AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Scarlett hides her face in her hands, trying to stifle her laughter. Ophelia Crawford is…well, she's something. She's been giving this town hell for eighty-odd years. I think she was born with hellfire in her soul. When she dies, the whole damn town will mourn her.
"You're such a good boy, Finn." Ophelia pats me on the arm. I'm pretty sure she's trying to cop a feel of my bicep. "I'm glad to see you finally grew out of that awkward stage."
"Awkward stage?" Scarlett's hands disappear from in front of her face so fast they're a blur of motion. "What awkward phase?"
"Braces and bad hair, dear." Ophelia shudders. "Poor boy didn't have a lick of style and had those god-awful glasses to boot. He looked like that ridiculous boy with the weird name in the red and white pajamas everyone is always trying to find in the picture books."
"The ridiculous boy with the weird name in pajamas?" Scarlett repeats, frowning as she tries to figure out who her aunt is talking about. "Do you meanWaldo, Aunt Ophelia?"
"Yes! That's the one." Ophelia pats me on the arm again. "He looked like Waldo. And now look at him."
I chuckle ruefully, rubbing the back of my neck. Of course she remembers exactly what I looked like when I was twelve but can't remember Waldo's fucking name. "That was twenty years ago, Miss Ophelia."
"Scarlett was a round little dumpling with frizzy hair when she was a girl. She stuttered terribly."
"Aunt Ophelia!" Scarlett groans.
"I bet she was beautiful," I say softly.
"Of course she was. You were both adorable children. You were just awkward. It happens when your peers are intimidated by you, you know. Finn was always too smart for his peers, and Scarlett was always too kind for hers." She glances between the two of us. "You two will make pretty babies regardless."
Scarlett nearly swallows her tongue.
"We will make pretty babies," I agree, staring intently at Scarlett. Fuck, the thought of this woman round with my baby, or cuddling my baby in her arms…. I want it with an intensity that's foreign to me. Iachefor it, almost as badly as I ache for her.
The more time I spend with her, the more I crave her, the more I ache for her. This isn't a temporary feeling, something easily sated or fucked away. It'll take a lifetime to work her out of my system. I fear even that won't be long enough. I didn't fall for this curvy little bookworm. I crash-landed into love with her.
"Okay!" Scarlett cries, hopping to her feet. Twin spots of color stain her cheeks. Her pulse skitters in her throat, dancing against the pale expanse of skin. I'm learning to read her though, and this isn't anxiety. It's desire. "It's time for Finn to go home."
I immediately rise to my feet.
Ophelia holds her hand out, silently demanding that I help her up. I gently pull her to her feet, being careful not to hurt her. She's tiny, her skin thin over her frail bones. Her spirit may be as fierce as ever, but her body is failing her. She's in renal failure. With dialysis, she has a few years at most. She needs a transplant, but because of her age, she's low on the list. Healthcare is a lottery sometimes, and the elderly get left behind.
"Thank you for dinner, Miss Ophelia," I murmur. "It was lovely."
"You're welcome, dear. Next time, I'll make apple pie. And you can teach me how to hack into the Sheriff's Department. They have all the good gossip." She winks at me and then shuffles up the stairs, leaving me alone with Scarlett.
"You know she's serious, right?" Scarlett asks once her bedroom door closes.
I laugh quietly, reaching for her hand. "Walk me to the door, pretty baby."
"I'm serious, Finn. Now that you've hacked mahjong, she'll have you hacking into everything."
"Let me worry about that," I murmur, stopping at the front door. "I've got tricks up my sleeve that'll satisfy your aunt without breaking any laws, pretty baby. Besides, she's harmless."
Scarlett snorts.
"You're fucking cute when you're worried about me."
"Maybe I'm worried about her going to jail."
"Nah, you're worried about me."
"Maybe," she admits in a whisper, looking up at me through her lashes.
"Yeah, you are," I growl, reeling her in toward me until she's pressed up against my chest.
"What are you doing?"
