She circled the kitchen and peeked into the living room. “This is what it looks like in the daylight.”
“Pretty simple.” And old. Trying to see it through her eyes, the outdated 90’s decor was glaring, along with the faded carpet and drapes. He’d planned to upgrade a little each year, but he’d gotten so busy, it’d fallen to the end of the priority list.
“It’s nice,” she said. “And there’s a lower level?”
He slid their breakfast, brunch for him, onto a couple of plates. Setting the pan back down, he frowned. Whenever he’d eaten with Daisy and Mari, they’d had an abundance of fresh produce. Well, his eggs were homegrown, but that was all on the plate.
He could get fruit and veggies at the grocery store, but the prices were obscene this time of year and the quality dipped. He had a fridge full of oranges and apples, though.
While he prepped those, he rambled. “My brothers are at school and everyone is working right now, but I thought we could go to town and get a coat and some sweaters for you. Boots, too. Gloves and hat. Do you have any of that?”
“Not really, no.” She looked so petite standing in the middle of his kitchen with no idea what to do.
He gestured to the table. “Go ahead and have a seat. I’ll bring our plates.”
Instead of sitting, she came to him and helped carry the food over. “This looks good.”
He wanted to use her answer. Not really, no. Scrambled eggs and orange slices weren’t the food he wanted to impress his fiancée with.
“We can run to the grocery store, too. To get any stuff you like.”
She paused with her fork over her plate. “Do you think your family would like my cooking?”
He chuckled. “My brothers and I split the cooking around here. Sometimes Dad makes his chili. But our first rule is there’s no complaining.”
The awkwardness lingered as they ate. She didn’t comment on his food. Was she following the rule, or did she really think it tasted like more than blah warm goo?
He snagged her plate when she was done. “Mind meeting my dad before we run to town?”
“It’s no problem.” She met him at the sink and prepared to wash.
“Oh, we have a dishwasher. Just leave them. One of us will load them later.”
Her tiny apartment hadn’t had one, and it’d only been her and Mari. His family probably used as many dishes in one day that those two had all week.
Before they got going, he had to make sure they were on the same page. “When we get to town, you might get introduced to others. If it ever gets overwhelming, just give me a nudge or something.”
She considered him. “Were you overwhelmed at Solano?”
He lifted a shoulder. “There was too much new stuff to take in, so, no. I enjoyed meeting your family. But it was also like a vacation for me. This is your new…”
She met his gaze. “My new life.”
“Weird, huh?”
“Surreal.” Her gaze drifted away before she looked back. “I missed you.”
He pulled her toward him until he could hook his hands behind her waist. “So much.” He dropped his head for a real kiss, not the quick peck he limited himself to the night before. As long as she reciprocated.
And she did. Her hands hugged his shoulders. His hands crept lower. He just wanted to touch her again. It’d been so long.
“Here’s the jacket and some other things I could find,” his mother called from the stairwell.
Daisy jerked back, her flush deepening. But Mom didn’t come all the way up. It would’ve been too much work.
“She’ll probably swim in them.” Mom’s voice faded. Daytime TV called to her.
Daisy sighed and buried her head in his shirt.
Note to self: she wasn’t comfortable with PDAs in front of his family yet.
He grinned and rubbed Daisy’s back. “You might want to throw another shirt under that sweater before I show you around. Then we’ll go to town.”
He led her toward the stairs. “The basement entrance and mudroom are over here. The backdoor is just around the corner.” Stooping to grab the clothing, he looked over the selection. None of it was Daisy’s simple style.
Hell, his mom even threw in an ugly Christmas sweater. At least there was a winter coat, the kind with the outer shell and fleece insert. Perfect.
When he turned, she was staring at the pictures on the wall that led past the kitchen to the hallway. Shoving the pile under one arm, he pointed out people.
“This one is from the day me and the guys signed for the business.” He touched on each guy as he said their names.
