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Even though he knew better, a pleased little rush of warmth trickled through his chest."Thanks," he said, keeping his tone light and easy, "but I just got knocked around a bit.You know how hard my head is."
"That's true," she said wryly.
Aiden tugged his boots over a pair of thick wool socks and stood.He snagged a clean flannel shirt from a nearby pile and said, "It was nice of you to check on me."
She frowned. "What kind of mother would I be if I didn't worry about you?"
Aiden didn't reply. He knew his mother well enough to read between the lines; she hadn't worried about him but knew she should.Gossip flew around a tiny town like Sweetwater quicker than flies at a barbeque.Folks started gabbing any time Fire-Rescue was activated, and she'd been acutely aware of how it would look if she didn't show some maternal concern.As the town's only licensed therapist, she understood how normal family relationships worked, despite being incapable of doing more than a shallow impersonation.
Aiden brushed his teeth under her watchful scrutiny and quickly glanced in the mirror above the sink.His blond curls were unruly as always, but nothing he couldn't hide with a hat.The tawny scruff on his jaw could stretch another day before he was forced to shave.It never grew quickly, and he'd rather not fuss too much with his face until the shiner over his left eye healed.
The elk's rack hadn't been nearly as big as it would be someday, but it still clocked him a good one.Mia was right; he was damn lucky to be alive.Seth must have pulled him out of the water only moments after he'd lost consciousness.That meant he'd been somewhere nearby the whole time—watching.Aiden wasn't sure what to make of that or the complicated tangle of unhappy emotions it stirred within him.
He cleared his throat. "I've got to get going, Mom.Deb needs a ride."
"Yes, of course," she said absently, thoughts a mile away."But I wanted to talk about the roof before you go."
Aiden glanced up toward his ceiling."What roof?"
"The house," she said impatiently."It needs a new roof."
"I just put new shingles up two years ago," Aiden said incredulously.
She shrugged, pulled out her cell phone, and began scrolling."I don't know what to tell you.I had a special technician visit from Boise, and he said I'd benefit from top-line slate shingles."
"That'll cost an arm and a leg," Aiden cautioned.
"If you pay half, it would be very reasonable for both of us.After all, it's your home, too."
Aiden couldn't help but laugh."I haven't lived there in over a decade!"
She waved the point away as if shooing a pesky fly."It's your childhood home. Why wouldn't you want to help?If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have bought so much property in the first place.I worked hard to give you a proper place to grow up—or would you rather have been raised in a place like this?"
"I wouldn't have minded," Aiden said casually.
Her lip curled as if he'd just asked her to wash his dirty socks."I wish you'd stop saying these things just to aggravate me."
Aiden sighed, snagged his winter jacket off the hook by the door, and gestured for her to follow him out so he could lock up."How much do you need?"
"Twenty thousand."
When he slipped on the step this time, it wasn't because of the ice.At least he caught himself before landing face-first in the snow."Oh, sure," he said sarcastically."Just let me cash in some bonds, move some money around.No problem."
"There's no need to be snide.After everything I've done for you, the least you can do is help me upgrade the house so I can grow old comfortably.That's not so much to ask…or is it?"
Aiden had never met a woman capable of lifting her nose in the air quite like his mother.She'd turned it into an art form that never failed to send a spike of irrational anger straight through his brain.He wasn't the only one, judging by the vicious way Deb snapped her bubblegum as she climbed into his truck.
"She's a real piece of work," Deb muttered, wrestling with her seatbelt as the Lexus backed out behind them."No offense, sweetheart, but I don't know how a lamb like you managed to crawl out of that woman's womb."
"Ugh." He shuddered. "If you value my sanity, you won't ever say those words in my earshot."
"Sorry," she said with a laugh."You know what I mean. You've lived here almost as long as me.Since you were—what? Seventeen?Eighteen? In all that time, I've never seen you without a smile on your face.You're as different from Babs as fish and feathers."
"Yeah." Aiden watched in his rearview mirror as the brake lights of the Lexusflashed.He swallowed the itchy, unsettled feeling climbing up his chest and said, "She's not sobad.Just wants love, like all the rest ofus."
Too bad hardly anyone ever foundit.
Chapter Three
