Page 10 of His to Cherish
Chapter 3
Conversation was sparse during dinner. I didn’t understand why he’d come to my house, why he’d decided to help me, and why he stayed for dinner, but for me, even with the thick sadness covering us like my shade umbrella, I was happy to not be alone.
Sure, I spent time with my girlfriends, but besides our monthly dinners at Fireside Grill where we drank too many margaritas and ate our weight in nachos, my friends were all getting married or enjoying their married lives. They had things to do, and it was nice to have company for dinner for once.
I allowed Aidan space while we ate, commenting on the delicious steak he cooked.
It was fantastic, and done perfectly. I loved eating grilled food, but in my mind the grill was a “man’s domain.” Not that I couldn’t do it, but my food always ended up overcooked.
I figured the Y chromosome filled men with magical grilling powers.
“Something funny?”
His deep, raspy voice made my head snap up, my mouth freezing open with my fork and the last bite of steak at the tip of my tongue.
I must have been smiling.
When I glanced at Aidan, his head was tilted slightly to the side, and his hand was wrapped around a bottle of beer.
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “Just thinking about something.”
He looked out at my backyard.
The part of me that didn’t like to be lazy meant I’d spent time adding massive gardens and landscaping to the backyard since Cory moved out. I had bawled for hours while planting shrubs and flowers, moving rocks and mulch. The work and the creativity had become a type of therapy for me, allowing me to get my anger and frustration and sadness out in a way that also created something new and beautiful.
“Thanks for letting me stop by tonight.”
I blinked and pulled my eyes away from his. I had always thought Aidan spoke quietly and with purpose. Even before Derrick’s death, he had never been the loudest or most boisterous person in the world. Now his words were rough and guttural, as if every word he spoke caused him pain.
I sensed he wanted to say more, so I gave him time.
When he did, my eyebrows pulled in.
“The vultures are relentless these days.”
My eyes flickered to the sky and I frowned. I was thinking of the large birds, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen any in my life.
“What?” I asked when I still didn’t understand.
“That’s what Derrick calls…called them.” His voice tripped over the word, the change to past tense, and I had to look away.
My eyes watered and I sniffed.
“I don’t…”
“Single moms,” Aidan said.
The water I had just sipped ended up in my nose. I coughed as it burned, while my eyes watered and my cheeks flushed. I reached for a napkin only to find one in front of me, in Aidan’s hand, held between his tanned fingers. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I wiped my nose and took another sip of the water to wash away the burn.
My mind flickered back to the night of the wake, the women who were planning on seducing the single man, and I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled inside me.
“Are they getting bad?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He looked away and ran a hand down his rough cheek. He looked at his palm, as if he didn’t like the feeling of his beard against his skin, and strummed his finger on the glass. “Apparently three weeks is long enough. They’ve been stopping by every night to ‘help.’ ”
He made air quotes with his fingers.
