{Chapter 20}

Aubrey walked to where Jay and Sandy were playing on the swing in the barn at around sunset that day, feeling tired and restless and desperately wanting to see Wade somewhere. She hadn’t seen him since this morning, and her insides ached for some unknown reason at not seeing him.

“It’s just a phase because of that kiss he almost gave me,” she told herself. “That’s all.”

But she knew that it wasn’t just that. It was the look in his eye. That look of longing and affection that she had only seen in a man’s eye when directed at one of her friends, never at her.

“You about ready to go home, champ?” she asked Jay.

“Come on, just a few minutes more?” Jay pleaded, looking at Sadie down by his feet.

Sandy nodded her copper colored curls in agreement.

“Okay, but only a few minutes” Aubrey sighed.

“Push us,” Sandy said as she sat on the swing beside Jay and lifted the dog into her lap.

Aubrey smiled and walked behind them, giving the swing a gentle push.

“Higher!” The children pleaded.

Aubrey laughed and pushed them higher. Sandy squealed with delight while Sadie appeared to have the need to relieve himself in Sandy’s lap.

After the children tired of swinging, Aubrey lifted Sadie and prepared to head home.

“Thanks for swingin’ us” Jay smiled up at her.

Aubrey tousled his hair, completely forgiving him for ruining what would have been her first kiss.

“Aubrey! Wait up!” Katie’s voice came from outside the barn.

Katie came running up to her with a bundle of fabric in her arms. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you” Aubrey smiled.

Katie held out the fabric.

“What’s this?”

“I finished the curtains for you. I asked Wade to steal them for me. It appears that you never missed them” Katie smiled.

“I didn’t. Thank you so much, Katie. This means the world to me” Aubrey hugged Katie.

“There’s more,” Katie said.

Aubrey arched an eyebrow. “More?”

“All the ranch hands pitched in and bought a bed for the munchkin here. It’s not exactly a birthday present, just a thank you for helping with the chores. They asked me what they should get, and I knew that the three of you were sharing the bed.”

Aubrey felt her cheeks heat up. That would mean that she and Wade would have to go back to the wall of pillows. Nonetheless, she was grateful.

“Thank you so much! Where are they? I’ve got to thank them in person,” Aubrey asked.

“They’re helping Wade finish his little barn. Toni let them off early today so they could help” Katie explained.

“Oh, how sweet” Aubrey felt tears sting behind her eyes at everyone’s kindness.

She tugged her new hat down on her head and prepared to walk back home, thanking Katie again.

God, you’re just so good to me. What did I do to deserve such friends like these?

**********

Wade lifted his hammer and drove the last nail in to complete the barn.

“Whoop!” Tiny threw his hat in the air and the others cheered loudly.

Wade climbed off the roof and fell back onto the grass, relieved. He could go to bed at a decent hour from now on.

“You guys hungry?” A feminine voice called from the porch of the line shack.

“No, ma’am. Its suppertime back at the ranch, so we’d better go” Erik spoke up. “Besides, we need all the votes we can get to get Mark elected for dish duty.”

They laughed lightly at that and they boys left after a heartfelt thank-you from Wade and Aubrey both.

“Care to take me on the grand tour?” Aubrey sent him a smile, her hair tied back in a bandana, hiding the curls that would normally fall in her face.

Wade extended a bent elbow. “Gladly.”

She smiled as they walked into the completed barn.

“Well, there’s a stall, and another stall, and three more stalls. Then there’s the tack room. Don’t get lost in here” Wade grinned at her.

She giggled and looked at the roof. “It looks sound.”

“It is. Rawhide’s good with wood, and he inspected it for me” Wade explained.

“Good. I’m glad it’s done. Now you won’t be out here freezing and hammering all night long,” Aubrey said.

“Me too, hon. Well, shall we go inside where it’s warm?” Wade asked.

“Yes” Aubrey agreed in a whoosh of breath. “My hands are frozen solid, I think.”

She held her hands out to look at them.

“Let me see” Wade took both of her hands in his own. “No, they’re not solid yet, but you’re still pretty close.”

Aubrey tried pulling her hands away, but Wade wouldn’t let her. She looked up at him shyly, and he hated that look on her face when she was shy. He liked her better when she was hungry and thus very demanding.

“Jay’ll be hungry,” she offered.

The corner of Wade’s mouth lifted in a smirk. “I know.”

He kissed her forehead, because he just had to kiss her somewhere. He pulled back and looked down at her closed eyes.

Yes, there was a little chance that she loved him even a little bit.

“I’m gonna put the horses up, then I’ll be inside” Wade told her.

She nodded and headed for the shack and the warmth inside. Wade grabbed Cookie, Abe, and Snowflake and put them in their designated stalls, then blew out the lamp, leaving the barn dark.

He walked out into the clean, chilly air as dusk was falling over the MC Ranch. He heard the cows mooing in the distance and the crickets begin to chirp.

Wade never understood how someone got along with God in the city. Out in the middle of nowhere it was as if the Lord was making the breeze blow right in front of him. As if every sunset was painted for the special occasion of his viewing it. Everything seemed so untouched, so perfect, out in Texas.

Wade went inside to find Jay bent over a large bowl, staring at the contents inside.

“Jay, I’ve done told you to keep your finger out of it” Aubrey said over her shoulder as she measured something into another smaller bowl.

“I’m not eatin’ any,” Jay told her.

“Uh huh. I don’t believe that” Aubrey mumbled.

Wade closed the door. “What are you two up to?”

“Cookies. Want to help?” Aubrey asked.

