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She turned and looked at the house. For a moment she could see them again—Aiden, the little boy, and the dog on the front porch. She blinked and they were gone.
Straightening her shoulders, she walked away. The contractor Annie used for the renovations on her house was still around fixing final things. He would probably be willing to give her a quotation.
Not having Aiden around was actually a good thing. She’d have time to get the renovations on the house going so much quicker. And hopefully, it would keep her mind occupied so that she wouldn’t miss him so much.
Oh, who was she kidding? She was going to be miserable until she saw him again.
*
“No, you’ve takenthe wrong turn,” Aiden said and leaned forward. He was sitting in the back of the car. Craig and Riley had just picked him up from the hotel, and they were on their way to Aunt Janice’s house. It would have to be a quick stop; they were quickly running out time.
“I want to show you something,” Craig said.
“You do know we don’t have much time?”
Craig turned down another street. They were now close to Annie’s house. “I know, but you should see this.”
Minutes later, Craig stopped in front of a house. A very dilapidated house. Aiden opened the window to get a better look. At some point, it had probably been a beautiful, old house, but the ramshackle in front of them was now crumbling, literally falling to pieces.
Riley turned around to look at Aiden. “Vivian is thinking of buying this place. She wants to live here, but she’s thinking of converting a part of the house into an office where she could see patients.”
Aiden rubbed his chest where the dull ache of earlier was back. For a moment, he couldn’t breathe properly, the strap from earlier tightening even more around his chest. Quickly, he opened the door and jumped out. Gulping in the cold air, he stared at the house.
He could see why Vivian liked this place. There was something inviting about the house, despite the state it was in. She would be happy here. The ache was now a sharp pain, and he quickly turned back and got back into the car. “Drive,” he got out.
As Craig stepped on the gas, Aiden looked back at the house. For a moment, he could swear he saw Vivian on the porch—with a little boy and a dog. A kind of collie? He rubbed his face. Oh, man, he had it bad. Where the hell did the dog come from?
“Vivian says you’ve told her about Samantha,” Riley said as they stopped in front of Aunt Janice’s house.
Aiden frowned. “Yes, I had to try and explain to her why I… why we…”
“Why you’ve agreed to a stupid long-distance relationship instead of marrying her?”
“She told you about that?”
Riley nodded. “You should marry her, you idiot. You’re still punishing yourself for something that wasn’t your fault.”
The front door opened, and Aunt Janice stepped out.
“I don’t have more to give Vivian,” Aiden said resignedly.
“That is not true,” his sister insisted. “You have your love to give. Do you know what happened to Samantha?”
“I only know she ended up in the hospital because I interfered in her life. I haven’t kept in touch. I made everything worse. If I hadn’t interfered, she most likely wouldn’t have tried to take her own life.”
“You don’t know that!” Riley called out.
Aunt Janice had reached the car. Thank goodness he didn’t have to answer Riley.
“I know you’re in a hurry”—his aunt smiled—“but I’ve made coffee. You can drink it while you look at my house and tell me when you’ll be visiting again.”
*
Half an hourlater, they were on I-90 on their way to Bozeman. Aiden stared out of the window. Everything inside him was urging him to turn back, to go to Vivian, to tell her how he felt about her. He couldn’t do that, though. The hole inside of him was getting bigger by the mile. He would see her in four weeks, though. It would have to be enough.
It was a beautiful part of the world. Snowcapped mountains as far as the eye could see. Wide open spaces. One could raise a family here. With a dog.
He nearly groaned out loud. What was up with the dog all of a sudden?
