ten

Aria

Today, Benn and I are meeting with Leo's aunt to discuss the upcoming anniversary party for Uncle Hainsey and Aunty Emyln. This time, thankfully, I had time to shower before needing to leave; I'm not a sweaty mess and nor do I smell like an overly floral wave of perfume and deodorant like I did last time.

Speaking of Uncle Hainsey...Leo is actually working with him at the rental shop today because Grandma, Aunty Emyln, and Mom have all gone out together for a day in The Village together. I'm not exactly sure what they're doing, but I hope they're having a good time. That aside, I also hope Leo is doing well. He's a great guy and all, but I can tell he's uncomfortable when it comes to being social. No shame directed towards him or anything like that, though, because it's entirely normal to be anti-social. I just hope it's not too awkward for him.

"Have you called that company about the cake yet?" Benn asks as I pull into the parking lot, amazed by the spacious pasture and the prominent outline of the mountains surrounding it. 

"No," I reply. "But I'll call them as soon as we're finished with this appointment. Last time I checked with them, they told me the cake would be ready for the date we need it. But I promise you, I will call to confirm."

"Thanks," Benn replies, unbuckling his seatbelt. "You're a lifesaver, cuz."

"So I've been told," I mutter, removing the keys from the ignition and stuffing them in my bag. In silence, Benn and I walk up to the front of the venue we're renting out. It large, large enough to have been a carrier house at one point. Judging by how pristine everything looks, I'm assuming that's what happened. I make a mental note to ask Leo about it and see if he knows anything. 

At the entrance, Benn knocks and the two of us wait on the front porch. We're not standing in the sunlight, but the heat is blistering. My skin is sticky with sweat and no matter how quickly I fan myself with the papers in my hand or how much ice water I drink, I can't seem to cool down. After this and the call I promised Benn I'd make, I may just have to go swimming in Fitzsimmons Creek in order to do so. 

After a couple of minutes pass, I turn to Benn. "I don't think anyone's here. Should we try the house?"

Benn rubs the back of his neck as he squints into the distance, towards the rancher and the property beyond. "I don't know, Aria. We're not here to socialize. We're here for a meeting."

I roll my eyes, shoving the seating charts and the rest of the papers into his hands. "You wait here, then," I reply. "Maybe Tenille or Kit ran back to the house to grab something. I'll run over there and knock so I can see if that's the case. If she shows up before I'm back, text me. If she's at the house, I'll bring her down here. Easy peasy."

"Always the ambitious one," Benn replies, organizing the papers. "But it sounds like the best plan we've got."

I'm at the bottom of the steps when Benn shouts: "You realize that Leo isn't home, right? There's a zero chance you're going to see him naked."

I roll my eyes and flip Benn the bird without looking back at him. "Can it, Stone," I reply. "You know damn well I can kick your ass. I'd be careful if I were you."

Benn snorts. "As tough as you are, Aria, you would never hurt a family member."

I ignore my cousin as I head up the gravel pathway to the rancher. The last thing I'm going to do is try and argue with Benn when we both know he's right. I am loyal to my family and I would defend them. 

I also don't want to prove to him, with the redness that's crept into my cheeks, that I'm crushing on Leo and that seeing him naked sounds slightly appealing in the dirty corners of my mind. I can't help but wonder what it would be like to pin him down on my bed and tease his prominent jawline and the curve of his neck with my lips. Or to feel his body against mine. It's alarming to feel this way about someone, especially when considering how I hardly know him, but I can't help it. There's just something about him that makes him interesting. He's like a mystery novel; you need to find all the pieces in order to view the main picture. And Leo Sangster is an array of pieces, some decently odd-shaped and some decently normal, but a mystery all in the same. A mystery I want to solve. 

Ever since my first appointment here, I've been obsessing over the rancher and the property. While I am a social butterfly, there is a part of me that craves solitude. And the more I look at the property, the wide-open spaciousness of it, and the beautiful barn-wood style, large house, the more I fall in love with it. I could imagine myself, on a cool autumn morning, sitting on this very deck in my robe, sipping on a hot cup of tea as I watch the sun rise from behind the mountains. 

When I'm at the front door, I lift my hand and rap my knuckles against the knotted hardwood, slowly tapping my foot against the porch as I wait for an answer. I let a few seconds pass before I raise my hand again. However, before I can knock, the door opens. I'm expecting to see Tenille or Kit, the owners, but instead, I see a stranger. She's blonde, the roots of her long hair beginning to turn a beautiful silver, and she has a rounded face with stunning blue eyes. I have no idea who she is, but the more I look at her, the more I begin to see the resemblance. 

There's isn't a single doubt in my mind that she isn't Leo's mom, Eliza Sangster. 

"Hi," she smiles. "How can I help you?"

I stare at her, picking out the similarities between her and Leo, and then the differences. I don't understand why I'm having this reaction to meeting her. It's not like I'm secretly dating Leo or something. It's not like I'm dating her son behind her back. 

A worried look crosses her face, defining the mild wrinkles in her skin. "Are you okay?"

"Are you Leo's mom?" I blurt.

The worried look quickly fades, replaced by a beautiful smile. It's one that reminds me of the smiles my mom gives people whenever she's talking about what I've achieved in life or whenever she tells me she loves me and Jax. Eliza's smile, just like my mom's, is something only a mom can give. "Yes," she replies. "I am. How do you know my son?"