“No, I’m no baker” Wade smiled.

“Please, there’s nothing to putting a cookie on a pan. I’ll handle all the cooking times and stuff: Aubrey waved him over to her. “Wash your hands first.”

Wade sighed and did as he was ordered.

“Here, now take this dough and roll little pieces into a ball with your hands” Aubrey stirred some contents into the larger bowl and placed it in front of him.

“How much?” Wade asked.

“Just a little. Here, let me show you.” Aubrey rubbed flour on her hands and took a little piece of the dough from the bowl, holding it up for him to see.

“That’s it?” Wade asked.

“Doesn’t take much. Now just roll it into a ball like this” Aubrey put the dough in the middle of her palm and rubbed her hands together in a circular motion. “Ta-da.”

Aubrey held up a little ball of dough and sat it on the cookie sheet.

Wade mimicked her actions and held up the finished product.

Aubrey smiled at him. “There’s a baker in you yet.”

Wade smiled back at her and placed his creation on the cookie sheet.

After the cookie sheet was filled with cookies, Aubrey placed it in the oven and smoothed hair out of her flushed face.

“That batch won’t take but a few minutes. Then we’ll make another one” she said.

Wade relaxed against the table and looked around the shack to see another bed against the far wall across the room from the other.

“Where’d that come from?” he asked.

“The boys pitched in a bought it for Jay here. Said it was a thank you for doing the chores for them” Aubrey explained.

Wade looked at her, knowing they were both thinking the same thing. Aubrey blushed and looked down.

“Guess pillows are a good thing to have” Wade assured her, knowing her fears.

She looked up and him and smiled shyly.

“So me and Sadie get our own bed?” Jay asked.

“Yep” Aubrey smiled at him. “Only Sadie has to sleep in his own bed.”

“Come on, please?” Jay pleaded.

“Sadie’ll wet the bed then you’ll be in big trouble.”

“I made him promise.”

“Dogs can’t promise, little man” Aubrey smiled.

“Sadie did.”

Aubrey smiled and looked at Wade. “What do you think?”

Wade narrowed his eyes at Jay. “You promise you’ll take care of him?”

Jay nodded.

“And not push him off?”

Jay nodded again.

“Mmm…” Wade thought. “Okay, but you’ve gotta take care if him, okay?”

Jay nodded for a third time, grinning from ear to ear.

**********

“I looked at the supplies we would need for Katie’s makeover today while Katie was preoccupied. Seems easy enough to paint and fix the place up a bit, doesn’t it?” Toni asked as she lay next to her husband that night.

“Mmm-Hmm” Erik growled out.

“Are you sleeping? Why do you always go to sleep when I’m talking to you?” Toni huffed.

“Why do you decide to talk at ten-thirty at night?” Erik asked her groggily.

“Because that’s when I get my best thinking done. Now are you going to listen to me or not?” Toni looked over at him.

He rolled over onto his back, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “I suppose I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Nope” Toni smiled.

She went on about all that was needed for Katie’s birthday present. Erik listened in silence like a good husband.

“Now the next pressing matter is Wade and his little wife. That line shack is no place to raise a family. He needs to either add on or build a whole other house” Toni told him.

“That takes money, sugar.”

“Wade has more money than he lets on about. No telling how much he spent on that horse that he didn’t tell us about. That was a mighty fine animal.”

“Well, it’s Wade’s money. Man, Toni, you’re turning out to be as bad as Katie about other people’s business” Erik said.

Toni scowled at him. Surely he was just saying that because he was tired.

“Maybe not as bad as Katie” Erik admitted.

Toni smiled and kissed his cheek. “Good night.”

Erik rolled over. “Good night, dearest.”

**********

Aubrey sat straight up, her breathing heavy and cold sweat dripping from her forehead.

What had just happened?

She though back and remembered going to sleep, then having some sort of dream, though she hardly remembered what it was. She looked over the wall of pillows and saw Wade there, fast asleep.

She took a deep, calming breath and looked down at her shaking hands.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, trying to remember what had bothered her so badly.

Suddenly, it all came back to her.

She and Wade were surrounded by mist and fog, hardly able to see their hands in front of their faces. He looked at her with a sorrowful look in his eyes and turned to leave. She called after him, but he didn’t even recognize that he heard her. He disappeared into the mist, leaving her all alone.

Aubrey opened her eyes and looked over at Wade. He was stirring and waking up. She felt a deep, aching fear that he would leave her. What if he left her and Jay to fend for themselves? What if he grew tired of family life, packed his things and left without a word? She was overcome by that fear and started trembling.

“You okay, sweet thing?” Wade asked groggily.

Aubrey felt her pulse quicken a whimper escape her throat.

“Don’t leave me,” she whispered. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Leave you? Honey, why would I leave you?” Wade asked, concern filling his eyes.

“P-Please…” Aubrey felt tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Hey” Wade reached across the pillow wall and cupped her cheek with one of his hands, rubbing her face with his thumb. “I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Is that a promise, Wade?” Aubrey had to make sure.

She couldn’t lose him. It was the most selfish, self-absorbed thing she had ever felt, but she couldn’t lose him.

“I promise you, Aubrey. I’ll never leave you,” he said so sincerely that she had no choice but to believe his words. “You’ll never be alone as long as I’m alive.”

Aubrey nodded and took his hand from her face, cradling it in both of her own. She lay her head on the pillow wall and fell asleep to the feel of Wade’s fingers running through her hair.

I personally love this chapter. I don't know why but I do:) <3

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