid.”
“I heard you trying to steer her away from boy talk.”
She shakes her head. “Not for your sake. For hers.” There’s an undercurrent in her voice that makes me think for some reason, this is important to her. Personal almost. Definitely need to explore that later.
“Anyway, Lauren asked if I wanted Maddy for Thanksgiving.”
“Oh, that’s great! I’ve never asked what you guys do for the holidays.”
I explain the arrangement we laid out in our custody agreement.
“Does that mean you won’t have her for Christmas?”
“No, she said we’ll leave everything as is.”
“That’s great.” She seems genuinely pleased and it’s nice to have someone who isn’t my mother or brother to talk about this stuff with for a change. Aubrey’s not jealous. Doesn’t see my daughter as a threat or competition for my affection. She listens without judgment and offers helpful insight.
I’m already half in love with her and this…this might push me right over the edge.
“Are you hungry?” Sully asks.
“Actually, yeah. I’ll see if Maddy’s awake.”
I run down the hall, but she’s still sound asleep. At least she looks more comfortable now. Quietly I sneak into her room and turn off the heating pad, setting it on her nightstand in case she needs it later.
“She’s out cold,” I say when I find Sully in the kitchen.
He hesitates. “I’ll wrap up her dinner and feed her when she wakes up.”
Rain pelts the windows, dashing our plans to grill outside on the patio.
“Looks like we’re eating in,” Sully quips.
“Sounds good to me.”
We cook together side-by-side, easily talking about the good parts of our day at the fair and our plans for tomorrow.
I rub up against his side, peering down at his chopping skills. “You’re good at this.”
“My mother insisted her boys be self-sufficient.” He winks at me. “A gift to our future wives.”
There’s a flutter in my stomach at the way he explains his talent. “I knew I liked your mom.”
He wiggles his eyebrows. “I do laundry too.”
I bump him with my hip.
The teasing smile slides off his face. “I like having you here, Aubrey.”
“I like being here with you.”
The timer on the stove beeps at us, utterly ruining the moment.
Dinner’s quiet. The scents of sizzling steak and sautéed mushrooms doesn’t draw Maddy out of her room. After dinner, I check on her and she’s still snoring softly.
“I’ve never seen her nap before,” Sully says. “She’s always been extremely anti-napping. It’s for babies, you know.”
Nervous laughter bubbles out of me. The man’s been inside me for God’s sake, but it still feels weird to talk about this with him. “When I was her age, I used to get really bad cramps. A nap always helped.”
“Oh.”
I shrug. “My mother’s solution was to exercise more, but I ended up passing out once. She left me alone to nap after that.”
“That’s crazy.”
“I told you we’re not close. Celia’s the one who took care of me and explained stuff. My mom’s solution was to lose weight to stop getting my period.”
His face twists in outrage. “That’s not only stupid, it’s dangerous.”
“Looks have always been more important to her than anything else.” I shrug again—it’s getting to be a nervous tic around this subject.
We end up back in front of the television, flipping around for something to watch.
“I swear some nights our entertainment is just reading movie blurbs and watching trailers on Netflix,” I joke. “Celia can never commit.”
He snorts. “Jake can’t sit still long enough to watch anything. If I don’t choose wisely, he’ll get up and start pacing.”
“How’d you two end up so different?” I say it teasingly, but a weight seems to press down on Sully. His smile fades and he drops the remote next to him.
“We’re actually half-brothers.”
“Really? You look so much alike I never thought about it.”
He hmms and flicks at a loose thread of denim by his knee. “My dad died before I was born.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry.”
He shrugs as if it’s something in the past he’s already dealt with. “A friend of his married my mother. Gave me his name. They had Jake about a year after I was born. So, it’s not like I ever knew any different.” There’s a wry twist to his lips. “Well, he reminded me I wasn’t his frequently enough, so I didn’t forget.”
“That’s pretty shitty since he married your mom when she was pregnant.”
“Yeah, he was shitty in a lot of ways.”
He stares straight ahead, and I wait silently to see if he wants to continue.
“Did you…did your mom leave him?”
“No. He’s dead.”
“Oh.” I don’t bother saying I’m sorry this time. “Your mom’s a strong woman. It sounds like she’s been through a lot.”
“She has. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”
An eerie tone creeps into our moment. One where it seems I have a lot of puzzle pieces in front of me but no idea how they fit together.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
I had no intention of turning our conversation so heavy. Or dredging up anything from my past. Those secrets should stay buried. They’re not important to who I am now.
