I smiled. “Sorry. Not long.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“I was going to. But I was too busy trying to figure out what you were thinking about that had you smiling.”
“I was smiling?”
I nodded. “What was on your mind just now?”
She looked away. “Nothing.”
I took a few steps closer and stood on the other side of the kitchen island. “Nothing, huh? You sure about that?”
Autumn cleared her throat. “Bud just finished eating. He fell asleep in his recliner.”
I nodded. “They said he didn’t sleep well at the hospital. I’m sure he was worried about the house being empty for a few days. People around here see an opportunity and take it.”
She frowned. “Why doesn’t he move?”
“Because this is his home, and he gets a sense of purpose from helping the community. Plus, he has his garden in the back and workshop in the garage.”
“I guess.” Autumn shrugged. “Has this type of thing happened before? Where he was attacked?”
“No. People usually look out for Bud because he’s a good person and well respected. It’s a pretty tight-knit community, for the most part. The problem is it’s also easy to score drugs on a half-dozen corners around here, so it attracts outsiders—and not good ones.”
Autumn finished rinsing the last dish in the sink and turned off the water. “You want something to eat? I haven’t put lunch away yet. It’s probably still warm.”
“It smells good, but no, that’s okay. I’d rather you leave it for Bud. It’s not going to be easy for him to do much for a while with that arm in a cast.”
“I made a lasagna, pasta fagioli, and chicken Française. So he’s got at least a dozen dinners in there to start. I froze some and left a few in the fridge for the next few days.”
“Thank you for doing all that for him.”
“I figured you’d be at work all afternoon today, since you picked up Bud from the hospital this morning, and you’re covering his dinner service.”
“I wanted to see how he was doing. I wasn’t sure what time you were coming by.”
From the other room, Bud’s voice boomed. “My ass. He asked this morning if I knew what time you were coming, and I told him you’d called and said you’d be here about now.”
I chuckled and hung my head as I yelled back, “Thanks a lot, Bud. You’re supposed to be my wingman. Not tell my secrets.”
“Can’t say I blame you. She cooks damn good.”
Now Autumn was laughing. She yelled, “Thanks, Bud!”
“No problem, sweetheart.”
I lowered my voice and winked. “I’ll go check on him anyway.”
Bud was in his beat-up old, leather recliner with his feet up.
“How you feeling, old man?”
“Fine.” He pointed to his cast. “If this thing were on the other hand, my life would be a lot easier. I’m shit with my left hand.”
“I figured I’d water the plants in the yard so you don’t get that cast wet on the first day home.”
“Oh, good. Pick the tomatoes that are ready while you’re out there, will ya?”
“Sure.”
Bud’s yard was practically a farm, so watering and picking ripe fruit wasn’t a two-minute job. The sun was blazing, and I had on a long-sleeve dress shirt and slacks, so by the time I finished, I was sweaty. I’d tossed a change of clothes into a duffle bag this morning, figuring I’d want to get out of my dress duds before doing dinner service, so I grabbed it out of my car before heading back into the house.
“Mind if I take a quick shower?” Bud and Autumn were sitting together in the living room.
“Use the one in your old room.”
After a quick shower, I reached into the cabinet below the sink, the one where the towels had always been kept. Unfortunately, I hadn’t thought to check whether Bud still filled the cabinet until after I was dripping wet.
Shit.
I pulled the jeans in my bag up my wet legs and snuck out of the bathroom to grab a towel to dry off before I got fully dressed. But as I went toward the hall bathroom, the door suddenly opened. Autumn came out and blinked a few times before her eyes dropped to my bare chest. I’d come out of the other bathroom grumbling with denim sticking to my legs, but suddenly I wanted to kiss Bud for not filling that towel cabinet.
Autumn didn’t even try to hide checking me out. Her eyes took in my chest, slowly worked their way down my abs, and flared when they got down to the top of my jeans. I knew I hadn’t buttoned, and I hadn’t bothered to throw underwear on to go get a towel, but I hadn’t realized that in the haste of pulling up my pants, I’d left the head of my cock pushed up and sticking out. My first instinct was to cover up, not intentionally be a lewd asshole, but when Autumn’s lips parted, I forced my hands to stay at their sides.