“It’s nicer than the tiny pictures on your phone.” She moved to the next photo.
He tapped on the glass. “This was the last official family photo we took, like ten years ago. Did I show you Jackson’s senior picture?”
“He looks a lot more like you.”
“Yeah, but he’s stockier and way more shy than I ever was.” He handed her the coat and dug out a hat and gloves from his mom’s stash. “Put these on. There’s a pair of boots by the door.”
“Are you sure she doesn’t mind?” She held the coat up and inspected all the zippers and pockets.
“She’s lived here her whole life. I bet she has at least five winter coats, eight light jackets, and probably a hundred sweaters.”
She eyed the dark pink and white jacket for another second before swinging it over her shoulders. “I can’t believe how cold it was last night.”
“It’ll be like that for a few more days, then warm up to single digits.” He showed her around the rest of the upstairs since it’d been too late for a tour when they’d gotten in. There wasn’t much to see, but he wanted her to feel…at home.
Before they went outside, he geared her up with the rest of her cold weather items. By the time he was done, she was the best snow bunny he could’ve ever dreamed of. She’d rolled the bottom of her wool knit hat and had matching gloves that her hands must swim in. Mom’s calf boots gave her enough protection to keep her feet and legs warm.
They wandered outside. She gasped as the air hit her face.
He glanced back and caught the end of her grimace. She was about to say something, but stopped and blew a lungful of air that puffed into a cloud. Then giggled.
He’d grown up in this weather and not once had he played with his breath. Maybe as a kid and he didn’t remember.
Imagining what is was like to experience it for the first time seemed impossible, but she was expressive enough that he understood.
“It’s so cold.” She tucked her face into the collar of her jacket. “I suppose you’re used to it.”
“I don’t think we’re ever used to it. These kinds of temps shock the system no matter what. We just adapt to dealing with it.”
A dusting of snow had fallen overnight. Their boots crunched on the surface like they were walking across a Styrofoam egg carton to the shop where his truck was parked. She waited by the door while he hopped in to start it and slid back out.
“It’ll warm up while I show you around.” He hated keeping her outside so long, but this was her new home.
He walked her through the shop, into the front of the barn, and past the large silver metal cylinder grain bins.
“Those are massive,” she breathed. The tip of her nose was red. Cute as hell. “Are they full of grain?”
“Depends on the time of year.”
She nodded and spun in a slow circle to get a panoramic view of the property. “All this is yours?”
“Everything the house and out-buildings are sitting on, yes. And twenty more acres. All the fields and pastures are Walker Five land, so I’m a co-owner of those. You’ll get a better view of all that when we head to town. Ready?”
His ego screamed its impatience. Months of keeping his fiancée a secret. And he could finally introduce her to people. They might wonder how he and Daisy met, but there was nothing wrong with meeting online. No one had to know it was a dating site meant
to find a spouse. He sure wasn’t going to tell anyone.
Chapter Thirteen
Daisy tossed the last bag into the back seat of the pickup. She’d seen the space a few other times, but each time it hit her that, wow, it was really messy.
And why would that bother her? She’d always been a tidy kid and hadn’t changed as an adult. Would it bother her if her husband was a slob?
Yes, but she didn’t get that impression from Aaron. But all he’d had in his hotel room was his suitcase and she’d only seen it the last night before he’d left when it had been packed.
So messy! Articles of clothing were strewn across the seats and on the floor. Vehicles parts, or maybe equipment for the goliath machinery in his shop, was half buried. Baseball caps that had Walker Five logos on them peeked out. At least three.
A pair of overalls and an additional winter coat topped the pile like a fluffy, oil stained cherry.
She hadn’t known that side of Aaron, hadn’t gotten exposed to this side of him. He was still Aaron, but now he was…more? Different? It didn’t help they’d been apart for over two months.
Shutting the door, she mentally shook herself. They’d grown close quickly online. Their chemistry had been more than a slow burn to an explosive goodbye. They’d get back there.
