Page 38 of Wrecked By You

We got into the SUV, and the boys asked me a million questions about Isla and what her house was like and what we would be eating. By the time we got there, I was ready to let them loose on the property for a little bit. First, I made them help me carry in some groceries.

“Why are we getting her groceries?” Jason asked.

I gave him a stern look. “Because we want to. She’s new in town, and she needs to stock up.”

Trent hefted a grocery bag in his little arms. “Because we’re nice to people, right, Dad?” he said, looking pointedly at Jason.

It made me smile, and I nodded. “Yes. Because we’re nice to people.”

We got to the front door, and I knocked. When she answered, I noticed that she had changed into a yellow sundress. She had lipstick on, and her blonde hair was styled around her face. I could smell spaghetti sauce wafting out from the kitchen.

Her eyes opened wide as she grinned at the boys and at me. “Oh my gosh. The Armstrong boys are here, and they’ve brought a lot of stuff for me. Come on in.” She patted their shoulders as they walked in.

Jason asked, “Is this where you live?”

She chuckled. “This is where I live.”

I offered her the plate of cookies and a bunch of groceries. “It smells great. My mom sent cookies.”

She took the cookies, leaned up, and kissed my cheek. Then she pulled back quickly and looked worried. “Can I do that?” she whispered, pointing to the kids.

I nodded and then leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Yes, you can.” Which was funny, because I had been careful about anyone I dated in the past. Not that I had dated a lot of people, but I’d never exposed my kids to them. But with her, I wasn’t worried.

We moved into the kitchen and put all the groceries on the table.

Jason moved to the sliding glass door window. “You have a big backyard.”

She smiled and said, “You can go out there if it’s okay with your dad. There’s an old barn, and there’s not much in there, but you can look at it if you want.”

Jason turned to me. “Can we, Dad?”

I was more than ready to let them go run for a bit. “Yes, but don’t get dirty yet. I’ll let you explore more after dinner. Right now, just about ten minutes, I think.” I turned to her for confirmation.

She nodded. “That will be about right.”

The boys ran out the door and shut it hard behind them.

Instantly, I turned to her and took her into my arms. For a second, I just held her. I sniffed her neck, breathing in the scent of lemon.

She giggled and then pulled back. “I missed you too.”

For a second, I hesitated; then I hugged her again.

“Are you sure you want to hug in front of them?”

I let her go and shrugged. “I think I’m the one who hugged you.” I frowned. “Have you felt like someone was here while you were gone today?”

She shook her head. “No. I hope I was being paranoid and someone just turned around in the driveway last night.”

“I hope so too.”

She hurried back into the kitchen to stir the sauce, and then she moved the noodles off the stove and carried them to the sink. “Would you mind helping me with this? I don’t have a strainer yet.”

I moved to the sink, casually taking the pot out of her hands and draining the water. “I should’ve thought about bringing you stuff like that. What do you need?”

She started sorting through the grocery bags, taking things out. “Damon, you shouldn’t have brought all this stuff for me. I’m just waiting for payday.”

I wished I had brought her more. I put the noodles down and then turned on the cold water. “Do you want me to rinse these?”