Page 114 of Indigo Ridge (The Edens 1)

“Okay.” He kissed my hair. “See you later. Dinner?”

I nodded.

“Have a good day, baby.”

“You too,” I murmured, the words coming on autopilot.

It wasn’t until he was out the door and the rumble of his truck vanished that I shook myself out of my own head and loaded the dishwasher. Then I went to the bedroom and grabbed a load of laundry.

I worked around the house for a couple of hours, waiting to transfer my clothes to the dryer. I dusted the living room. I vacuumed the bedrooms. I mopped the floors.

Should I move in? Maybe that question was unnecessary.

Every pair of panties I owned was beneath this roof. Most were in the hamper, or the vicinity of the hamper. But the others were stowed in a drawer in the closet. He’d given me three drawers, half of the dresser. The same was true in the bathroom.

I cleaned. I brought groceries here after work. The Durango was parked out front whenever I was on duty and driving the station’s Explorer. All that was missing was my mail in the mailbox.

Except I knew that if this fell apart, I had a place to go.

Deep down, maybe that was the problem. Maybe that was the reason I couldn’t find myself immediately saying yes.

Because he still hadn’t said those critical three words. Neither had I.

Each time he kissed me, each time he made love to me, I felt them.

So why couldn’t I give them a voice?

By the time the dryer dinged and my clean clothes were in a drawer or hanging on a closet rod, I still wasn’t sure what to do. So I headed into town to visit the man whose bear hugs always grounded my feet.

Pops opened the front door to his house before I’d even shut off my Durango. When I stepped out, he held up a hand, halting my steps on the sidewalk. “Now I’m going to warn you right now, Winnie. I had bacon for breakfast. The house and my clothes reek of it. I know it’s not on the diet plan, but dang it, I’m going to have it once a week. Maybe twice.”

“Okay.” I laughed and walked into his outstretched arms. As expected, one hug and I was steadier. “How are you feeling today?”

“Productive. Mowed the lawn this morning. Picked up around the house. Now I get to relax with my best girl.”

“You’d better be talking about me.”

He chuckled, slinging an arm around my shoulders to bring me inside. “You know I am.”

We settled on the back deck, watching the river flow. The lazy swirl, the lap of ripples along the banks, was as soothing as a sunset on Griff’s porch.

My porch. It could be my porch.

“You look nice today,” Pops said.

“Really?” I was in a simple white tank top, denim cu

toffs and tennis shoes.

“It’s not your clothes, sweetheart.” His eyes softened. “Are you happy here? In Quincy?”

“I am. Quincy agrees with me.”

“Or maybe it’s Griffin.”

“Maybe.” A smile tugged at my mouth. “He asked me to move in with him.”

“Yeah? And what did you say?”