Finding Faith (Love's Compass Book 4) (10 page)

“I appreciate that.” He watched as Zane went through the door and disappeared from sight. Despite the worry over what he should do about Cynthia, the memory of his kiss with Serenity kept his heart sailing the rest of the afternoon.

It’d been over twenty-four hours since Serenity had watched Aaron walk out her door and it felt more like an eternity. The feel of his lips on hers left an impression that wasn’t going to fade anytime soon. She hadn’t let a man get close to her since Jay. She’d never even been tempted. Yet she managed to meet a man that had the ability to send her heart galloping with one of his smiles.

Not unlike his toe-curling kisses. Her hand moved to touch her lips of their own accord. Memories of the way he’d held her brought color to her cheeks and warmth to her heart.

She’d felt safe. Wanted.

And it scared her. Ever since she and Gideon moved, she’d been handling everything on her own. It was exactly what she wanted to do. Except that Aaron made her want to lean on him.

True to his word, Aaron had called last night after he got home. They talked about work, the weather, Serenity’s crochet, and Aaron’s music. Before she knew it, the clock read eleven and they decided they should probably say goodbye and get some rest.

Before hanging up the phone, Aaron had asked if he could bring pizza by the next day and have an early dinner with them. Serenity wasn’t about to turn him down.

Now she kept pacing between the kitchen and the living room, as if that would move time along any quicker. She made another batch of cookies and had them cooling on the counter. She’d taken one to Gideon in his room when she heard something at the front door.

Blood raced through her veins as she forced herself to walk calmly to the door. She pulled it open, a smile already stretching across her face.

To find no one outside.

Gideon raced up beside her and she stuck a hand out to stop him from exiting the house. “Hold on, big guy. I thought that was the Music Man. But no one’s here. Stay inside for a minute, please.” She waited long enough to make sure he obeyed and took several steps out onto the porch. She swiveled her head, taking in the front of the house and street.

There was nothing worth being alarmed about, but the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Kia rubbed against her ankles. Serenity picked her up and absently rubbed her ears.

Serenity shivered just as Aaron’s car parked along the curb. He got out and jogged around the vehicle to the passenger side where he retrieved three pizza boxes. A bright smile lit up his face until he got close enough to see her expression. Concern flashed in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

She told him about the sound at the door, chill bumps lining her arms. She didn’t feel as exposed now that Aaron was there, but she still couldn’t quite shake the impression that they were being watched. With a wary glance at the road, she started to close the door behind them.

Aaron shot her a concerned glance and set the boxes down on the table. “I’m going to go outside and take a look.”

Serenity shook her head. “I’m sure I’m being paranoid.”

He appeared doubtful. “I’m a fan of listening to your instincts. I’ll be right back.”

She stayed at the door until he returned. “Did you see anything?”

“Nothing obvious. You’re keeping your doors locked at all times, right?”

She nodded and closed the door. She set Kia down on the floor. “I’m almost neurotic about it.” 

“Good. If you see anyone snooping around, let me know.”

“Thank you.”

Aaron lightly touched her arm. “You’re welcome.” He reacted quickly as Gideon flew through the air and into his arms. “Hey! You seem to be feeling better today. How’s your head?”

Gideon put a hand on the bandage and smiled before going back to the dominoes he was lining up on the kitchen floor.

“He hasn’t complained of any pain. He’s a tough kid.” Serenity retrieved the plates and napkins from the counter and set them beside the pizza. “If it weren’t for the gauze, you’d have never known anything happened.” She headed back for the kitchen to retrieve glasses of water.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Aaron caught her arm on the way by, gently tugging her to a stop in front of him. “I’m glad we’re having dinner together. I see you every other day of the week and find I miss you a great deal on Saturdays.”

Serenity smiled as his words warmed her. “I know exactly what you mean.” The man had been there less than ten minutes and she already wanted to feel his arms around her again. Good grief, they hadn’t even eaten yet.

Aaron released her arm and motioned towards the boxes. “I brought two kinds of pizza plus breadsticks. I wasn’t sure what you guys preferred, so I went with the basics.”

Serenity lifted the lids and took in a whiff. “Pepperoni and sausage. You can’t go wrong with that.” She got the glasses of water. “I haven’t had pizza in a while — which is sad, really.”

The aroma must have made its way into the rest of the house because Gideon followed it out to the table and took his seat. Aaron prayed for their food and as soon as “Amen” had been uttered, Gideon took a giant bite of his breadstick with gusto. He ate half of it before even looking at the small slice of pizza in front of him.

Serenity chuckled. “It’s like you read his mind. He loves breadsticks. He rarely eats pizza, but I always offer just in case. You know, when he was a toddler, he ate pepperoni pizza. Then he’d only eat it if it were cheese. Now even that’s rare.” The variety of foods her son ate seemed to decrease all the time and it worried her. She tried to focus on the things he did eat and be thankful for that. She’d heard of kids with autism who ate much less than he did. It could be worse.

She caught Aaron watching her and realized she must have had a faraway look on her face. She gave him a reassuring smile and held up her slice of pepperoni. “But no worries, I’ll make up for him.” She raised an eyebrow and took a bite. The melted cheese stretched from her mouth to the pizza and she had to use the other hand to break it off before it became more embarrassing than it already was.

His lips stretched into a wide grin before he took a bite of his own, facing the same problem she had. They were both laughing by the time they’d finished their mouthfuls. Gideon watched them. The expression on his face told them he didn’t get it at all, which made them laugh harder.

Serenity enjoyed the meal immensely. Her eyes widened at the amount of food that remained. “I think you could have brought half this and it would’ve been plenty.”

“If I did that, there wouldn’t have been any leftovers for you.” He winked.

