Chapter 17 Eli
Eli
My cell phone rings just as I’m rinsing out Amber’s favorite tumbler.
I glance at the screen and see that it’s Gloria’s parents calling. My heart always clenches when I see them pop up on my phone. Even after all these years, seeing their names on my phone still brings back memories of Amber’s mother.
The years we spent together. The trouble we got into while dating. How overjoyed we were to be pregnant.
How vibrant and full of life she was before childbirth took her from us.
I dry my hand off on my pants and reach over, taking the phone call and putting it on speaker. “Hey, hey, Miss Joanne.”
“It’s Bernie,” Gloria’s father says.
My heart sinks into my gut. “What’s wrong?”
Bernie chuckles. “Nothing’s wrong. Don’t panic. We just had a question.”
“Is Amber all right?”
“She’s fine, Eli. We were just calling to ask if she could come spend another night with us. My phone’s dead, so.”
Relief floods me. It takes me a moment to pull out of the panic my memories tend to bring.
“You there, Eli?” Bernie asks.
“Yeah, sorry. Uh, sure. I mean, if that’s what she wants to do, that’s fine with me.”
“You sure?”
“Of course. She have a good time last night with you and my parents?”
Bernie chuckles. “A blast, as always. Your parents set up the projector screen out back and we had snacks while watching two of the Home Alone movies.”
I smile just thinking about it. “Sounds like a grand time. You guys headed to your place?”
“Yep! I think Amber’s wanting to go to that trampoline park over in the next town. So, we figured we’d take her to do that, wear her out, get her some dinner, and let her crash in her mother’s old bedroom.”
My heart aches. “She loves that pretty pink room.”
“Her mother did, too.”
I swallow the knot in my throat. “You guys have the best time. Just let me know when to come get her tomorrow.”
“Nah, don’t worry about that. We’ll bring her by when she’s ready. Figured around lunch time? We’ll make sure she’s fed before we bring her.”
“I’ll be here, Mr. Bernie.”
He scoffs playfully. “Will you cut it with the ‘mister’ crap? Always so formal.”
I chuckle. “A habit from work, Bern.”
“That’s more like it. See you tomorrow, kiddo.”
I smile and shake my head. “See you guys tomorrow.”
“And Eli?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Make some plans for yourself. Get out for a bit. Make a memory. ‘Kay?”
I hear the worry in his voice, and it gives me pause.
It also makes me think of Lia, immediately.
“I’ll make sure to do that,” I say.
“Good. And quit with the ‘sir’ shit, too.”
I chuckle. “Yes, Bern.”
“Good. See you tomorrow.”
“Have fun, you guys. And give Joanne my love.”
“Will do.”
The phone call hangs up, and I stand there, staring at the tumbler I’m still aimlessly drying in my hands. I finally put it up before I sling the rag over my shoulder.
A whole Saturday to myself. That doesn’t happen often. Usually, Amber’s already racing back through the door.
I look at all of the ingredients for breakfast I pulled out. I lean against the countertop, folding my arms across my chest.
The house feels bigger when Amber’s not here.
Make a memory. ‘Kay?
I’m picking up the phone and dialing Lia’s number before I can stop myself. Hey, if I’ve got a free Saturday to myself, I might as well try. Walker doesn’t take her out until Sunday evening, so who’s to say she’s not free?
I don’t let myself overthink it before I press down onto her number. I put the phone back on speaker as I go back to washing the few dishes still in the sink.
She picks up on the second ring. “Hey there, Eli.”
Her voice makes me smile. “Alley Cat. I was hoping you’d pick up.”
Her giggle sends butterflies kicking up in my gut. “Everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah,” I say as I put up another dried tumbler. “Everything’s fine. Am I catching you at a bad time? You at the kitchen?”
“Not today. I just finished getting some deliveries done, and now I’m just planning out my next few days at the vineyard. What’s up?”
“Well,” I say as I dry off my hands and pick up the phone, “I just found out that Amber’s staying with her mother’s parents again tonight. Something about a trampoline park and lunch.”
“Sounds like a fun day. I bet she’s excited.”
“Oh, very. But that does leave me with a free day today. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out.”
She doesn’t immediately respond, so I backtrack a bit, hoping not to put too much pressure on her.
“Totally casual. No pressure. Just figured we could spend some time together. You’re more than welcome to bring your planning and anything else you may need to do today. Just figured if we’re putzing around, we may as well do it together.”
She’s silent for a little while longer. Enough for my brain to chastise me.
And then, she responds. “I’d like that, actually.”
Relief loosens something in my shoulders. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Sure. I don’t have too much more planning to do, so if you could just give me thirty minutes, I’ll have my putzing wrapped up.”
I look around at all I can accomplish in half an hour to make this place not look like a disaster zone. “All right. Perfect. I can come to you and pick you up, or I can give you my address. Unless you want to hang out at your place?”
“Absolutely not,” she says a bit too quickly.
Man, she really hates that apartment they’ve got her in. “Okay, then my place. Would you feel more comfortable driving yourself? Or do you want me to come get you?”
There’s another pause before she speaks. “Could you pick me up today? Just this once, I don’t usually require it, but—”
“Say no more. I’ll head out in half an hour and come your way.”
I can hear her smile through the phone. “Perfect. I’ll be ready.”
