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Chapter 12
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Summer Child Chapter 13
"Girl, how are you even walking right now?" Jessie exclaimed in a gleeful, teasing tone as she dangled Mitch's duffle between them, while Jacob turned faintly pink before greeting Aiden good morning. "Ha HA. Good morning to you, too," was all she replied as she snatched the bag, staring daggers before she shot a smirk at Jessie and headed back to Mitch. “I know that look, Aiden Matthews!” she sang out as Aiden disappeared up the stairs with a shake of her head. He reluctantly rose from the bed when she reappeared, but accepted his things gratefully and slipped into the bathroom to change. Just before he did, he pressed another sweet kiss, one full of promise, to her mouth. "See you downstairs in a minute," he breathed to her lips with a content grin. "Don't be too long," Aiden teased, certain he would be taking some time to marshal his thoughts and resign himself to dealing with his sister. With equal reluctance, she drew in a deep breath, working to keep the goofy, sated grin
Summer Child Chapter 14
“I don’t know,” Aiden whispered, trying to get it together. “I do. You'd be miserable, both of you, wondering about what could have been. Are you going to keep coming home for holidays when he eventually brings someone new around? Or when he marries her and has kids with her? Not likely.” At the thought of him with someone else, loving her and marrying her and starting a family with her, her middle gave a painful twist, far worse than she could have anticipated. She sucked in a breath. “You’re probably right,” she said quietly. “I’m absolutely right, Aiden. I love you and I love him. And I’m gonna tell him the same… if I see him at all this week, that is,” she couldn’t help but add in with a sly grin before she grew serious again. “Don’t be stupid about any of this. He needs to give you time and space to figure things out, even if its just mental space, but you both need to think good and hard about what you’re willing to compromise to make this work. And don't give me any of tha
Summer Child Chapter 15
"Whoa!" Aiden exclaimed as they jumped back just in time, steadying themselves against the back of the loveseat."Holy shit. A secret passage," Mitch said, peering inside the dark space. "Did you have any idea this existed?" Aiden shook her head, more than a little interested but also a little freaked out. How had she never known about this, in her own home no less? "No way. I don't think my Nan ever mentioned anything about this." She took a step closer, grabbing her phone and turning the flashlight on, trying to see further inside the extremely narrow passage. "Look, there's a small staircase, just ahead."They exchanged a look. "Do you want to check it out?" Mitch asked, sensing her hesitation. Aiden nodded, but held up one finger. "Yeah, but let me text Jessie first… just in case." "Good call."After she was sure the text went through, Aiden clicked the flashlight back on and they siddled through the narrow passage, toward the short stair. Mitch went first, ducking slightly due
Summer Child Chapter 16
A short while later, Aiden had hopped out of the passenger side of her Thunderbird and waited, almost impatiently, for Mitch to join her on the sidewalk. Dutifully, she’d allowed him to drive so she didn’t bust her hand open again, but it had only served to give her too much time to think, leaving her antsy and unable to calm down without the benefit of concentrating on a tangible task. She could barely contain the growing anxiety and curiosity over just what might be in that safety deposit box, but she was also dreading it. The cryptic note had been repeated over and over in her mind and both she and Mitch had taken it apart and tried to consider everything it might possibly mean. As Mitch slid his hand into her good one, she practically dragged him through the doors before they made their way to the counter, the mysterious key dangling from her fingers. The teller at the counter eyed them up before her eyes honed in on the key, then their joined hands, before her gaze moved back t
Summer Child Chapter 17
At that, Aiden couldn’t help but laugh, doing her best to smother it behind her hand and failing miserably. “A stage five clinger,” she murmured between giggles, still trying not to give him too hard a time while also trying desperately not to call Sammy’s attention back their way. But she couldn’t help herself; if she were honest, it was a refreshing break from the questions that had been filling her head in the short time since they’d found the passageway. Mitch finally gave in, too, and gave a laugh of his own. “It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?”"Well, I mean… she's ridiculous, and that's why I'm having a hard time keeping a straight face, not because of the situation. Throwing herself at you isn't a good look at all. But on a serious note, no means no, across the bar." Mitch nodded in agreement just as Sammy wandered back into the lobby and Aiden couldn’t help but send a look her way as the teller was trying, too obviously, not to get caught staring, seemingly trying to determine if Ai
Summer Child Chapter 18
“What do you mean, what was left in his care?” Aiden asked, slightly confused. She knew from the note that there was some story awaiting her, but even though Edward had passed, she figured whatever it was had died with him. TJ cleared his throat and came to a stop outside a heavily locked door. “Before he passed the torch to me, my father informed me of a few client files that had some… extra requirements attached to them. You were expected to turn up years ago, according to what is in his notes. Bill died under… unusual circumstances, you see. Maybe even suspicious ones. So when you didn’t, and no one else came calling, my father wrote down his account of Bill’s story and put it together with a file he kept under lock and key… Until today, I guess,” he finished up before unlocking the heavy door and pushing it open. “I’ll have to ask you to wait out here before we head to your deposit box.”Aiden was speechless, barely registering that Mitch had taken hold of her good hand while eye
Summer Child Chapter 19
Stacks of deposit books, some old-looking certificates, and a small, leather-bound journal greeted her gaze. Under the journal were a few small velvet jewelry boxes. Aiden felt her brow furrow before she looked up, confused, and opened the journal. The same scrawling hand from her grandfather’s note covered the pages and she quickly glanced over the contents. Like the letter, it was addressed to her. She thumbed through a few pages while Mitch stood by, patiently waiting for it to dawn on her just what everything in there meant. “It’s… wow. It’s basically a long letter to me about his life and how he met Nan…” She smiled. “It’s actually really beautiful to hear all this from his perspective.” One line in particular caught her eye and her gaze widened just so. “Well. That’s how he knew my name,” she said with a slightly emotion-choked voice. “My parents let him pick it.”She smiled up at him with just a hint of tears shining in her eyes and he drew her in for a soft kiss at that momen
Summer Child Chapter 20
A small smile played on her lips as she found herself getting lost in her grandfather’s words, the scenes playing in her head as he retold the story of the night he met Adelaide. She was almost giggling out loud by the time Mitch came back with the drinks. She looked up with a smile and the relief washed over him to see it. “What did you end up picking?” she asked with growing curiosity. “Grown up variety dirty vodka martinis,” he replied with an answering grin. “Perfection,” she said with a happy sigh and moved over so he could drag his chair to sit beside her. “Look. It’s his version of the night he met Nan,” she said, pointing at the start of the story. Mitch settled in close beside her to read, laughing every now and then at Bill’s colorful language and masterful turns of phrase - ‘rat bastard’ was one that stuck out at him, and an echo of Bill’s voice saying that exact thing sounded off in the depths of his memories. “From what I remember, he was quite the character,” he said
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