And I just melt. These men are planning a future. A future that involves my baby. I look at each one as they tease and bicker over all the things they want to do with Chloe as she gets older and my heart…my heart just falls for all of them.
Easton
Istep out of the shower and dry off after my evening workout. Something I’ve had to ramp up now that Avery’s plying us with home cooking and various baked goods. I shake my head as my thoughts go back to her…again. The woman lives rent free in my head these days and as much as I wanted to keep her at arm's length, put boundaries between us, it’s a losing battle.
When I came home yesterday and walked into the nerf gun battle and heard her laughing, saw that incredible smile on her face, a surge of jealousy that my brothers gave that happiness to her had my tone coming out harder than I meant to. The way her laughter came to such an abrupt stop and the flash of fear I saw in her eyes gut-punched me. I had a desperate need to make her laugh and smile again. I need her to not be afraid of me and I also really wanted to shed the trappings of work and join the fun. The very brief moment I had her in my arms as I ambushed her and carried her out of the line of fire told me that fighting these feelings I’ve developed for her is fucking pointless. Not only do I want her in my arms again but I want her laugh and smile and the happiness she and her daughter have brought to our house.
I wipe the steam away from the mirror and frown at my reflection. When we were talking about doing things with Chloe as she gets older, I saw the look on her face. The look of longing, of hope, and that just cemented it. She’s ours, they are ours now and I have to make sure it stays that way and that means dealing with her cunt of a husband. He needs to be taken completely out of the picture so he’s no longer a threat to her.
The law is a fickle bitch but it should be on her side. I’ve had my lawyers looking into domestic laws and the different options Avery has and it’s not as black and white as I’d hoped. She’s right to be nervous about going to the police. Without a history, a documented history of abuse, that fucker has parental rights to Chloe. There’s no way in hell I’ll ever let that man near them again so it will have to be carefully planned when we finally make a move to dissolve her marriage and put the fucker behind bars.
I pull on grey sweatpants and a well-worn t-shirt and head out to the main living area of the house. I’m looking forward to having the next few days off with the holiday. I need a break from work, or at least as much of a break as I can get. Spending some time with my brothers and the girls should give me the reset I need to go back strong and focus on the many pies we have cooking at the moment in the business.
Speaking of pies, I came home today to a kitchen filled with piles of ingredients on every countertop. Even though I told Avery that we didn’t need a fancy dinner, she has other plans. The woman was a small tornado as she mixed, chopped, and stirred to get ready for the feast tomorrow. All that and there was still a pork tenderloin with roasted root vegetables for dinner on the table. The funny thing is, I would have paid her even if she was a terrible cook just to get her and Chloe out of that car they were living in. Avery has earned every cent she’s been paid so far and I’m beginning to think she needs a raise with how well the house is being run now.
I find her in the kitchen still working away even though it’s after ten at night. I stay back and just watch her as she works. Her soft black curls are tucked up in a messy mass on top of her head with a few loose curls that have escaped it framing her face. She’s rolling something out on the counter with a rolling pin and the dusting of flour on her cheek just adds to her appeal. I watch her small curvy body as she moves and I’m pleased to see that she’s not carrying herself with the tight tension she came here with. I hope that means she is healing, at least a little. The house is quiet so I can hear that she’s humming a song to herself. It sounds nice.
She reaches for a pie plate and gasps in surprise when she sees me lurking so I step into the light and move toward her with a smile that I hope will set her at ease.
“Hi, it’s pretty late for you to be so busy, isn’t it?” I ask while scanning everything she has set out on the counters.
“Oh, um, well, I’m a little behind with preparations for tomorrow’s dinner. I wanted to get the pies done tonight so I could focus on the main course. Is…is that okay?”
I give her another reassuring smile, hating how uncertain she is around me.
“Of course, I just want you to know that we don’t expect you to slave away like this for us. You work too hard, Avery.”
She huffs out a small laugh and looks away. “Don’t be silly. You hired me to cook for you all and take care of the house and…and, I enjoy it.” Her eyes come back up to meet mine. “I really do enjoy it. You all have done so much for Chloe and me so it’s nice to give this back to you.”
I make a “hmm” noise in my throat and scan the counter again. “Just how many pies are you making? This looks like enough to feed an army.”
That small laugh again has me stepping a little closer.
“Have you seen how much Ryker and Zack can pack away? We’ll be lucky if there’s any for leftovers!”
I tilt my head in agreement at her point. “Well, I’m here to help so why don’t you show me what you’re doing so I can get my hands dirty?”
Her sweet lips make an O of surprise and I can see she’s about to turn me down so I hold up my hand to stop her.
“Wait! We need the right provisions to do this.” I tell her and step past her to pull a bottle of wine and glasses from the cabinet. Once I have both glasses filled, I tap on the sound system and soft music fills the room. I hand her a glass filled with the deep burgundy wine but her hand hesitates for a beat before accepting it. I lean a hip against the island and watch her take a small sip. Her face goes through a range of expressions making me laugh.
“You don’t like it? I have white if you prefer.”
She keeps her eyes down, looking into her glass as her brow creases.
“No, I, I think I like it? It’s just not what I expected.”
“Not what you…Avery? Have you never had wine before?”
A soft blush fills her cheeks as she shrugs one slim shoulder. “Um, no. I’ve actually never had any alcohol before.”
When I just stare at her in surprise, one corner of her mouth lifts in a sad smile.
“I was only eighteen when I got married and I wasn’t much of a party girl in high school. By the time it was legal for me to drink…it wasn’t really an option.”
She takes another, bigger drink of her wine and gives me a real smile. “I like it. It has a lot of different flavors.”
Jesus, she’s such an innocent in so many ways and it both makes me furious at all that was taken from her and also glad that I’ll get to introduce her to so many things. Thoughts of all the pleasures I can introduce to her body have me turning away from those eyes and focusing on her work instead.