She’s waiting on the curb just outside her apartment building when I pull up. The wind kicks up, fluttering her blonde locks across her shoulders. The sunlight catches her smile, making it glisten as it slams right into my chest.
She’s got on a long skirt and another one of her short-sleeved cardigans, and somehow, she’s even more beautiful than the first time I laid eyes on her in Dr. Quinn’s office.
Maybe it’s just me, but she seems a little less guarded, too.
She doesn’t give me time to be a gentleman, but when she starts heading for my passenger-side door, I lean over and open it for her over the center console.
I don’t have the nicest car. It’s a dated SUV.
Plenty of room for hauling Amber and her friends from school around. Or moving things, in general.
Lia doesn’t seem to mind as she eases down into the seat. “Hey there.”
I right myself in my seat and smile. “Hey. You look amazing.”
She blushes a bit. “Just threw something on.”
“Well, it looks good on you.”
She closes the door and buckles herself in. “Thanks for coming to get me. Just feeling a little tired today.”
Concern floods me. My nostrils flare and, sure enough, she’s got a twinge of exhaustion streamlining its way through her scent.
That won’t do.
“Too many hours at the kitchen?” I ask. “Or is your pre-heat giving you troubles today?”
“A little bit of both, maybe? I don’t know, just can’t quite shake it today.”
I ease us out of her apartment complex. “Well, when we get back to my place, I’ll make you some breakfast for lunch. How’s that sound?”
“Oh, I love a good stack of pancakes. Are there pancakes in this mix?”
“What’s breakfast without pancakes?”
The drive to my place is easy. It’s a bit quiet. She looks out the window a lot. I struggle with topics of conversation to keep her engaged. But she doesn’t seem to mind.
We pull up to my place, and she’s just zoned out enough that I can get out and grab her door before she reaches for it.
I hold out my hand for her to take. “Here. In case you feel unsteady.”
She snickers and takes my hand. “Sorry about that. Think I zoned out there for a second.”
I help her out of my vehicle. “Nothing wrong with that. Let’s go get you comfortable.”
I link her arm with mine and she cuddles against it. The awareness of her beside me, of her touching me, sparks a fire in my gut as I unlock my front door. I push it open, thankful that I at least had time to vacuum and straighten up the living room a bit.
“Want the grand tour?” I ask when I get her inside and close the front door. “Or are you ready for food?”
“Food, definitely.”
I rub my hands together. “Perfect. Come on, it shouldn’t take me long to whip things up.”
She rubbernecks on the way to the kitchen, the bookshelves I’ve built into the walls over the years catching her attention. She turns her body toward them, so while we’re venturing to the kitchen, we take a detour so that her fingers can run along the spines of my books.
“Does Amber like to read?” she asks.
“About half of these are hers,” I say with pride.
She smiles up at me. “That’s wonderful. I never really got into reading as a kid.”
“Do you read much now?” I ask as we start back on a path to the kitchen.
“Does reading recipes count?”
I smile as we emerge to where the kitchen and adjacent living room are. “It absolutely does.”
“Then I read a lot.”
I give her a smile before I reach for the rag I slapped onto the countertop before I left. I place it back over my shoulder and rummage around, pulling out cooking pans and a pot to make us some cheese grits.
“If you’d like, you’re more than welcome to make yourself comfortable in the living room,” I say as I fire up the stove.
“Or,” she says as she comes and grabs the ingredients for the pancakes, “I can help.”
I smile over at her. “That, too.”
We move around one another in the kitchen, our hips bumping every once in a while. Our arms brush softly every once in a while, sending an electric jolt straight up my spine.
I ask her to taste the grits to make sure the cheese-to-pepper ratio is good. She has me taste a bit of the fruit compote she whipped up on the fly for the pancakes. At some point, she takes out her phone, pulling up some music while she sways.
At my stove.
While flipping pancakes.
I’m entranced by the movements of her body. The way her skirt swishes against her legs. The way her hair moves with the beat of the music, as if every note is filtered through her body for my enjoyment.
I reach for her hand without thinking, and I’m surprised when she comes willingly.
“Dance with me,” I murmur as I pull her into me.
She reaches out and moves the pancakes to a burner that isn’t on.
Now, I’m not much of a dancer. But I’ve been in enough situations to know that holding and swaying is a valid form of the art. I pull her against me, feeling her body tuck against mine, and when she lays her head against my chest, I close my eyes.
How long has it been since I’ve had an Omega in my arms like this? The feeling is both wondrous and heart-wrenching.
I sway to the beat of the music as my chin rests on top of her pretty little head.
For a moment, breakfast for lunch is forgotten about. There’s nothing but her scent wrapping around me and mine answering in kind.
She hums against my chest, a soft vibration that makes me close my eyes. The sound alone slams my heart against my sternum. My nostrils flare, and I clock her pre-heat simmering beneath the surface of her skin. Itching, waiting, and ready to pop.
It makes me salivate for her.
It’s her growling stomach, however, that pulls me out of the moment.
“Sorry,” she whispers.
I drop a mindless kiss to the top of her head before I can think about it. “No apologies. Come. You sit, and I’ll finish up.”
Anything to move her scent into another room.
Because I’m going to pounce her if I can’t get away from it.