AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Alaina snorted. “When have I eaten a salad in front of you?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “You bought avocados last night.”
He felt a little bit like she must’ve felt when she had stood there and proudly proclaimed that she was his wife in front of Elizabeth Colfax like she had to stake a claim. Because that’s what he was doing. Making sure that Elsie and Hunter knew she was something else to him now. Because they’d gone to the grocery store last night. They’d bought avocados. He’d weighed them. They had a connection.
And he had no idea why that mattered to him. Except it... He had his brothers. And that mattered. It mattered a hell of a lot. In fact, it was everything in some ways. If he hadn’t had them growing up, if he hadn’t had them going through that most horrible time of his life...there would’ve been no point. He would’ve just died in that shed. He wouldn’t have tried to get out. Because it hurt too much, even at the time. Because just letting the fire finish what it started would have seemed like a much easier thing than the recovery and the survival that he had to endure. And make no mistake...he’d fucking endured it. So yeah, they mattered. But he’d always felt distant from them too. He was different.
Again, he thought of Brody. Who must feel like an outsider himself.
The brother that hadn’t been beaten.
And Gus... Well, he was the one his dad had tried to kill.
“Avocados,”Hunter said. “Neat.”
“We had tacos,” Alaina said. “We might have them again tonight.”
“I like tacos,” Hunter said.
“Good for you, Hunter,” Alaina said.
And she did not invite him over for their dinner, and that satisfied Gus.
“Alaina,” he said, “have you seen the cabins that we’re renovating?”
“No,” she said.
“Come on over and I’ll show you.”
“All right.” She turned back to Elsie. “See you later.”
“Race you,” he said.
And she didn’t wait for him to say go; she took off laughing. The little wench. And he went after her, until he didn’t feel the urge to pass her at all. Because he just wanted to watch her ride. Wanted to watch her hair fly behind her.
That girl that couldn’t be tamed.
He didn’t want to tame her. He just wanted to keep her safe.
His chest suddenly felt sore.
He pulled in front of her as they got back to the main part of McCloud’s Landing. “You don’t know where you’re going,” he said, slowing the horse down as she slowed hers too. Then they came to the little row of cabins. “It’ll be guests. Patients, I guess. And then we got a place that we’re doing just for Elizabeth.”
“Ah, yes. Elizabeth.”
“Yes,” he said. “You have a real issue with her.”
“I don’t.”
“Back to that jealousy I mentioned earlier.”
He was poking at her, and she might laugh. Instead, she sputtered. “I am not... I’m not jealous. I mean, you know, she’s one of those women that seems to be effortlessly put together, and I challenge you to find a woman who wouldn’t feel a little bit intimidated by someone like her. But... I’m not jealous.”
“Happy to hear it.”
“So...where’s her place going to be?”
“Out of the way a little bit. To give her some privacy. She’s got a son.”
