Unraveled (Love in Salem, book 2) (11 page)

Aidan ushered them all out to his SUV and with their help, mapped out the quickest route to get them all home.  Claire was dropped off last since she lived the closest to his house.  Before she had a chance to exit the vehicle, he snared her attention.

“Knox really is one of the good ones, and I’m pretty sure he would be interested.  You should introduce yourself sometime, or come into the shop and I’ll introduce you.”

Blushing furiously, she ducked her head and said “I’ll think about it,” before running towards her condo.

Chapter Eleven

It was another bright and sunny day in Salem, Nevada.  Living here had truly been a pleasure.  Never had she known a life like the one she made here.  The citizens, for the most part, were incredibly friendly and caring. 

Where she lived, the land was in constant development expanding the city limits. This part of the city, however, was an eclectic mix of old and new, historical and modern.  It was beautiful.

Atayla parked her car outside of Skinz and scooped up the basket of sandwiches off her passenger’s seat.  She had the day off, a regular occurrence since she began dating Aidan, and had decided to surprise everyone with lunch today since she knew they often forwent meals in order to get more client time in.

They were unquestionably devoted to their customers and loved their jobs enough to make such sacrifices.  In the month she has been dating Aidan, she had seen firsthand what these men were willing give up.  She understood though, because she did the same thing when it came to her job.  Bill’s clients received nothing but the best from all his staff. 

Most of Aidan’s employees were relatives of his, and she had become pretty close to them in a very short time.  His brother, Bridger, was a hoot.  He was about three years her junior and had a very fascinating relationship with Nicky, a man who worked the other side of the building at Olivia’s Creations.  Olivia’s Creations was the hair salon and day spa owned by Aidan’s sister, Olivia.

Both men swore they weren’t gay, but there was something about the way they looked at each other, or maybe it was the easiness between them that made her wonder at the deeply hidden secrets they shared.  They may not be gay, but there was a closeness that bespoke of something more than friendship.  Whatever it was, it was accepted unconditionally amongst all who knew and cared for them.

She had yet to meet his parents or his youngest siblings as they were busy with college.  She didn’t know whether to be worried or grateful about that.  She feared that he didn’t want her meet them because he viewed their relationship as being nothing more than a phase.  On
the other hand, she had no idea how to relate to parents since her own were so defective.  What if she made a bad impression?

Struggling to get through the door, Atayla stumbled forward only to have strong arms grasp a hold of her. 

“Whoa there, sugar.  Careful there.” 

She looked up to see Clint smiling down at her. 

“I’m not opposed to a beautiful young woman falling for me, but I don’t think Aidan would approve.”

Laughing, she handed him the basket of sandwiches and kissed his cheek. 

“I bet you have a long line of ladies vying for your attention.” 

She patted his arm and laughed even harder when he smiled like the devil.

Aidan looked around his booth. 

“Hey, baby doll.  I thought I heard your voice.  Is that creep over there bugging you?”  He winked at her.

“Well, he is a shameless flirt.” She said teasingly.  “But I think I can handle him.”

“What you got there, sweetheart?”  Knox ambled over.

“I brought some sandwiches.”  She nodded at the basket.  “There is a cooler in my trunk that has water and sodas in it.  I was just heading out to get it.  I’ll be right back.”

Knox stayed her as she tuned to head out the door.  Taking her keys from her hand he said, “I got it.  You sit your pretty ass down and let us take care of everything.”

Finishing up his client, Aidan ambled over and kissed her soundly on the mouth. 

“You didn’t have to make us sandwiches.”

Looking sheepish, she admitted.  “I didn’t, actually, Claire did.  All I did was swing by and pick them up.”

“Still, it was really sweet.  Thank you.”  He kissed her again before walking over to the counter to finish with his client.

Knox came in with the cooler and set it on the floor next to the chairs.  Opening it, he grabbed a soda and tossed it to Clint who was already picking through the sandwiches.  For once, the shop wasn’t bustling with activity and they were all able to sit down and eat together.

Aidan pulled Atayla down onto his lap and kissed her cheek.  Whenever they were together, always he had to be touching her in some way.  Not in a possessive way, but in a petting, ‘I just have to touch you’ way.  Like he had to reassure himself that she was there.  That she was his.

Understanding his moments of insecurity, Atayla tried to make an extra effort in showing him that she cared.  Like bringing in the sandwiches today.  It was her way of pampering him and letting him know he was on her mind even when he wasn’t around.

Quite a couple they made, really.  They both had been so wounded by the opposite sex that they were incapable of believing that this relationship wasn’t all a farce.  Aidan was much better at this than she was though.  At least his moments were few and far between.  Every time she turned around she expected something to come crashing down on top of her.

She had spoken with Abby about it several times.  This constant worry that things would change had been eating away at her.  The closer she got to Aidan, the more her past crept up on her.  Abby recommended that she talk to Aidan about Randall and to be upfront about her concerns, but she feared she would offend him in some way.

Noticing her disquiet, he whispered in her ear.  “Is everything alright?”

Startled out of her contemplation, Atayla looked at him with a guilty expression.

“Yes, everything is fine.  Sorry, I’ve been preoccupied today.  I can’t seem to slow my thoughts down.”

Nipping her lip with his teeth, he responded “Liar, but I’ll let it pass at the moment since I’m sure whatever it is you don’t want to discuss it in front of everyone.  But when you come over tonight I’ll expect an honest answer.”

Atayla started to argue, and then stopped.  He was right, and so was Abby.  She needed to talk about this, make him understand.  She couldn’t keep living in suspense, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Okay.”  She agreed and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.  She licked her lips and smiled.  He tasted like orange soda.  The man loved orange soda, had cases of it stacked in his garage.  It was charming, really, just one more thing that set him apart from the others.

