He nodded and looked out the windshield. “I don’t know. Mike in my class says his mom never makes him or his brothers help in the kitchen. His dad says that type of work is for girls.”
I barely kept from rolling my eyes, but I did let out a grunt. “Are you talking about Mike Sheppard?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “How do you know him?”
“I worked with his father.” Mike Sheppard Senior was an enlisted Airman. We’d never been in the same squadron, but we crossed paths. The guy was an ass who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. Everyone on base knew it, too. Likely so did his wife.
“Anyway, what works for some households might not work for others. Gender doesn’t make a difference in the type of work you should do in the house. My dad and my brothers always helped in the kitchen with my mom when I was coming up.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I chuckled. “Would I lie to you?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He gave me a concentrated look, his lips turning up curiously. “I guess if a fighter pilot can help in the kitchen, I can do it.”
I let out a laugh. “Hey,” I pointed at the kid. “Don’t forget, not all fighter pilots are men, either.”
Some of the best members of my squadron were women.
He rolled his eyes. “I know.”
“Cool. Let’s see if your mom needs anything. If not, we can toss the ball around for a while.”
“All right.”
We climbed out of the car, and I waited for Aiden to circle the front of my truck before I started for the door.
“When am I going to get to meet your dad and brothers?” he asked just as we reached the front door.
I hesitated, realizing that it’d been quite a while since I’d spent any time with my family. Between work and mostly hanging out at home with Savannah and Aiden, I’d avoided my family. I didn’t know what to tell them about what was going on between the three of us.
Or, more truthfully, I didn’t want to share the little family bubble the three of us had created in the past few months.
I wasn’t in the mood to answer questions. Joel and Micah could be like a fucking dog with a bone once they got a whiff of something that seemed strange.
“Soon,” I told Aiden before pushing through the door. I couldn’t avoid the inevitable, and the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t want to evade it.
Savannah and her son were a part of my life. I wanted to share that with my family.
“Mama, we’re home,” Aiden called as he toed off his sneakers and left them by the door.
I expected the aroma of food cooking coming from the kitchen, but there was none. Instead, Savannah appeared at the top of the stairs.
I stood there and drank in her features as she descended the staircase. The black V-neck and cutoff jeans she wore outlined her silhouette flawlessly. I doubted she meant the outfit to be sexy, but the way the T-shirt dipped to show the skin of her neckline and the cutoffs revealed the curves of her legs and thighs without revealing too much made my mouth water.
My stomach began to burn with need. Not once had I resented Aiden’s presence, but shit, if I didn’t wish for just one second that he would’ve stayed the night over his friend’s. I wanted to take her right then and there.
“Go change your clothes, Aiden,” Savannah said without saying hello to either of us.
My lips dipped to a frown. There was something in her voice. And the way she wouldn’t even look at me.
I racked my brain to figure out if I’d done anything that could elicit this type of cold reaction. When we’d each left the house that morning, everything was fine. It had to be something that happened at work, then.
“Mama, do you need help in the kitchen?” Aiden asked.
She shook her head. “We’re ordering pizza for dinner.”
“Yes!” Aiden cheered. “It’s not even Friday.” He jumped up and kissed her on the cheek. “Mr. Ace and I are going to play catch outside, then,” he said as he started for the stairs that she’d just come down.
