I pulled up to the house, shut off the engine, and turned in my seat to face her.
“Little Dragon.”
She met my eyes, hers so indescribably sad, I was moved. “Hey, what is it?”
“I’m sorry about my brothers. I really had no idea—” She paused and swallowed. “I’ll make sure they know not to bother you.”
“It’s fine.”
“I know you like your privacy. I’ll grab my groceries and clear out. But I had a great day, Hunter.” She stretched her head and kissed my cheek. “Thank you.”
She slid from the truck, and I blinked.
She was leaving?
I was out of the truck, stilling her hands before she could reach in the back for her bags. “Whoa, hold up. What exactly is going on in that pretty head of yours? I’m not upset. I know you didn’t arrange for your brothers to see us. Shit, Little Dragon, it was just dumb luck.” Realization dawned on me. “That’s what you think, isn’t it? That I think you arranged all this somehow.” I barked out a laugh. “Not even you can be that meticulous.”
“I don’t want you thinking that I think there is more to this than there is. That I somehow was pushing—”
I cut her off and wrapped her in my arms. “I don’t think anything. We ran into your brothers. Hell, Ava, you know people everywhere you go. They can all think what they want. I don’t care. Just because your brothers ribbed me a little, I can take it. I don’t want you to go.”
“You don’t?”
“You really think I’m that much of an asshole?”
“No. But I know how it looks.”
I chuckled. “You were as shocked as me both times. If I hadn’t knocked over the cans, we would have made the escape you were trying to engineer. Stop overthinking this. Everything is fine.” I brushed a kiss to her head. “Stay. Please. I got wine and steak. I even bought potatoes because your mom said they’re your favorite.” I reached behind her and pulled out the small bunch of flowers she hadn’t noticed since she’d been so preoccupied with the crazy thoughts in her head.
“And these are for you.”
Her eyes widened, filled with shock. “Really?”
“If I give them to Cash, he’ll eat them. And when I buy myself flowers to feel pretty, I prefer roses,” I deadpanned.
She looked up, her lips quirking. “Red ones?”
“Peach, darling. I sprinkle them on the bed and roll around in them. I look fabulous in peach.”
That did it. She threw back her head in laughter, and I had to kiss her. Long, thoroughly, and deep.
“Stay.”
“Yes.”
I winked. “Good.”
Chapter 11
Hunter
I sat back, replete. I picked up my wine and sipped the rich, heady red with appreciation. We had unpacked the groceries, stored Ava’s in the bottom of the still mostly empty refrigerator, then I had grilled the steak and Ava had made some sort of potatoes and onions she put in foil and cooked on the barbecue. I had no idea what was in them, but they were delicious. I had once again witnessed her love of potatoes when she slid part of her steak onto my plate, then picked at pieces of potatoes I had left in exchange. Laughing, I had pushed the plate closer to her so she could get at them easier. She was rather endearing with her potato-stealing ways.
“Awesome dinner,” I mused.
Ava smiled, picking up her wine. “Perfect summery meal.” She sighed. “It would have been better with corn, but that won’t be ready for a couple of months.” She eyed me over the rim. “Will, ah, you still be here for corn harvest?”
“Depends on how work goes here. There is a lot to be done.”
She looked at the worn table, running her finger over the faded top. “You have someplace else to be? Like a set date you have to leave?”
“No.”
“You mentioned you were in Alberta before you came here. You have a place there?”
“No. I rented a room in a house with a bunch of guys. Before that, I was in a place outside town—a little trailer. I had a rented room in a boarding house prior to that, a small apartment for a while…” I paused, taking a drink of wine. “I can go on if you want.”
She frowned. “You don’t have a home? A base?”
“No. I never have.”
Her shock was written on her face. “Never?”
I didn’t really like to discuss my past. But I ran a hand over my jaw, scrubbing it roughly. “I have never had a place to call home. My mother never settled anywhere for longer than a few months. I don’t know any other way to live. When I went out on my own, I just stuck with what I knew. I have my truck, my dog, and I go where the wind takes me.”
“Just like that?” she asked.