The bells chimed over the door, admitting Paxton, Bridger, and a guy she didn’t know.  Paxton and Bridger immediately honed in on the food and grabbed sandwiches and soda.  Kissing her on the cheek in thanks, they settled in for their meal.

Aidan scooted out from underneath her and addressed the unknown man.  Clasping his hand in a classic man shake he welcomed him.

“Hey, Jasper.  What brings you here?”

“I was out running errands when I met up with those two.”  He pointed towards Paxton and Bridger.  “It reminded me that I hadn’t yet invited you guys to come over next weekend.  “I’m having a cookout.  Food, beer, football.  You know, the usual stuff.  Not a big powwow like last time, just the normal crowd.”

“Sure, we’ll be there.”  He agreed quickly.  “You haven’t met Atayla yet.” 

He held his hand out to her.  She stood up and allowed him to pull her into his embrace.  He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. 

“Atayla, this is Jasper.  He and I grew up together in the dregs of Southport.”

Jasper held out his hand and gently shook hers.  “Nice to meet you Atayla.”

“You too, Jasper” 

Looking back at Aidan, he confirmed, “Next weekend then?”

“Sure thing.”

“Great, see you then.”  He regarded Knox, “You be sure to let Seamus and Liam know, alright?” 

When Knox gave him the thumbs up, his mouth too full to respond, Jasper waved at everyone and left.

Business started picking up around midafternoon.  The guys were busy in their booths, customers kept pouring in, and the phone was ringing off the hook.  Atayla decided to jump behind the counter to help.  She may not know how to give tattoos, but she sure as shit knew how to answer a phone.

The next few hours flew by pretty fast.  She had mastered the appointment book in no time and could answer the basic questions without interrupting one of the men.  When the shop began to clear of customers, Aidan approached her.  Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her body flush against his and kissed her soft and sweet.

“Have I told you yet how pretty you look in that dress?  I haven’t seen it before, is it new?”

“Yes, Abby talked me into buying it the other day when we were out shopping.”  She answered, leaning her head back as he kissed down the side of her neck.

“I’ll be sure to thank her.  You look amazing.”  He nipped her ear lobe.  “Good enough to eat.”

She laughed, “I could wear a burlap sack and you would say the same thing.”

Grinning, he admitted, “Probably.  Thanks for your help today.  I’m going to have to find some way to pay you back.”

“Don’t you worry about
that.  I already know how you’re going to pay me back.”  She stroked her hand down his chest.

“Mm.  I can’t wait to pay up either.”

The bells over the door chimed again, admitting a small blonde woman looking harried and about ten pounds underweight.  Trailing behind her was quite possibly the cutest little boy Atayla had ever seen.  His olive skin tone and dark hair and blue eyes bespoke of his genetic connection to man currently holding on to her.

She looked directly at Aidan.  “Is Paxton here?”

“Yeah.”  He raised his voice to be heard over the buzzing of tattoo guns as the miniature version of Paxton wrapped himself around Aidan’s legs.  “Paxton, you have a visitor.”

Paxton’s head popped out from behind his booth to see who it was.  The expression on his face turned serious once he saw the woman. 

“Journey?  Everything okay?”  He excused himself, tore off his gloves, and strode towards her.

“I’m sorry, I know you are working, but I didn’t know what else to do.  Cassie dropped Hayden off last night promising to pick him up by one, but she never showed and I’m already…” She glanced at her watch, seeing that it was now 4:00pm, and cringed.  “An hour late for work.”

He rubbed up and down her fragile looking arm soothingly.  “Don’t be sorry.  He’s my boy, my responsibility.  Cassie should have asked me to watch him to begin with.  Go on, go to work.  He’ll be fine.  I’m glad to have him.”

Journey looked at him, uncertain for a moment, before nodding and exiting the shop.  Paxton sat down on his haunches and held out his arms as Hayden threw himself at his father.  He hugged the kid tight for a minute then kissed the top of his head.

“I have to finish up with someone real quick then you and I are going to go to the park.  Does that sound good, little man?”

At Hayden’s enthusiastic nod, Paxton smiled and asked Aidan to reschedule his appointments for the rest of the day.  Aidan introduced Hayden to Atayla who then helped him pick out a sandwich and a soda.  When Atayla offered to go get a meal more tailored to a young boy, Aidan stopped her saying that this was probably the best meal he’s had all week.

Hayden jabbered the way two year olds did.  She laughed at his antics and childish humor.  How could anyone not love him?  She had only spent a few minutes in his presence and she was already under his spell.  She had never thought of having children of her own, but being with him made her long for a family.

It saddened Atayla to think that this sweet little boy could be worth so little in his mother’s eyes and vowed to look over his case file when she got back to work on Monday.  She
may even hire a private investigator to dig up more dirt on the evil witch to ensure that she didn’t keep custody of this precious gift.

Hanging up the phone, Aidan walked over and scooped the boy up in his arms.  Hayden laughed as he dangled upside down and reached for Atayla to save him.  Adjusting so both Hayden’s ankles were held tightly in one hand, Aidan reached around and started tickling his belly.

Dumping him in Atayla’s lap, Aidan bent down and blew a raspberry on his stomach.  The poor thing was giggling and squirming so hard it was all she could do to hold on to him.  Only when he cried out, “Stop!  Stop!” did Aidan relent and plop down in the chair next to them.

He smiled at Atayla as the boy recovered from the massive tickle session. 

“I love him, but he sure can wear me out.”