Winter Waites (Aster Valley 0.50)

I set down my wineglass and wrapped both arms around him. “Do you dream about being able to make her life easier one day, now that you’re making better money?”

He laughed softly. “I’m a hundred and three thousand dollars in debt, Gent. I did the math and figured out it will take me approximately the rest of my life to pay it off.” He took another sip of wine and leaned over to set his glass next to mine. “Nah. It should take me about ten years. I have good interest rates. It’s just a matter of banging it out and not being stupid. I’m taking on extra work to get through it quicker. It’ll happen. Thankfully, I have an aunt who lives outside of Denver who’s pretty good with cars. Whenever something comes up with the jeep, she usually helps me figure it out. And Summer has some good scholarships. I mostly help her with the extra stuff. Books, fees, clothes… that kind of thing. But she has a really old car, and I’d like to replace it sooner than later. I told my aunt to keep an eye out for a good deal.”

Winter stared into the fire for a while before continuing. “You asked whether I’d want to help my mom out. That’s tough. I feel like I should say yes. Of course I should. She’s my mom. And she was left in a bad way.”

“But?” I asked gently.

He shrugged and continued staring into the fire. “She always has excuses for everything. For a long time, I thought it was normal to call into work sick if you didn’t feel like going. Or to ask people for free stuff with made-up stories about family emergencies. Yes, she’s worked hard, but only when it was that or literally starve. And even then, she’d tell Summer and me to go to our friends’ houses for dinner as often as we could. Sometimes I feel ungrateful, but sometimes I feel resentful, you know?”

I didn’t. My family hadn’t been very wealthy, but we’d been stable. We’d never come close to going without the necessities.

“I might as well have grown up in an eighties sitcom,” I admitted. “We were fine. My parents were nutty, but they loved the hell out of us.”

“You have brothers and sisters?” Winter asked.

I nodded. “Three sisters and one brother. My brother is the youngest. He’s just finishing college and works part-time for our brother-in-law who runs a ranch. He loves working with animals.” Then I told him about two of my sisters’ exploits sharing an apartment in Dallas while working and partying in the city. “And my oldest sister is a stay-at-home mom in west Texas. Her husband is the rancher. Rae raises chickens and wants to homeschool her kids when they’re old enough. Then there’s me. I’m the oldest.”

“So everyone in your family is back in Texas except you? Do you miss them?”

I thought about it before answering. “Mom and Dad are retired now and they’re traveling a ton. So they’re not home much. I wish I lived closer to Rae mostly so I could see my nieces more often. But the other three? They’re not really settled yet, so it doesn’t make much sense for me to move back just to have them all wind up scattering to the four winds, you know?” I let out a chuckle. “Besides, my mom’s brother Doran lives in my guesthouse and runs my life, so I don’t exactly need more family around.”

“You’re kidding? What’s he like? Is he your manager?”

“No. He’s more of a personal assistant. He’s really quirky. You’d love him. Everyone loves him. He asked if he could come with me to LA when I first moved out there. He’s always wanted to see what it was like in a big city. I said sure. Uncle Doran refused to do it without finding a way to earn his keep. We just sort of fell into this symbiotic relationship. He keeps my personal life and the house in order, and if the band goes on tour, he comes along and takes on the role of everyone’s mother. Makes sure we eat and sleep, get where we need to be on time. He’s great.”

We kept talking without realizing how much time was passing. When I finally noticed Winter’s eyes lowering, I nudged him up. “Bed, sweetheart,” I murmured. “You’re dead on your feet, and it’s late.”

I enjoyed putting him to bed more than I expected. This whole night had been a domestic scene I’d never had before. I’d spent so many years chasing my dream of becoming a singer and songwriter that I’d never slowed down enough for an actual relationship.

But as I settled into the bed with Winter curled up in my arms, I realized how much I’d been missing. The comfort, the quiet companionship. The shared laughs and sexy looks across the dinner table. Giving a shit about someone else’s life outside of my family because I cared about them and wanted them to be happy.