Lanie went dashing back down the hallway as Tanya followed her quickly. I could hear the two girls giggling as she bedded Lanie back down, and I sighed as I listened to the sound. She looked like her father in every sense of the word, but when she laughed, she sounded like her mother.
Holy hell, how I missed my sister.
I started working on my chili as Tanya picked up the cabin. She worked around me, her grin lurking in the corner of my eye. I had no idea what she was up to or why she was so hellbent on making this happen, but I knew there was a plan formulating in that brain of hers. It was what she did when she was bored. She could come up with the craziest of activities for her and Lanie to participate in.
And when she was stumped with Lanie, she always tried to meddle with me.
Usually, it was her coaxing me to take a night off. Go into town, get a drink, maybe meet someone and get a hotel room. She’d offer her services watching Lanie for free so I had no excuse, but I would always turn her down. She would try to get me to interact with people and get back out there, so to speak, but I would balk and tell her I wasn’t interested.
So, why hadn’t I done that now?
The chili was cooked, Lanie was awake, and Tanya was about to leave for the night. She offered to keep Lanie one last time before I sent her away, then I packed up the chili and held Lanie’s hand. We walked up to Amanda’s cabin, and I was shocked to see the lights on.
Electricity was running through the rundown cabin, and it hadn’t burst into flames yet.
We walked up the rickety porch, and I could see the splinters popping up from the wood. It was a shame that this cabin hadn’t been treated with better care. The types of wood this home had been built with were sturdy. By the looks of it, the porch could still be salvaged. It needed to be sanded out, treated, and sealed, but if there were no foundational issues, it could be saved.
I shook the thought from my head as Lanie knocked her little fist against the door.
Amanda opened the door, and I could see the shock roll over her face. Her bright green eyes sparkled in the colors of the sunset as the rays tossed colors against the skyline. She was dressed in jeans and a sweater that was falling off her shoulder, teasing my lips for a kiss.
Part of me wished I had taken Tanya up on her offer to watch Lanie now.
“We brought chili,” I said.
“For dinner,” Lanie added.
“How kind,” Amanda said, smiling. “Um—”
She looked back into her home, and it gave me a second to peer into it. Many of the surfaces looked recently cleaned, but there was still a lot of work that had to be done. I could see a cupboard door hanging off its hinges and a dishwasher that had been worked out of its cubby. There were chairs with wobbling legs that looked as if they were going to tip over any second. Just from the glimpse through the door, I could see why Amanda was hesitant to let us in.
Wonderful. I could just leave this chili with her here on the porch and not have to get involved.
“You can eat it whenever you want,” I said as I handed it to her.
“Oh,” she said as she took it. “Well, thank you.”
“No eat?” Lanie asked.
I looked down at my niece as her big doe eyes looked back up at me. I knew she had been looking forward to staying. Part of me had entertained the idea as we walked here, but when Amanda opened the door, I knew I had to find a way out of this.
She was too alluring, and her skin looked too soft for me to be having dinner with her alongside my niece.
“Wanna come over?” Lanie asked.
“Lanie, I’m sure she has—”
“If the offer is on the table, I’d love to.”
My eyes found hers, and there was a brightness to them that hadn’t been there when she opened the door. Her eyes ran down my body before she found Lanie’s smile, and I watched a grin crawl across her cheeks. I could feel the electricity surging through my veins as I thought about kissing that exposed shoulder of hers. My toes curled at the idea of her whimpering at the way my beard would trail along the dip in her waist.
It was going to be dangerous to live beside someone like her.
“Then come on,” I said as I took Lanie’s hand.
“Let me slip some shoes on.
Lanie skipped ahead of us as she ran back to the cabin. I was carrying the pot of chili I’d made for Amanda while she limped alongside me. I could see the wince on her face every time she took a step, and I had to fight back the urge to throw her over my shoulder cave man style and carry her back to my place.