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Turning, I saw Dirk smiling at us.
“I swear, it’s like they can sense when I’m about to have sex.”
Snapping my head to look at her, I hissed, “Avery!”
“Roll your window down!” Dirk called out, knocking on said window again.
“Hey, Daddy, what’s up?” Avery asked, leaning forward to look at her father.
“Your mother wanted to know if you two kids wanted to have lunch with us. She made chicken pot pie.”
Avery said, “I’m not hungry, thank you.” At the same time, I said, “That sounds amazing!”
She punched me on the side of the leg, and I stifled a grunt.
“Great! Get out of the car and let’s head on in. By the way,” Dirk said as he opened my door while I turned off the engine, “did you see the surveyed area?”
That caused Avery to brighten up. “We did! It’s so huge, Dad. Are you sure you can afford to give up that much land?”
He simply chuckled and put his arm around her as they walked toward the house. “Anything for you, princess. Besides, that is nothing compared to the rest of the ranch and farm, Avery. It’s the least we could do for you.”
Frowning at his use of my pet name for Avery, I decided I needed to find another one immediately. I could not be using the same one as her father. I shivered at the very idea.
“Are you coming, Dahlstrom, or what?” Dirk called back to me.
It was then I realized I’d stopped walking. “Yes! I’m coming.”
Avery glanced over her shoulder and gave me a look that said I could have been coming…but in a totally different way. I couldn’t help but smile and wink at her.
The moment we stepped into the house, I drew in a deep breath, wowed by the scent of Merit’s cooking. I took Avery’s coat before her father could and hung it up, then did the same with mine.
“That smells heavenly,” Avery said, grabbing my hand and dragging me through the house to get to the kitchen. “Mom! I haven’t had your pot pie in so long. Did you make sourdough bread too?”
Merit grinned. “I sure did.”
“I’m starving,” Avery declared.
Dirk glanced at me with one brow arched. “It’s funny how she got her appetite back so quickly.”
Deciding it was best if I said nothing, I pressed my lips together tightly and acted like I hadn’t heard him. The corner of his mouth twitched with a hidden smile.
When I asked Merit what she needed help with, I soon found myself setting the table for four in the eat-in kitchen. Avery asked her father if she could open a bottle of wine, and he said yes, which surprised me since she wasn’t old enough to drink.
“Don’t look at me with those judgmental eyes, Dahlstrom. She was drinking over in France before she came home.”
Holding my hands up, I replied, “No judgment here. At all.”
Avery laughed. “My father has let me and Bradly drink a bit of wine since we were like twelve.”
That time, I couldn’t hold back my surprised expression. Dirk simply popped a piece of bread into his mouth and winked at me.
Leaning into Avery’s ear, I whispered, “Your parents were cool as hell, weren’t they?”
She smiled. “They did let their fifteen-year-old daughter go off to France alone.”
“Touché.”
We sat down to eat and soon fell into an easy conversation. Dirk and I talked about the cattle ranch some. I asked Merit what it was like to grow up on a farm…and then Avery decided to make an announcement.
“Mom, Dad, I have something I need to tell you.”
Both Merit and Dirk turned to me with looks on their faces that made me slide my chair back a bit.
“This has nothing to do with Beck.”
They both focused back on their daughter, and I released the breath I’d been holding.
“Is it good or bad?” Dirk asked, shooting a warning look in my direction nonetheless, before looking back at Avery.
“A little of both.”
It was my turn to look at her. I had no idea what she was about to say.
“Morgan and Georgiana offered the apartment over the shop for me to live in, and I said yes.”
Oh no. Oh shit. This isn’t going to be good.
My eyes swung over to see Merit and Dirk, both blinking at their daughter.
“You just got back home?” Merit said, or maybe asked. I wasn’t sure.
“What do you mean, you said yes?” Dirk asked, dropping his fork to the plate, causing a loud clattering sound.
Avery glanced at me, silently asking for help. I slowly shook my head. She was on her own with this one.
Sitting up taller, she cleared her throat. “I just think it’s best if I move out.”
“Why?” they both asked at once.
For a moment, it seemed like Avery wasn’t going to come up with an answer—then she closed her eyes briefly. “Because the other day, I heard the two of you having sex in Dad’s office.”
