AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The doorbell rings, and I jump out of my seat as if my ass were on fire. It would be comical if I was watching someone else do it. “One sec, honey.”
“Check the cameras, Mom.”
I check the cameras because I was going to, not because my fifteen-year-old told me to. The security feed shows Maddie standing outside, and I rush to the door, swinging it open. “Hey, Mads. Come in.”
“Good morning.” Maddie smiles, then peeks around me and waves at Lindy. “Hey little M,” she calls out.
“Hey, big M,” my daughter responds with an even bigger smile. “Are the girls with you?”
“Nope. I left them at home with Hudson. I thought I’d see if you ladies wanted to come over and watch the game today.” Maddie brings her eyes back to me, and there’s a knowing challenge there.
Before I even have a chance to answer, Lindy pops up from her seat. “That sounds perfect. Let me go get changed.” Then she’s off, up the stairs, and slamming a door behind her. Leaving me standing in front of Hudson’s wife, who’s looking at me very much like the overprotective sister of the man I’ve fallen for.
“Want a cup of coffee?”
“Sure.” She walks past me and helps herself, pouring a cup, then turning and topping mine off. “How about we sit outside for a few minutes?”
“Maddie,” I stop her. “You’re not about to try to scare me off your brother, are you? Because I love you, but I’ve got to warn you, that’s not going to work.”
She laughs.
Actually laughs out loud, spilling some of her coffee in the process. “Come outside with me, Ashlyn. It’s a beautiful day.” She tugs me behind her onto the deck, and we curl up in the sun on the outdoor sectional. “So... I’m not going to warn you off my brother, as you put it.” Her cheeks flush as she sips her coffee. “But I do want to talk to you about him.”
“O-kay,” I answer slowly, my muscles stringing tight. “What do you want to know?”
She’s quiet as she looks down into her mug for a long moment. “Do you love him?”
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation. “But he deserves to know that before you and I discuss it. Next question.”
Her entire posture changes. Her blue eyes light up with so much happiness, it rolls off her in big, fat, thick waves. “Be patient with him. He’s such a good man, Ashlyn. And he deserves someone like you.”
“Someone like me?” I ask, watching the tears pool in her eyes.
Maddie nods her head. “Someone kind. Someone with a big heart and a big family to love him. Brandon has never been good at letting people in. But I think he’s let you in. And that’s... Well, that’s huge.”
“He makes me happy, Mads. Having him here. The way he’s seamlessly fit into our lives, like he was always supposed to be here. I still have to have a talk with Madeline because she’s a young, impressionable, teenage girl. And I need to make sure she’s okay with all this, but I plan on keeping Brandon.” Then I quietly but confidently add, “Forever.”
A crash comes from Lindy’s balcony above us, followed by her high-pitched voice. “I’m okay. Sorry. Keep going.”
I close my eyes and sigh. “My daughter, who’s apparently been eavesdropping.”
Madison giggles and finishes her coffee. She lays her hand over mine and squeezes. “Game starts in an hour, and I’ve got plenty of food. I might even have an extra Dixon jersey, if you want it.”
“Thank you.” I cover her hand with my other one and fight back the emotion clogging my throat. “That means a lot.”
“I’m glad it’s you, Ashlyn. I wouldn’t do well in jail, and if it was some gold-digging whore, I might have to cut a bitch.”
I laugh so hard, tears stream down my face before Maddie leaves and I walk inside to deal with my nosy daughter.
Once the dishes are done and put away, I decide that’s enough stalling. I walk upstairs and knock on her door. Privacy is a big deal in our house, even if she seems to have forgotten that. “Can I come in?”
“It’s open,” she calls out from the other side, and when I push through, she’s curling her hair at her vanity. “Did Maddie leave?”
I nod.
“What time are we going to their house?”
I take the curling wand from her hand and section off another piece of hair. “How much of that conversation did you hear?”