“Come here,” I say, pulling her closer. She tucks her feet up under her and crosses her arms over her chest. “Are you cold?”
“A little.”
“Here,” I reach behind me and drag a blanket over both of us.
“Oooo, it’s so soft and fuzzy.” She runs her hands over the fleece and tucks it up around her shoulders.
“Do you want me to grab you a sweatshirt?”
“No, this is good.”
My gaze drifts to the screen and I pick up the remote again. “Want to watch some of this show with me? Maddy asked to watch it, but I wasn’t sure if it was age-appropriate.”
A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “You’re a bit of an old-fashioned dad, aren’t you? She has a TV in her room.”
I shrug. “It has a parental lock, so she can’t access stuff rated above a certain level.”
“Ahhh, kids are smart though and know how to go around those things.”
“I’m sure. But for my sanity, let’s pretend that’s not true.”
I flick the button to start the show and while it’s engaging enough, I’m more interested in staring at Aubrey.
“Why are you watching me?” she asks without turning her head.
“Because you’re pretty.” I cup her jaw, turning her head my way. “You know that, right?”
Her lashes flutter and she won’t meet my eyes. “I guess so.”
“Aubrey.”
“I don’t feel compelled to wear a bag over my head or anything—”
Demonstrations have always worked better for me than words, so I cut her off with a kiss. She falls right into it, reaching up to stroke my face. “You’re the sexy one,” she murmurs against my mouth.
I’m breathing hard when I pull away, touching my forehead to hers.
“Yes,” she continues, running her fingers under the edge of my T-shirt. “That shirt you wore today was really sexy. I felt a little guilty for wanting to pop all the buttons loose and maul you at the fair.”
I like this bolder-says-what’s-on-her-mind version of Aubrey. A lot. “Tell me more.”
She swoops in, kissing along my jaw. “I would’ve like to ride the Ferris Wheel and do some over-the-pants stuff while we—”
My mouth crashing into hers cuts off the rest of her sentence. We tangle together under the blanket and I shove my hand down her yoga pants, slipping into her underwear.
“Sully,” she whispers against my lips. “What are you doing?”
“Shhh.”
“Madison’s right—”
“That’s why the…shhh.” I pick my head up and stare down the hall. “We’ll hear her stirring. Trust me.”
She lets out a soft whispery laugh and kisses my chin.
Even though she said she was cold earlier, her skin burns hot under my roaming fingers. Silky and warm. I slip my hand between her thighs, teasing and playing with her.
“Sully,” she gasps as I thrust two fingers inside her. Her eyes close, head falling against the back of the couch, leaving her neck vulnerable to my mouth.
“Can you come nice and quiet for me?” I whisper in her ear.
“Not…if you…not if you keep doing that.”
I grin. “Doing what?” I push in a little deeper, curling my fingers to graze over her G-spot over and over. “What am I doing, Aubrey?”
Her head rolls from side to side, but she can’t seem to find any words. Twisting my wrist, I grind the heel of my hand against her clit.
Her mouth forms this perfect O and she sputters. “Oh, shit. That’s good. Right there.”
“Quiet, remember?”
In response, she reaches down and grabs my cock. Even through my jeans, her touch burns and without thinking, my hips jerk.
I push my fingers into her again, rubbing and grinding. On a mission to make her breath catch and her eyes roll back in her head. Her thighs tremble and her other hand clutches my shirt. Her back arches and her entire body jerks against me.
“That’s it.” The agony and joy on her face has me grinning like an idiot. Her orgasm is long and steady. Her whimpers faint.
After a minute I withdraw my hand from her pants and she blinks. Big brown eyes stare up at me, soft and hazy. “You’re dangerous,” she whispers.
Down the hall, Maddy’s door opens, reminding me we’re absolutely not alone. “Give me a second.” I press a quick kiss to her cheek before hurrying in the kitchen to wash up and calm down.
Aubrey’s still alone in the living room when I return. She scans me head to toe, stopping on my crotch. Her mouth quirks. “Come here.”
“Did she go back in her room?”
“I think she’s in the bathroom.”
I sit next to her and she tosses half the blanket over my lap. “Thank you,” she whispers against my ear. “Next time’s all about you.”
“I plan to collect.”
The bathroom door opens and a few seconds later, Maddy pads into the living room. “I’m hungry,” she announces.
“Do you feel better?” I ask.
Instead of getting pissed like before, this time she just looks tired. Her gaze strays to Aubrey. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Her eyes narrow at how close Aubrey and I are on the couch and I brace myself for another meltdown.