The nearly empty fridge yesterday must have made an impression on him. Normally, she would have been embarrassed at the possibility that he thought he needed to bring them food so they’d have enough to eat. But the look in his eyes reassured her he was only being kind. “I appreciate the thought. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He motioned to the boxes. “Do you think Gideon will want more?”

“I doubt it. I’ll leave the food on his plate out a little while longer in case he changes his mind.”

Her son had gone back to building with dominoes.

Aaron gathered the food and put it in the fridge for her. Serenity cleaned off the table and tossed the cloth into the sink from the doorway.

“Nice shot.” Aaron’s voice was low as he bent to place a kiss on her cheek. He squeezed her hand before moving to sit on the floor near Gideon.

She listened to his deep voice as he commented on the domino setup. She sat down on the futon to check e-mail on her phone. Gideon must have sent the dominoes falling because after the loud clatter, both guys clapped enthusiastically.

Aaron was still smiling when he walked into the living room. “He’s got skill for creating some of those taller structures. Who knows, maybe he’ll become an architect when he grows up.”

Serenity could picture that. Gideon liked to work with his hands and create things.

Aaron paused by the futon and motioned to the cushion next to her. “Is this spot free?”

“It is.” Serenity tried to focus on something else to keep the rush of color from her face. The futon dipped as he settled next to her, his arm close enough to brush against hers.

~

Aaron felt the warmth of her arm against his. He reached for her hand, enjoying the way it seemed to disappear in his own. Her fingers were long and delicate. They’d be perfect for playing the piano. His mind searched for a conversation starter to keep his thoughts from focusing on how badly he wanted to kiss her again. “Did you two have a relaxing day?”

“We did. We watched a movie earlier. He’s been happy to sit around and play. Sometimes our weeks are so busy we have to decompress over the weekend. Hey, did you hear whether they got the printer fixed yesterday?”

“Yes, it’s working normally now. Although I heard Cynthia complained the whole time the repairman was there.”

“Thank goodness. I was dreading going into work on Monday if they hadn’t.”

Monday. Aaron thought about his schedule for the new week and scowled. “I’m not going to be here for lunch that day. My mother’s going to be in town. She’s never here long and wants me to meet her for lunch. I didn’t want you to think I forgot and blew it off.”

“Thanks for letting me know. I hope the visit with your mom goes well.”

Aaron stifled a groan. “Yeah, so do I. But usually, when she comes to visit, there’s some ulterior motive behind it. And as a side bonus, I get to hear complaints about the latest man in her life.”

“That sounds stressful. What brought her to town?”

He absently rubbed the top of her thumb with his own. He pictured the small graveyard nestled in the trees about a half hour’s drive away. The marker with his brother’s name on it was in a section of the graveyard where the area was covered with bluebonnets in the spring. During the summer, lush green grass grew around it.
Beloved son and brother.
He shook to clear the engraved words from his mind.

Serenity was watching him when he looked up, chewing on her lip and concern drawing her brows together. She gave his hand a squeeze.

He took a settling breath. “Today is my little brother’s birthday. She always comes to town long enough to visit his grave.” Irritation rose like bile in his throat. “My father comes around in the evening. Because they can’t stand to be in the same place at the same time. I’ll meet him for dinner.” Aaron rarely spoke about his family, so why was he suddenly sharing all of this with Serenity?

Maybe it was because she was watching him with eyes that held the right balance of understanding and concern. What he appreciated was the lack of pity. The last thing he wanted was to be pitied for what his parents did — or didn’t do. But saying it aloud was easing some of the pressure that’d been pushing in on his chest all day. He dreaded this date all year. Even though he thought about Kenneth often, most of his favorite memories revolved around Christmas. That’s when he went to visit his brother’s grave, leaving a new toy zebra — Kenneth’s favorite.

“If they can’t keep things civil for an hour to meet in your brother’s memory, they’re putting themselves first. And no one wins.”

Aaron’s eyebrows flew up at her quick assessment of his family’s dynamics. She was hitting it dead on. “You’re not wrong.”

They were silent for a minute or two until Serenity cleared her throat. “What happened to your brother?”

He knew that question was coming. It was completely natural to wonder. He hated having to answer it. But this time, for some reason, the normal barbs of pain and resentment the memory brought to the surface seemed a bit duller with her there. Aaron pushed that realization down, unwilling to explore it. Not now.

A quick glance assured him Gideon wasn’t in the room. He released Serenity’s hand and ran fingers through his hair. “Kenneth was four years younger than I was. He had autism and while he was verbal, he was also prone to wandering.”

Serenity pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. Her cocoa eyes stayed on him and he continued.

“My parents were usually good about making sure doors were secured so he couldn’t get out of the house.” He swallowed the lump of emotions that threatened to lodge themselves in his throat. “When he was six, we were getting ready to sit down and eat dinner. But we couldn’t find Kenneth anywhere. We found the back door unlocked and hanging open. They called the police and there was a frantic search for him.”

Serenity’s feet fell to the floor and she covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide and shining with tears. “Oh, Aaron.”

“They found him an hour later in the neighbor’s pool. There was nothing they could do.” Despite every attempt to maintain control over his emotions, there was still a catch in his voice. “My parents spent the next two years blaming each other and keeping me so busy with after school activities that I only went home to sleep.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and ran a hand down the side of his face. “This is going to sound horrible, but it was a relief when they finally divorced. And even more so when I turned eighteen and could move out on my own.”

His eyes flitted from a spot on the coffee table to Serenity’s face. She brushed a tear away and sniffed. “I can’t even imagine going through what you have. I’m sorry you experienced that.” She sniffed again. “Your brother must have been an amazing kid. What was he like?”