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“Miley!” Annie says. “Miley! Catch you!”
“You’re not gonna catch me!”
I can’t help but smile as I watch these two bundles of pure joy with curly brown hair and warm eyes laughing and playing without a care in the world. I love the look on Avery’s face as she, too, watches her girls roaming freely and happily in a safe space. They’re protected here. And I will make sure that nothing bad ever happens to them, not while I’m around, anyway.
“Helen is a Godsend,” Avery says as I return to the table with the coffee pot. The smell fills her gaze with sunshine while I pour her a cup, then one for myself. “She’s so patient with Miley and Annie.”
“The patience of a saint,” Helen quips from the kitchen sink. “But honestly, your girls are way easier to handle than my nephews ever were. You should’ve seen me trying to keep Kellan and Fallon from hurting themselves when they were Miley’s age.”
“Oh, no, Aunt Helen, don’t go there,” I chuckle dryly.
“That bad, huh?” Avery laughs.
Helen turns the faucet off and turns around to look at us. “Honey, they were veritable handfuls, two devils with sweet smiles who always found a way to get away with the trouble they caused.”
“We gave you that much trouble, huh?” I ask.
“I loved every second of it, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” she replies. “You see, Avery, you’re supposed to let kids try things for themselves, to get messy and dirty, to understand the consequences of their actions. Their parents tried to keep them under control, on a tight leash. The boys were miserable. But whenever I had them staying over, I’d let them be themselves. Sure, it would get loud and ridiculous and I would spend days scrubbing the chocolate mousse from my kitchen curtains, but the boys were happy and free to just be kids. I dare say it is why they’ve become the marvelous men they are today.”
Avery gives me a warm look. It’s making my heart beat a tad faster. “They are wonderful men, indeed.”
“We do the best we can with what we’re given,” I reply.
“So, what are your plans for the day?” Helen asks Avery. “I know I’m looking after the girls and that Fallon here, ever the gentleman, fixed your car.”
“Ah, yes,” Avery shoots back. “Well, I got a call back from one of the folks in town about a remodeling job. I’m gonna go over there today and talk to them about it. With a little bit of luck, we’ll strike a decent deal, and I’ll have my first client bagged by the end of the week.”
“That’s great news,” I say. “Did you get a name?”
“Oh, absolutely. Larry Freeman. He’s got a townhouse up in Hershey.”
“I know Larry,” I reply, smiling. “Good guy. He pays well too. So, don’t be afraid to ask what you know you’re worth.”
Avery seems surprised, but Helen is quick to pick up on the vibe and chimes in. “Avery, Fallon’s car service is one of the best in the county. He knows everybody. Heck, even I know the Freemans. Nice folks, friendly and kind. Working class, but they made a small fortune in cryptocurrency last year at the advice of one of their nephews, and now they have the kind of disposable income that they can invest in remodeling their home. It’s a good house, too, with good bones. I’m familiar with that whole block. They don’t build them like that anymore.”
“Don’t you need some helping hands?” I ask Avery. “It’s a big job from what Larry’s told me.”
“I can handle it,” she says. “I redid my whole apartment after Annie was born. Plaster, flooring, the whole shebang. Once I can afford a worker or two to help me out, I’ll set a budget aside for that. Until then, I’m fine with doing it on my own.”
I don’t really like the sound of that. If anything, I have quickly grown accustomed to making Avery happy, to making her life easier. The fact that she wants to do this alone doesn’t sit right with me, but she is an independent woman, and she deserves enough space to be who she is. I get that. If I can figure out a way to get her to stick around, I’ll have to keep my mouth shut and let Avery do what she thinks is right, no matter how badly I want to step in and help her.
“Besides, given how insanely good Helen’s homemade pizza is, I’m gonna need a way to burn the extra calories off,” Avery adds, laughing lightly.
“There’s more than one way to burn off extra calories,” I shoot back, feeling the corner of my mouth twitching.
Avery’s cheeks flush pink as Helen smiles and takes the girls away. “Come on, little ladies, time for some finger painting and then a bath.”
The girls follow Helen, while I hand Avery the car keys and give her a broad smile. “You up for a test drive?”
“It’s still my old beat-up Citroën,” she says. “I doubt much has changed in that sense.”
“We can still go on a test drive. I’ve got a couple of hours to spare, and I know a nice spot out in the woods where we could relax for a bit,” I tell her.
My jeans tighten as I look forward to everything I’m going to do to her once we get to that spot. It’s nice and secluded, hidden beneath a thick crown of old pine trees. It’s cold during this time of the year, and it’ll be covered in snow, but given the kind of chemistry that Avery and I happen to share, things will be too hot between us for the cold to even matter.
“A nice spot, huh?” Avery smiles.
“You’ll love it.”