"He, um, got a job at my grandma's mountain bike rental shop for the summer. I've been working with him for about a week or so now. He's great to work with."

She chuckles slightly. "That sounds like my son. I don't mean to brag, but he's just like his father, Leon – no one ever hates him."

I have no choice but to chuckle along with her. Everyone, despite his slight phobia of being social, love Leo. Deciding that I like Leo's mom a lot, I hold out my hand. "I'm Aria, Aria Madden."

"Eliza Sangster," she replies, shaking my hand. "I'm assuming you're looking for Tenille?"

"That's correct," I nod. "My cousin and I are here to finalize the reservations we made for an anniversary party."

"She's upstairs," Eliza replies, stepping to the side. "Give me a moment and I'll grab her for you. Come inside while I do that – it's sweltering out there. I'm sure you'd enjoy some air conditioning."

I release a deep breath, stepping past her as the cool air hits me. "That would be amazing. Thank you. I'll text my cousin and let him know where we're at with this."

"Excellent," she replies. "I'll be right back."

When Eliza is gone, I let my curiosity grab hold of me. I've always wanted to know what the inside of this house looked like ever since I fell in love with the exterior and the property itself. I had figured it would lean slightly towards the older model side, but I'm apparently wrong. While it does have an antique tinge to it, it's fairly modern. The floors are a light grey, speckled with darker and lighter tones, and the walls have been painted a creamy white. The entrance is grand – the floor tiled and the closet doors to my left made entirely of barn wood. It's when my eyes flitter to my right side, to the space just above the bench and the storage beneath it, that my breath really catches. The wall is entirely covered in photographs. 

Glancing to the staircase before me to make sure the coast is clear, I step closer to the collage of photos, taking in as many as I can while keeping my ears open for any sound. I see several of Tenille and Kit from when they were younger. I see one of a young girl, who must be their daughter, standing at the edge of Lost Lake in a Disney Princess bathing suit, her wet hair plastered to her forehead and a goofy smile on her face. I rake through the photos, losing any sense of time as I do. It's when I come to a picture of a younger Eliza and a man that looks exactly like Leo that I freeze. Reaching up, I run my fingers over the picture. This man in the photo must be Leo's dad. It would only make sense. There are so many similarities, especially the eyes, that cause my breath to catch. I know it's weird of me to say, but Leo's dad was exceptionally handsome. 

I squint harder at the picture, trying to dissolve the mystery of how Leo can look so much like both of his parents, yet nearly look exactly like his father. 

"That's Eliza and Leon when they were teenagers. It was hard to break the two of them apart in any given circumstance. I know it sounds stupid, but they were soul mates, Leon and Eliza."

I jump, spinning around and acknowledging Tenille's presence. "S-sorry," I stutter. "I didn't mean to intrude." I glance back at the photo. "Leo just looks so much like his dad it's almost hard to believe."

A look of sadness fills Tenille's big brown eyes. "I know," she replies softly. "He acts so much like him, too. Although, Leon was much more social and outgoing. Leo gets some of his timidness from Eliza, but I know there's confidence in his heart. He just needs to figure out how to access it."

The corner of my mouth twitches in sadness. "I'm sorry about what happened to...Leon, right?"

Eliza is the one who nods her head in response.

"Well," I smile, reaching out and squeezing her hand. I want to mention something about the bucket list Leo and I are sharing, but due to the way he reacted when I took it from him, something tells me he wants hardly anyone to know. "I think you made an excellent decision about naming your son after his father."

Eliza squeezes my hand back, giving me a brief smile before she turns to Tenille. "I'll take over the soaps for a while, Ten. You go do whatever business you need to do." She shifts her gaze back to me. "It was nice to meet you, Aria. I hope we'll see each other again soon. There are lots of stories about my son that I'm sure you'd love to hear."

I smile. "I will keep that in mind. Thank you so much for everything."

When Eliza is gone, Tenille slips her shoes on and guides me back out into the hot and humid air. 

"I'm sorry about coming up to your house," I say. "Benn and I tried the venue, but no one answered."

Tenille waves me off. "Honestly, Aria, it's not a big deal. I'm sorry about not being there. I knew about the appointment with you and Benn, but I lost track of time. This is entirely my fault." She pauses, eyeing me slyly. "But you seemed to enjoy that moment of interaction with Eliza."

I shrug. "Leo has said many sweet things about her, and truth be told, I've wanted to meet her for a while now. She's quite a remarkable woman, raising a son on her own."

"She is," Tenille smiles. "It was heartbreaking, the day Leon passed away, but I'm proud of how far Eliza has come and how great a job she's done raising Leo."

For the rest of the walk down to the venue, Tenille and I talk about how Leo's doing at work. She asks me several times if he's enjoying it, how he's liking Whistler, et cetera. I respond to the best of my abilities, feeling slightly guilty that I'm keeping the bucket list a secret from his mom and friends-that-are-basically-family. But if that's what Leo wants, then I'm not ruining that for him. 

So, when the conversation about Leo is over and done with and we've met up with Benn, I make sure we focus strictly on the upcoming anniversary party for my aunt and uncle. 




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