Love Unexpected
Page 19
“Are the others here?” Amber then questions.
“They should be getting home from school any moment.” He answers.
When I still don’t move Dorian sighs. “Why don’t you let Mom and Dad know that we’re home so they can come out?”
Amber nods and then rushes off to find them.
“Come on, Little Sister. You’ve got a lot to explore.” Dorian pushes as he holds out his hand towards me.
I nod and bite my lip as I grab my bag before placing my hand in his.
He tugs me from the truck before walking me over to the side of the house where there was a fenced-in field and large barn that matched the house.
I watch him as he climbs up onto the fence before letting out a shrill whistle.
Within seconds the pounding of horses’ hooves can be heard. Sure enough, five stunning horses rush to greet us.
“Don’t be shy.” Dorian laughs as he pats the horses on their noses.
I reluctantly move closer while reaching my hand out towards a small chestnut mare.
She nudges my hand with her nose as I laugh.
My laughter quickly dies as I sigh. “Avery would have loved this place.”
“Who’s Avery?” Dorian questions as he moves closer to me.
“He’s…well we grew up together,” I reply sadly. “He was like a brother to me, but he’s gone now, and I doubt we’ll ever see each other again.”
I reach up to touch the bear on my necklace. “He made this for me when we were kids.”
“Well, I’ll warn you now. You’re going to have a few other brothers to contend with here, seven more to be exact.” Dorian announces with a smirk.
“Seriously…?” I laugh in disbelief.
He nods. “Yep, like I said before you’re the first girl.”
“I still wish Avery could be here.” I sigh.
Dorian sighs and then wraps his arm around my shoulders as we watch the horses wander away to eat the tall grass in the field.
“You’re going to like it here,” Dorian promises after a few moments of silence.
Amber joins us again while bouncing on her heels. “They’re coming.”
Dorian grins before dropping his arm from my shoulder. Without warning, Amber grabs my hand and begins tugging me back around the house as Dorian takes off at a full run in front of us.
As we walk around the corner, I watch as Dorian greets a group of guys.
Each of them glances in my direction before glancing back at the driveway.
A familiar figure appears suddenly. His head hangs low as he walks towards the house slowly. It was Avery.
He moves closer without noticing the others as they glance between us with knowing smirks.
Amber releases my hand before pushing me in his direction. “Go.”
I take a few steps forward before dropping my bag at my feet. This moment didn’t seem real at all. My best friend was right in front of me again.
Finally, Avery looks up at the others before he looks in my direction.
His bag falls from his shoulders as he stops walking.
In seconds I take off at a full run towards him while he opens his arms to me. I cry as I jump into his arms before he lifts me off of the ground while spinning me around.
“Is this real?” I whisper as he places me back down on my feet.
“I don’t know.” He replies as he places his hands on either side of my face.
He wipes away my tears with his thumbs while I reach up to wipe away the ones streaming down his cheeks.
Our moment is interrupted by the young couple who had taken Avery away.
“It’s good to see the two of you back together again,” Charlotte exclaims happily as she claps her hands together.
“Yes, it is.” August agrees as he wraps his arm around Charlotte’s waist.
“You never have to worry about being separated again.” Charlotte then promises. “You’re finally brother and sister.”
Without hesitating, I release Avery to hug Charlotte tightly.
She holds me as I cry into her shoulder.
“I can’t believe you guys didn’t tell me that this was happening.” Avery laughs as he hugs August.
“We wanted it to be a surprise,” Charlotte replies as I pull away from her.
“You have no idea what this means to us,” I whisper while wiping away my tears once more.
“We were in your position once,” August replies while pulling Charlotte close again. “The only difference was that I was in love with her.”
“After seeing you two together, we couldn’t stand to watch you be separated from each other. It broke our hearts that we couldn’t take you right then and there, Isabelle.” Charlotte adds.
“Did you have any more trouble with that Mrs. Reynolds after my call?” August asks Dorian.
“Nope, in fact, she was quite helpful after your little talk,” Dorian replies.
“She was a terrible woman.” Amber chimes in.
“You have no idea.” Charlotte breathes out. “I swear she enjoyed watching these two’s hearts break.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Avery replies while intertwining his fingers with mine. “That woman hated us being anywhere around each other.”
“Well, that won’t matter here as long as you two promise to behave yourselves.” August states as he looks at me and then Avery before glancing down at our hands.
“This is strictly platonic.” Avery laughs. “We’ve always done this for support. Nothing more, right Izzy?”
“Exactly…” I reply with a nod before continuing. “He’s not my type anyway.”
Avery laughs and then pushes his shoulder against mine playfully. “Hey…”
I poke his stomach and snort. “You’ve had too many doughnuts for my taste.”
Avery gives me his best dramatic look of shock before he gets a mischievous look in his eye. “I can’t believe you went there, Sister Bear.”
I laugh and then back away with my hands up in the air. “I can’t help it.”
Everyone around us fades into the background as Avery stalks after me as his grin grows. I continue to laugh before I turn and take off running.
For the first time in a very long time, I laugh wholeheartedly as Avery gives chase.
I dodge Avery until I skid to a stop in front of Charlotte and August. I suddenly bow my head embarrassed that I had forgotten all about them.
“I’m sorry.” I apologize quickly.
“There’s no need to apologize.” Charlotte insists. “Be happy. Do whatever makes you happy. Laughter like that is exactly why we’ve created this place.”
“Thank you,” I reply.
She nods and then waves towards Dorian. “Could you and Amber show Isabelle to her new room and the rest of the house?”
“I’ll do it. I think Isabelle could use a little girl time.” Amber insists.
Without waiting for a response from me, she grabs my hand and then tugs me towards the front door and away from everyone else.
####