AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Stop,” I patted the dog, then shooed her away. With some effort, I bit my tongue, keeping my crass comment about privates to myself.
“It’s fine, she’s sweet,” Delaney said. “I love dogs.”
“Watch out for that one. She begs something fierce. Never let your guard down or you will lose your meal.”
Delaney giggled, some of the tension draining from her face. I squeezed her hand and we walked into the kitchen where my mom was taking the rolls out of the oven.
“Hi, honey. And welcome, Delaney. We’re so glad you’re here.” My mom smiled warmly at Delaney, giving me a hug and Delaney’s arm a squeeze. “It’s so good to see you. It’s been a while. I think the last time I saw you, you were just out of high school.”
Delaney smiled. “Hopefully I’ve changed a little since then. For the better, at least the hair.” She flipped her wavy hair behind her shoulder and the gesture sent me back to when we were kids, hanging out in the Miller’s den. She was probably barely a teenager at the time, but she flipped her hair the exact same way, even back then. I smiled to myself.
“What?” Delaney asked, glancing over at me.
“Nothing.” I squeezed her hand. “Mom, can we help with anything?”
“No. You kids fix yourself a drink and go relax. Ryder and Bree are out in the yard with Charlie.”
“Okay, if you change your mind, just holler.” I grabbed a beer for myself and a glass of wine for Delaney, then we headed out to the yard.
The term ‘yard’ was an understatement. My parents’ house sat on eight glorious acres of land, with a sizable vegetable garden for my mom, a huge barn my dad converted to a workshop for himself, and a tire swing for Charlie. Ryder and I enjoyed what people were now calling a “free-range childhood” and it had been fantastic. I was glad Charlie got to live out here. It was a great place to be a kid.
Ryder pushed Charlie on the tire swing, Bree next to him, chatting away. Both of them were smiling and my brother’s shoulders were relaxed. I was struck by how calm and content he looked. He was happy and it showed. Ryder was not a guy built to be alone.
“Hey, Uncle Quinn!” Charlie waved to me from the swing, a big, gappy grin on his face.
“Hey, bud. Ryder, you remember Delaney.”
“Hey, good to see you again.” He nodded at her, not missing a beat in his pushing duty.
“And, of course, you know Bree.”
“Great to see you, Delaney,” Bree said, smiling at her. Bree was probably happy there was another woman to talk to besides my mom. The McCauliffe house had always run high on testosterone.
“How’s everything going at the bakery, Delaney?” Bree asked.
“Awesome, actually. We’ve had a lot of traffic and holiday orders are starting to roll in. I think I’m going to hire at least one more person, we’re so busy.” Delaney’s face lit up as she talked about the bakery, her cheeks flushing a light pink, her eyes gleaming in the sunshine. She was definitely passionate about her business.
“That’s wonderful,” Bree said, smiling. “I read the article in the paper. I bet you’re going to have even more customers now!”
“I hope so. That was my number one concern, but it hasn’t been an issue so far.”
“Oh, after tasting your brownies, I don’t think you have much to worry about!” Bree laughed.
“Thanks,” Delaney said, grinning. “That’s my Nana’s recipe and it never disappoints.”
“I’m beginning to regret having my office so close to your bakery. The smell of freshly baked cookies is too hard to resist,” Bree said.
Delaney laughed. “You could stop by every day and still look amazing. Tell me more about your business.”
Bree stood a little straighter, smoothing her long hair over her shoulder. “I have a counseling practice and my main focus is dating and relationships. Plus I run a blog and have a weekly podcast.”
“That’s so cool,” Delaney said, her eyes wide.
“It’s an interesting line of work. I have some good articles on my website, if you want to check it out. Not that you need it, of course, but I like to think there’s some interesting info there.”
Just what I needed. Delaney checking out all of Bree’s dating advice.
I wanted to make a snarky joke about Bree being Dr. Love, but since Charlie was there, I resisted.