Aubrey flips the blanket off her lap and moves over, patting the space between us. “Come. Sit.”
To my surprise, she snuggles up to Aubrey. I think Aubrey’s shocked too because it takes her a second to adjust and slip an arm around Maddy.
“I wrapped your steak up. You want to eat it out here and watch your movie?” I ask.
She turns and stares at me for a few seconds, fingers tapping against her leg. “Are you going to make fun of Jareth again?”
I raise my right hand. “Nope. I swear there will be no King Tightpants jokes.”
“Daaaad.” Finally, she cracks a smile.
“Okay. No more jokes.”
“Can I have steak and eggs?” She wrinkles her nose. “Instead of whatever vegetables you probably made?”
“Sure.”
She follows me out to the kitchen and leans her hip against the counter, watching me pull items from the fridge.
“I talked to your mom.”
She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. At first, it looks like a defensive posture. Until I notice her bottom lip quivering. “Did you tell her I went all hormonal teenager on you?”
Shit. My plan was to tell her about Thanksgiving, not have her think I called her mom to complain about her.
“No. Not at all. I did have some questions for her, though.” I see no point in lying about it.
Maddy rolls her eyes. “Did she tell you I’m dramatic and complain too much?”
“Uh, not exactly.”
“Yeah right,” she grumbles. There’s the bottom lip wobble again. And now her eyes shine too.
“Come here.” I pull her in for a hug and at first, she’s resistant, but finally, she relents and hugs me back just as tight. “I love you no matter what, Maddy. You know that, right?”
She slides her cheek against my shirt, in what I think is a yes.
“Your mom loves you too—”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“Madison. You know that’s not true.”
A strangled sob comes out of her and I keep rocking her back and forth. A lot like what I used to when she was little and hurt herself.
“I know you’re going through a lot of changes—”
“Please, not the changes speech.”
“But,” I continue, ignoring that. “You can always talk to me.”
“Fine,” she says, louder this time. “I hate this and don’t want any of it. It sucks.”
Yes, yes it does.
“And,” she continues, really on a roll now. “I’m the first one in my class who got it. Mom sent me with a pad in my pocket one day. And I was so scared it would fall out that I kept touching it to check it was there. So my teacher thought I had a bomb or something on me and made me hand over what was in my pocket. She kept badgering me in front of everyone. So I slapped the pad in her hand and everyone saw it and made fun of me for like a week!”
Well. That was a lot to absorb.
How bad do
I want to fly to Florida right now and have a chat with this teacher for embarrassing Maddy like that?
“That does suck. I’m sorry, Maddy.”
“Mom went and yelled at Mrs. Smith. I’m so happy I don’t have to see her at school anymore.”
“That’s good.”
“Mom keeps lecturing me about babies and staying away from boys so I don’t get pregnant while I’m in high school like she did.”
Ouch. That’s an uncomfortable topic.
I’ve spent a lot of time being pissed at Lauren for not telling me she was pregnant. But listening to Maddy now, I get a small glimpse of how Lauren probably felt. Alone and afraid. I would’ve helped her, but I was still a kid myself and she was so far away.
I hug Maddy a little tighter.
When she quiets, I glance down at her red, tear-streaked face and silently lead her to the sink to wash her face.
“Better?”
She sniffle-hiccups.
“Still hungry?”
“Yes.” Her gaze slides to the freezer. “Aubrey said there was ice cream.”
“After dinner.”
A dramatic sigh accompanies her eye-roll. “Fine.”
“Your mom and I talked about Thanksgiving,” I try again.
“Ugh. I don’t wanna go skiing—”
“Right. You’re going to come here instead.”
“Really?” she asks with a note of caution in her voice. Again she sniffles. “But doesn’t that mean I won’t get to come for Christmas again?”
“No. You’ll still come for Christmas.”
Finally, something makes her smile. She bounces and clasps her hands like she’s praying. “Please, please let it snow this year!”
“I thought you didn’t like snow?”
“I love snow. Doesn’t mean I want to slide down a mountain of it with nothing between my butt and the ground except some skinny sticks strapped to my feet.”
I chuckle at her description.
“I want to build a snowman, roll around in the snow for a few minutes, then come inside and drink hot chocolate.”
Now I’m laughing even harder. “I’ll do my best to make that happen.”
“Oh, no Sarah! Don’t do it. One mistake’s gonna lead you on a journey of suffering and confusion!” Maddy shouts at the television, giggling through every word.
Warnings and Wildfires Page 23
