“Oh, okay. I didn’t know you managed a logging company. Well, of course I wouldn’t. I’m still new in this town. Duh, that must be hard work,” she says with a laugh.
“It is, but it was my father’s company before I stepped in to help out. Now it’s in my blood. I’ll tell you everything you want or need to know about me. I’m not keeping secrets from you, Aubs,”
We shop for hamburger meat, blue cheese, buns, lettuce, tomato, onions, flour, buttermilk, and panko breadcrumbs.
I stop her when we walk by the bakery and grab a couple of apple fritters along with vanilla ice cream to round out dessert.
When she tries to pay for our food, that’s when I have to tell her, “Babe, I got it. When you’re with me, you’re not paying.”
“Well doesn’t that defeat the purpose of me saying thank you for last night?” She stands with her hands on her hips. It makes me want to kiss the sass out of her.
I appease her, “Next time,” and swipe my card to pay as she rolls her eyes at me.
Chapter 10
Aubrey
We drove back to his house and talked the whole way. How I moved out here away from my family and how I’m liking the town.
I asked about his parents. He told me his mom lost her battle with breast cancer a couple of summers ago. I hated that I brought it up, and even told him that. He just gave me a look that said, “If I didn’t want you to know, I wouldn’t have told you.”
When we pull into his driveway, it’s picturesque and tree lined. Then we get to the bend, it opens up and you can see his beautiful log cabin.
“Your place is beautiful, Cade,” I tell him as we both unload the groceries once he parked underneath the second floor covering.
“Thank you,” he responds as he whistles, and I hear the jingle of a bell. Axe comes right up and nudges Cade’s leg for attention.
“Hey Axe, meet Aubrey. Aubrey, this is Axe.” The dog comes to me and immediately sits. His tail is wagging a million miles a minute and his tongue is out, making it seem like he’s smiling.
I get down into a kneeling position and Axe is instantly on top of me. I topple back with a giggle, as Cade helps me back up. I rub the top of his head and coo, “You’re so handsome, Axe.”
“Come on boy, let Aubs breathe for a minute. Sorry about that. He gets excited every now and then,” Cade tells me. My hand is back in his as he leads me up to the back door and up a flight of stairs. When we make it to the top, it opens into a chef’s dream kitchen. Everything is open and the counter space is to die for. I place the few bags I carried in and start unpacking them.
“I’m going to fire up the grill. You need anything while I’m out there?” Cade asks, his hand on my bare shoulder as he comes up behind me. My head tips back and I tell him, “Just a mixing bowl, unless you mind me traipsing through your kitchen.”
He glides his finger slowly down from my neck to my shoulder and I shiver, “I’ll grab it for you, but feel free to traipse anywhere you want.”
With that, he turns and opens the back-patio slider. I watch his backside as he leaves, and I have to say he’s built like a Greek Adonis.
I start mixing the ingredients for the cheeseburger patties. Once those are formed, I move on to the onions, realizing I need to go through his cabinets to find a cutting board. It only takes two tries and I find it. Preparing dinner is effortless and I have everything ready while Cade is manning the grill. Once I have everything prepped and waiting on the counter for Cade, I walk out and look at him. He’s standing on his back deck and you can see his muscles move as he turns his head.
“Hey,” I say, awkwardly.
“Come here, Aubs,” he replies, and my body listens to his command like I’ve known him my whole life.
Chapter 11
Cade
Dinner was nothing short of amazing. We cooked as much as we could together. Me, manning the grill, and her, baking the onion rings. Once everything was done and plated, we sat outside and enjoyed our time together. There wasn’t an ounce of uncomfortable silence. We talked about anything and everything, from our childhood to what she wants for her future.
When dinner was done, we put everything away, which wasn’t much. Apparently, Aubs likes to clean as she goes.
Now we’re sitting outside by the fire pit. It’s not much, but I knew with the weather turning colder, I would want someplace to sit outside and take in the night air.