AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes?”
“If you’d never done anything with a man before, how did you… know what to do?”
My face goes up in flames remembering my countless hours of online searching and his questions about that dildo. He wants the truth, he said. “Whatever it is.”
“Um, I did some research after that first day you came over.” When I’m answered with silence, I glance over. Brow arched, he seems to be awaiting further explanation. “On the internet,” I clarify. “A lot of research.”
The sound of his laughter is so hearty that it startles me, making me swerve. That seems to amuse him even more.
“What?” I find myself chuckling. “I was…motivated.”
When he catches his breath, he swipes at his eyes and then settles his hand on my leg again. “Maybe we can do ‘research’ together,” he offers cheekily.
I don’t care if his laughter is at my expense. He’s happy, and he’s onto something. Threading my fingers through his, I give his hand a squeeze.
“We can do everything together.”
CHAPTER 21
Cameron
“I know what you’re doing, Jesse,” Pete warns from his ladder.
“What? It was an accident. I swear.” His brother flaps his hand in the air again, sending little globs of rotten apple to the ground this time rather than onto Pete’s shirt.
It was so not an accident, especially since Jesse nodded at me with a shit-eating grin before he barraged Pete with chunks of rotten fruit. I’m assuming this is what Pete meant when he lamented about family bonding. While my heart goes out to him, and I wonder how many repetitions of the birthday song it takes to get flannel clean, I’m still in awe of the dynamic I’ve been a spectator to all day here at Carver’s Orchard.
Pete, Jesse, and Miranda have squabbled since our arrival this morning, but I’ve yet to spot any signs of the indifference I’m used to with my family. The Carver siblings’ arguments are rather like a game or backhanded displays of affection. They seem to take turns over which one gets singled out.
Sitting on the grass under a tree with a plate of apple pie from Mrs. Carver, I watch in fascination as though it’s an engrossing television program. This is a family. This is what one can look like when they give a damn about each other.
Forking another bite of pie into my mouth helps fill the little corner of emptiness deep inside of me. Their banter is such a contrast from what I know and has me wistful. If my mother had left my dad and stayed in that little town that we passed through years ago that I once told Pete about, my life could have been very different.
It’s a silly fancy and probably wrong to think of my parents separating. Luckily, Pete and his brother have moved on to teasing Miranda about her long list of failed crafting hobbies, providing a distraction from my self-pity.
“Hey, I don’t care if it doesn’t end up in a museum. That pot was made with love,” she defends even while laughing at herself. “I knew you’d hate it.”
“If you knew I’d hate it, why on earth did you give it to me?”
“Well, that’s the standard I strive for with every gift I’ve ever given you, so I don’t see the reason for confusion here,” Jesse pipes in.
“No. Your gifts are just completely asinine, which means you put zero thought into them,” Pete grouses, hefting his picking bag down his ladder like some Roman god in blue jeans. “It’s no wonder Mom still does your laundry with the way you waste money.”
“That dinosaur egg excavation kit I got you last Christmas was a gift of knowledge and entertainment.”
“It was a fucking mess is what it was. I was finding clay particles on my kitchen floor for days.”
“Oh, my God! You actually did it? You do love me!”
Snorting, Pete releases the cord on his picking bag, dumping his apples into the tractor’s wagon. “I couldn’t just leave it sitting in the box. Call that what you need to.”
“Aw,” Miranda coos, ruffling his hair, earning her a scowl from Pete. “See? That’s why we painted a rainbow on your pot because you’re really not a grumpy-puss, you secret ray of sunshine.”
Oh…
Not a Pride flag. Wow.
Given what Pete told me when he nearly ran us off the road earlier, I don’t know why I’m surprised. He probably has no clue the pot on his desk looks like it has a Pride symbol on it.