Aaron had her door open, waiting. She slid into the toasty seat. In town, the weather was the same, but the effect was dampened from all the buildings and short distances to walk from a parking spot.
She shook her head. The longest they’d had to scurry between his pickup and an entrance was less than a hundred meters. Definitely not like Manila, but more like her hometown of Solano. But for as long as they’d been in town, through three stores and soon the grocery store, she hadn’t seen one bus.
“Where’s the public transportation?” she asked when Aaron climbed in. He’d said she’d learn to drive after moving here, but how would her feet reach the pedals in this beast?
His easy shrug soothed her brimming anxiety. She was used to stepping out the door and having a variety of methods available to her. Some better than others, some more accessible. But they were there.
“They’re around,” he said.
She kept watch. Cars and pickups. Delivery trucks. Depending where they were in town, semis would cross their path, or cattle trucks like the one parked in one of Aaron’s massive shops.
It was her first day in a new country. She needed to soak in her surroundings and enjoy Aaron’s presence.
Within minutes, they were at a grocery store. A warehouse-style supermarket, similar but larger than she was used to in Solano. In Manila, she’d popped in and out of smaller markets, grabbing only what she’d need for a day or two. Then Ina had moved in and taken over much of the shopping.
She took her time perusing the aisles. Aaron wandered next to her, answering any questions she had.
“Oh, Ina loves these.” She grabbed a package of coconut macaroons and added them to her cart. “We don’t have this brand at home.”
Aaron indicated the cart. “You can get something for yourself, you know.”
So far, she’d grabbed random food items for Ina to sample. Food was her thing. It was hard not to think of her in a grocery store.
“You miss her.”
The sadness must’ve shown on her face. “Yes. I missed her before I left, like I did when I first went to university. Now that I’m here…” She returned to strolling down the aisle. If she didn’t move, tears might spring up. She didn’t need to be crying on her first day in America. “It’s different.”
“We can send her as big a box as you want.”
His caring words ignited a warm glow that threatened to overheat her in the coat. She removed her hat and set it in the shopping cart with her gloves. She steeled herself for the lingering glances from strangers. It wasn’t as bad when she was covered from nearly head to toe.
She sensed no hostility, but it wasn’t in her nature to stand out—ever. Going out with Aaron in Manila and Solano had been similar, but he’d been the one others had stared at too long.
She grabbed a few meal staples that Aaron might not have stocked. They reached the produce section. She catalogued a meal in her head to prepare for Aaron and his family. Picking through, she chose the ingredients. The store had most of what she was looking for. When she thumbed through jalapeños, Aaron leaned over her shoulder.
“Only get what you’ll eat. I can guarantee none of the rest will touch that.”
But they were only jalapeños. “Nothing?”
“Well, maybe the boys will try it, but I’ve rarely seen them use the pepper shaker. Eh, go ahead and try it. It’ll be good for them.”
As she bagged her peppers, a swaggering man about Aaron’s age approached. His gaze swept her from head to toe, but not in a leery way. Curiosity, but more personal than others around town. He was dressed similar to Aaron with blue jeans, work boots, and a heavy winter coat that was left hanging open while he was in the store. Attractive, with mussed brown hair and eyes as light a brown as a walnut shell. But he didn’t give her the stirrings in her belly like Aaron did.
The man addressed Aaron when he approached. “Where have you been? I’ve sent you a text I don’t know how many times.”
Aaron frowned and withdrew his phone. “I sent you a message back. Oh.” He squinted at the screen and tapped it. “There. Now I sent the message. Lucas, this is Dalisay.”
Lucas held out his hand and she shook it. Somehow, she ended up pressed against Aaron’s side. Had he pulled her in, or had she sought refuge from the scrutiny? Aaron had talked about his good friend Lucas. She struggled to recall the details.
“How’s Moore treating you?” Lucas asked.
