AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shirley liked Dani the first time she met her, and now all she could do was hope their relationship worked. They both deserved to be happy, and when he came home this evening, she’d grill him about Cameron’sphone call. Aaron always knew more about what was going on than he told.
It was just after six when Aaron clocked out at work, then showered and changed into street clothes in the locker room before leaving the station. Driving across town was always a process. Because it was so full of tourists and foot traffic, it was slow going until he crossed the main highway and drove into the residential area. He couldn’t wait to see her.
He pulled up into the drive and let himself into the house, calling out as he walked in.
“Knock, knock, pretty girl!”
Dani came out of the kitchen laughing and threw her arms around his neck.
“I missed you!” she said.
Aaron wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “I missed you, too,” he said, and kissed her.
Just a brief brush of lips at first, but it wasn’t enough, and they went back for more, until he remembered where they were supposed to be, and stopped.
“God, you smell good,” he whispered as he kissed a little freckle below her left ear. “As much as I hate to stop, we are expected elsewhere.”
“Yes…elsewhere,” Dani said, and grabbed her purse and set the security system before they walked out.
Minutes later, they were on the blacktop going upPope Mountain and leaving Jubilee behind. It was like stepping into another world, and Dani couldn’t quit staring, marveling at the height of the trees and the impenetrable forest surrounding them. The farther up they went, the denser it became. All there was to see was the road in front of them, the forest surrounding them, and the intermittent mailboxes on the side of the road, marking homesteads somewhere within.
The farther up they went, the more wildlife they began to see. Then when a couple of deer bounded across the road a short distance ahead of them, Dani cried out.
“Look, Aaron! Two of them. How beautiful!”
“Very beautiful,” he said, but he was looking at her.
Farther up, she caught sight of a racoon waddling through the underbrush, and then later, a rabbit bounding from the road into a ditch, and farther up, a lone bobcat slipping through the trees.
“This mountain is so mysterious and a little daunting. I can’t imagine the centuries of secrets that lie hidden up here.”
He glanced at her then, surprised by how perceptive that remark had been, but she didn’t notice. She was too busy looking into the undergrowth as they passed by.
“Have you ever seen bears or cougars?” she asked.
He nodded. “From a distance. They shy away from people as readily as we shy away from them, and we’re almost home. That mailbox up ahead is ours.”
Dani shifted anxiously in her seat. She’d already met them and shared a meal with them, but now, after what had passed between her and Aaron, this felt a whole lot like a formal “meeting the family for the first time.”
“Mom’s so excited you’re coming to eat with us,” Aaron said as he turned off the road onto the driveway leading to the house.
“Really?” Dani said.
“Yep. You’ll see. And don’t blame me if you’re hugged to death again. Remember, we’re all huggers.”
“It’s a good feeling…belonging,” she said.
“You miss your family, don’t you, honey?”
Dani nodded. “Very much, but I’m also really happy that you’re sharing yours with me.”
“Maybe one day soon, if it suits you, you won’t be on the outside looking in,” he said, and then pointed at the sprawling house nestled among the trees. “We’re here.”
Dani was immediately charmed by the house and the porch across the entire front of the house, and then the door opened and his brothers came out to greet them, pushing and shoving to beat each other down the steps.
Aaron rolled his eyes. “You’d think they had yet to reach puberty from the way they’re acting. But take heart. It’s also a sign they really like you.”
Dani laughed, and before they could get out, Sean opened her door and Wiley offered his hand to help her out.
