AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Aiden said that Hadley’s really taken to you, and he also mentioned that you’re going to jump right in full time instead of the three-days arrangement you’d previously discussed.”
I nodded. “Yes, Hadley seems to be okay with me here, so I figured why not. We’ve had a lot of fun together the last couple days.”
Patty looked at her husband, then back to me. “I think the one youreallyhave to win over is Aiden.”
Tilting my head with a questioning look, I asked, “What do you mean?” I totally knew what they meant. Aiden was obviously struggling with my presence in the house. But I couldn’t help fishing for information.
Lance brushed his wife off. “He’s going to be fine. It’s a bit weird for him to have you here, that’s all. He’ll get used to it.”
“From the sound of the laughing in the kitchen, I’d say they were both adjusting just fine. What’s going on?” Patty asked.
“Oh, Aiden and Hadley are making pizzas. I’ll let y’all head on in and join them. If you’ll excuse me, I was heading up to my place. Enjoy the evening.”
The moment I said pizza, Lance made a beeline for the kitchen. As I turned to leave, Patty reached for my arm and stopped me.
“May I speak with you for a moment?”
My stomach knotted at the serious look on her face. “Yes, of course.”
“In private. May I go up to your apartment with you?”
Swallowing hard, I felt like I was about to be put through another interview, one I wasn’t prepared for. “Sure.”
Patty followed me as I made my way upstairs, out to the balcony and into my personal space. She shut the door andlooked around. “Do you need anything? I tried to make sure you had everything to get you started, but Rose gave me short notice on Saturday that you’d be joining us.”
“Everything is amazing, thank you so much.”
We sat down on the sofa, and I instantly wrung my hands together nervously.
“So, Aiden tells me you’ll be joining us for service on Sundays.”
I nodded. “Yes, I will.”
She grinned. “Wonderful. Rose also mentioned you might like our ladies’ group that we have at the church.”
My brows lifted. Oh no. I never was one to get involved with the ladies of church. They were well-meaning women, but terribly nosey from my experience.
“Now, before you go off thinking it’s one of those uptight conservative groups, let me put your mind at ease. We’re not. We’re a group of women from all walks of life who like to meet once a week and let our hair down. We’re all friends. We support each other, we counsel one another on occasion, and we’re really there to simply listen. Sometimes it’s nice to have a friendly ear when you want to just…b-i-t-c-h…about something.”
I smiled when she whispered and spelled out the wordbitch.
“Besides, it would be a great place for you to meet some people.”
One part of me wanted to decline, but the other part—the one that was never allowed to meet new people—craved friendship. “Thank you, I’d love to join y’all.”
“Great! I didn’t want to ask you in front of Aiden and put you on the spot. I think it’s going to be important for you to have time for yourself. When Aiden told me you watched Hadley on Sunday afternoon while he went out, I wanted to slap that boy. It was your first day!”
“I didn’t mind at all. It gave me and Hadley a chance to get to know each other better.”
“I’m glad, but don’t let Aiden take advantage of it. You need your personal time as well. We have a lot of very handsome men here in Estes Park.”
I laughed. “The last thing I’m looking for is a man.”
The way she smiled and looked me over made me squirm in my seat. It was as if she was sizing me up. Good Lord. I hope she wasn’t the type of woman who’d try to set me up on blind dates.
She finally pulled her gaze away and stood. “I’ll text you the information on next week’s meeting. You should probably attend church at least once before joining the group.”
I stood and followed her to the door. “Sounds good. Um, Patty…may I ask you something before you leave?”
