Our soft groans and sighs melted into the mountain air as we all reached our peak together.
Chapter eight
Greg
“You already gave me a gift,” Anelya said, as she joined me in the small kitchen the next morning.
I was making waffles on the waffle maker we’d picked up on the way to her cabin the night before. “I’m just using a mix,” I said.
She laughed. “I know there wasn’t a waffle maker here.”
I shrugged. “So we made a stop on the way.”
She wound her arms around me as I poured batter into the appliance. “Burris is in the shower. I was going to go in there, but smelled waffles.”
The smile on my face was starting to feel familiar, though I was not generally a person who smiled a lot.
Soon the three of us were eating breakfast back on the back patio. I kept remembering what it was like to be with her here the night before. I was grateful the cabin had a king sized bed, but was already thinking about getting an extra large bed for ourhome, in case she wanted to stay with us for some nights, or even permanently.
“I like starting my days like this,” she said.
“So do I,” Burris said.
I nodded my agreement. “We were thinking we’d drive you to Knoxville today with our pickup and get some of your stuff, if you like. We don’t have to go into the office.”
She smiled. “I am off until Tuesday. Are you sure you can spare the time?”
“We want to spend our time with you, whenever you can. We can work our hours around your shifts.” I smiled at her.
She stared out at the beautiful scenery, then reached to cover each of our hands. “Thank you. That sounds nice. I’ll treat for lunch and gas, though.”
I glanced at Burris as we got up to help her clear the plates. There was no way we’d let her pay for anything. But I was starting to understand that I had to reign in my instincts if I wanted to keep this wonderful woman. No need to announce that things would go my way. I would just quietly pay.
“I see that,” she said. “I’m still paying.”
Burris and I both laughed.
***
“Dad?” Burris was riding with Anelya to our home to get the truck an hour later, and I was driving the rental car behind them. A call came through from my father, from the cruise ship. “We’ve been wanting to talk to you.”
“We extended the cruise, but I did call Rhonda,” his voice sounded far away. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know I had twins.”
“Their mother never contacted you?”
There was silence. “I sent her a lot of money after our brief affair, as an apology for ending it so quickly.”
“Are you serious?” He really thought that was an okay way to end an affair?
“It wasn’t smart. I blocked her contact after that then, too. Can we talk about this when I get back?”
“Dad, people have been hurt.”
“I know. You and Burris should help anyone with anything they need, including the twins if you can.”
The phone cut off soon after that and I was shaking my head as we pulled up to the house. So we had to clean up this mess. I know my Dad was a better man now, and Burris’s mom Rachel was a big part of that, but he’d always taken money for granted. He was lucky that he’d had my mom and Rachel in his life.
I think having Burris as a friend then as a stepbrother helped me see past the entitlement my family had in this town. My mother and Rachel had helped me be a better person, too.
