Page 317 of Nobody's Girl

I take Ally by the hand again. “Come on, All. Let’s face the wrath of Laura together. Maybe that way it won’t be so bad.”

“I know we’re in trouble,” I tell Laura as we enter the kitchen.

“No, you just missed breakfast,” she tells us, rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.

“Let me help you, Laura,” Ally says.

“No, Ally. Where the hell did you go?” Why didn’t you take me?” she asks us.

I realize I still have Ally’s hand in mine. I let go and move towards Laura, holding my arms out. She isn’t having any of that, though. “No hugs!” she snaps as she moves away from me. “Not right now. I’m mad at you two.”

“I guess you had better get a dog today. You’ll need company in the dog house,” Ally tells me.

“Oh, he’ll have plenty of company because you and Eden will be in there with him,” she snaps at Ally.

Eden opens the front door, holding a box. “I found baby ducks,” he calls out happily.

Ally almost bounces over to him. He lifts a little black duck up out of the box. “I’m naming mine Daffy,” he says as he cradles the little duck.

“That’s where you were? Buying ducks?” Laura asks.

Eden looks at her. “Yeah, why?”

“I made my first ever breakfast in my first ever house and no one showed up for it. Just me and the garbage disposal had any,” she whines.

Eden sets the box down on the bar, then reaches in to get a cute little yellow duck, taking it to her. “Please just hold this little duck, Laura. It’ll make you feel better and I promise we’ll never ever miss another one of your meals again. If you should ever decide to cook for us again, that is.”

Laura holds the little duck for a minute. A smile spreads over her face finally. She reaches out to hug Eden. “Thanks for the duck, Eden. I love it already.”

Eden brings the box over to Ally. “Would you like to choose a duck, Alyssa?”

There’s one yellow one and one black one left. “I like the little black one,” she tells him as she picks it up and holds it close to heart.

My eyes roam over her breast for a mere second before I regain my control.

We have got to get this shit under control, before we hurt everyone who’s important to us.

CHAPTER 63

EDEN

The girls wait by the fire we built near the pond so we could let the little ducklings swim. Kyle and I are in the woods, searching for more wood for it. My mate and I had a conversation about the two of them earlier and I think it’s time I had a talk with him.

“Alyssa told me about your dream,” I say. “Seems the two of you are having some fun.”

Kyle looks up at me as he reaches for another log. “Fun?” he asks. “I’d not call it that, Eden. I’d call it torture.”

“So making love to Alyssa is torture to you?” I ask.

Kyle turns his back to me as he reaches down for another piece of wood. “It’s not real, Eden.”

“My mate tells me it felt like it was,” I say. “Please, Kyle, I’d like us to have an honest relationship.”

Kyle stops looking for more things to pick up and looks me in the eye. “What do you want to know, dude?” he asks. “You want the truth?”

“Of course,” I say.

He shakes his head. “No, man, you don’t.”