“It’s been very well, thank you.”
Lucas nodded and peered at her like he didn’t know what else to say. He switched back to Aaron. “You two need to come out and catch me up on everything. Last week, you didn’t mention she was coming.”
“I— We didn’t know then.”
“Well, that’s awesome. Why don’t we go to Barley ‘n’ Hops this weekend? Name the night and maybe I’ll have a shot with Trina when she sees you’re taken.”
Aaron stiffened against her. The comment seeped in. Trina was…interested in Aaron? Or had they been a thing?
The brutal question arose. How much did she trust Aaron? They’d talked about relationships, and their expectations in one, and he knew of the reason behind her failed engagement. But she hadn’t outright asked him if he’d quit seeing others.
“No—” Aaron started.
“Yes. It sounds like a fun place.” She smiled at the two men.
Lucas’s brows popped up like he’d been expecting resistance. “Great. Saturday, then. Eight o’clock.” He sauntered off with a bunch of bananas tucked under an arm.
“That went…weird,” Aaron muttered, scowling at his friend’s back. He blinked. “And it sounded really incriminating for me, didn’t it?”
She went for nonplussed, but probably failed.
“I’ll explain on the ride home.” He bent to whisper in her ear, his warm breath caressing her skin. She missed that. “Too many ears listening around here.”
He didn’t sound like a guy caught in a two-timing lie. Her tension drained, and she finished her shopping.
Back in his truck, he explained about hooking up with Trina and getting the brush-off, and Lucas’s odd behavior around the woman, before and after his wife left him.
There was more to Lucas than his blunt behavior, and if he was a friend of Aaron’s, then she wanted to get to know him. Saturday night. Aaron said he’d already made it clear he was taken, and Daisy would make sure it was obvious. She wasn’t losing another fiancé.
Chapter Fourteen
Aaron twirled his spaghetti around his fork. Nicolas had cooked supper tonight and they all sat around the table. Daisy had met all of his family and his best friend. Tomorrow, he’d subject her to his cousins and their wives. With the siz
e of his family, the slower the better.
“How was shopping today?” Mom asked. Puffy bags rimmed under her eyes and the aura of haggardness around her was more apparent than before. Was she not feeling well?
Daisy nodded around a mouthful of noodles.
“We ran into Lucas.” He stabbed into a meatball. The encounter had left Aaron with a “thrown under the bus” feeling. There was nothing to be ashamed of, and there were women in Moore he had slept with—all before Daisy—but pointing Trina out on Daisy’s first day here was underhanded. And he had to face that business Saturday night.
Jackson spoke up. “I heard he’s getting divorced? And here I thought he was oblivious to how big of a bitch Shaylee is.”
“Jackson!” Aaron snapped. Daisy chewed next to him, riveted to the conversation.
His brother shrugged. “Whatever. Maybe she was nice to you. I started asking for a different hygienist. My teeth throbbed for days after she cleaned them. I made a comment once and was afraid she’d shank me with her little pointy tool.”
Nicolas snorted. “Totally. I told her that she must polish teeth with the tears of her patients.”
Aaron was about to admonish them for trashing Shaylee around Daisy but couldn’t stop his chuckle. What Nicolas said was probably too close to true. “I never went to her. Thought it’d be weird.”
And he’d gotten tired of always getting asked when he was going to settle down. Who’s the next to marry into the Walker empire, Aaron? She always said it around Lucas, too. Mind fucked him good, and Aaron hadn’t noticed it until now. No wonder Lucas used him to make himself look better. How long before Aaron got his friend back?
The conversation fell quiet.
His dad snuck furtive glances at Daisy but didn’t address her. She was going to be his daughter-in-law, and the man who’d raised all boys apparently didn’t know what to do.
Jackson broke the silence. “I have a date to prom.”
They all stopped and gaped at him. Jackson never had a date. Daisy looked around the table and set her fork down.
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