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Aria held her hand out to the dog, allowing Bella to sniff at her fingers before she gave Aria’s hand a soft lick.
“Of course she does,” Layla said indignantly as she crouched beside Bella with her arm curled around the dog’s neck. “She loves me. Don’t you, Bella?”
The dog turned her head and gave Layla’s cheek a lick. Apparently she did.
“I want to be a doggy doctor when I grow up,” Layla announced as she stood up, her fingers still buried in the scruff of Bella’s neck. “Just like Uncle Gareth is a people doctor.”
“She’s a beautiful dog,” Aria said, smiling down at the pair.
Layla nodded. “And she can do tricks too.”
“How about we go into the house, and you can ask Grandma for treats for Bella,” Gareth suggested. “Because we’re hungry.”
Layla gave a nod, then spun around and led Bella into the house. The rest of them followed behind her, and Gareth inhaled the rich aroma that greeted them. His stomach growled in anticipation of the meal that was to come, even though he’d had a hotdog at the game. After hanging up his jacket and removing his boots, Gareth went to greet his mom in the kitchen and offer his help.
“Why don’t you light the fire in the dining room?” his mom suggested. “Your dad got a call that he had to take, so he didn’t get that done.”
“Sure thing.” Gareth kissed the top of her head, then went into the living room, calling for Jackson and Wade to come with him. “Help me carry some wood to the dining room.”
“You too weak to carry it yourself?” Jackson asked.
“Have you already forgotten that I’m the brains of this operation? You and Wade are the brawn.”
“Dude,” Wade protested. “You promised you wouldn’t hold our scholastic struggles against us.”
“Jack started it.” Gareth picked up a couple of logs and pushed them at Wade. The guy scrambled to keep hold of them. “Take them into the dining room.”
He and Jackson grabbed some more from the stack next to the fireplace in the living room, then they followed Wade into the dining room. Aria was there with Janessa, and the pair of them were setting the table.
“Nothing better than Mom’s stew in front of a roaring fire,” Janessa said.
“I’ve never had that before,” Aria replied. “But it does seem that on a cold day like today, it would be wonderful.”
Since it was still early in January, the days were short. Even though it wasn’t that late, the sun had already set, giving the house a cozy atmosphere. The only thing that made the house even better doing the short winter days was when it was decorated for Christmas. Unfortunately, his mom had already packed away all the decorations.
“Let me do it, dude,” Jackson said, elbowing him out of the way. “You know I’m better at this than you are.”
Gareth wanted to argue that he could do it just fine, but Jackson was right. He actually was better at it than Gareth. While away from Serenity, he’d spent a lot of years not building fires, while Jackson and Wade had been building them every day during winter since they both had fireplaces in their homes.
Stepping aside, Gareth crossed his arms and watched as Jackson deftly arranged the logs and, in short order, had a fire going. The scent of burning wood drifted out to compete with the aroma of the beef stew.
“I’ve never lived in a place with a fireplace before,” Aria said as she stood a couple feet away from him, staring at the flickering flames. “This is very lovely.”
“There are fireplaces at Charli and Janessa’s,” Gareth said. “They can teach you how to build a fire.”
She glanced at him. “Oh, I’m not sure I could do that.”
“Sure, you can,” he told her. “Dad taught all of us. Some do it more often than others, but both Charli and Janessa build fires at their place.”
Gareth found himself wondering about Aria’s past. When Janessa had recommended her for the job, he’d been more interested in if she could do the job. Now that she was there, mixing with the family in social settings, the lines were blurring between employee and possible friend.
He had no problem with that, actually. But if he was going to socialize with her, he’d like to know a bit more about her. That would have to come in time, as he was fairly certain that she wasn’t going to be opening up right away, especially with him. He probably could ask Janessa for more details, but he’d wait and see how Aria warmed up to the rest of the family first.
“I did see that there was a fireplace in my bedroom at the house,” she said. “But I didn’t know it was real.”
Gareth grinned at her. “Most fireplaces around here are the real deal.”
“I can see why they’d have to be when it’s so cold.”
