“By myself?” the kid asked as she looked up. “You mean without you here?”
Audrey’s heart constricted at the look of confusion on Piper’s face. “Yes, but Uncle Cameron will be here with you. And Pinkie Pie.”
The cat in question batted her paws at the string. One of her claws got caught, prompting a giggle from Piper. “Sure. But you’re coming back, right? Cause you live here now?”
Oh, God. Not this. Audrey knew Piper wouldn’t understand, and she had had a feeling that her extended stay in Blanco Valley would confuse the girl and make her think Audrey was staying for good.
“Yes, I’m coming back,” she answered, avoiding the part about living here.
Piper grinned and returned her attention to Pinkie Pie. “I hope Uncle Cameron will make me some more chocolate chip pancakes. He makes the best pancakes.”
Audrey had to agree that Cameron was a good cook. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed cooking together—despite all the bickering. Piper would take her spot on the counter and help, and Audrey and Cameron would commence fighting over how to shred chicken or when exactly to salt the water before adding pasta. The whole thing infuriated her, yet she always found herself seated at dinner with a smile on her face.
It was so…normal. At the same time, she was out of her comfort zone.
Piper squealed, and Audrey glanced up, ready to attack Pinkie Pie for scratching Piper. Only it wasn’t the cat who had captured Piper’s attention. It was her uncle. A six-foot-whatever beast of a man looming at the top of the porch and bracing himself against Piper’s enthusiastic hug.
“Can you make me popcorn?” Piper asked him.
Audrey stood from the grass. “Piper, give him a minute to settle after working all day.”
But Cameron’s gaze was fixed on his niece, who’d wrapped herself around Cameron’s long legs. “Sure, squirt. You want kettle corn or movie theater butter?”
And wait a second…Piper hadn’t once asked Audrey for a snack. Had she been waiting for Cameron to get home?
“I can get her something,” she spoke up. “You don’t have to bother.”
Cameron finally lifted his deep blue gaze to Audrey, pinning her with an intense look that made her think of something other than popcorn. “It’s no bother,” he told her. “I bought it just for her.”
Piper jumped up and down as though she’d won a victory.
Cameron grinned, and Audrey’s heart shifted some more. He really was good with her, and Piper loved him.
“Can I have both?” Piper asked, jumping up and down.
“Why don’t you come inside and pick a flavor?”
Piper abandoned Cameron’s legs and ran into the house without awaiting further instruction. Audrey thought she saw Cameron smile and shake his head, but the gesture was so minimal that she wasn’t sure.
He followed the kid and held the sliding glass door open. “You coming?” he asked Audrey.
She paused before answering because the warnings were back. The ones that always flashed right before he kissed her. Naturally, she ignored them again and walked into Cameron’s house. The sneaky bastard remained by the door so she’d be forced to brush past him. For a second, she thought about waiting for him to move, letting him know she was on to him and she wasn’t about to partake in his little game.
But…the hell with it. The games were kind of fun, the most fun she’d had in years, even if they did leave her panting.
“You’re spoiling her, you know,” Audrey told him as she followed him to the kitchen. Piper was already there, climbing the pantry shelves to get to her snack. “Giving her popcorn before dinner.”
“Don’t say anything,” Cameron said with a wink. “Or she’ll be on to me.”
Audrey glanced at Piper, who’d climbed onto the counter and retrieved a bowl. “I think she’s already on to you.”
Cameron paused in the act of opening the popcorn bag. “Is this the part where you warn me about spoiling her diet? Or not giving her snacks past five o’clock?”
Audrey opened her mouth to agree. Yes, she’d been keeping Piper on a much stricter eating schedule; otherwise the kid would be snacking twenty-four seven. She wanted to open her mouth about the importance of giving Piper boundaries and rules, which Cameron always seemed much less concerned with. And yeah, it rankled with Audrey’s controlling side. But…as Audrey glanced at Piper and saw her ear-to-ear grin, she held back.
This was a special thing with her and her uncle, and Audrey didn’t want to mess with it.
“No,” she answered. “Have a bowl of popcorn with her, if you want.”
Cameron opened his mouth, then narrowed his eyes at her. “Really?” he asked. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
“Yep.”
“You’re not going to suggest I give her apple slices in the shape of a smiley face? Or maybe some gluten-free raisins?”
“Pretty sure raisins don’t have gluten,” she answered.
Cameron glanced at the clock. “And you’re not going to tell me this is spoiling her dinner? That I’m doing it all wrong?”
“I—” She didn’t do that, did she?
Cameron tapped her chin with this index finger. “Yeah, you do that sometimes,” he told her as he ripped open the plastic and unfolded the popcorn bag. “But I understand, so it’s cool.” He placed the bag in the microwave and set the timer. Piper was standing at the kitchen counter with her hands wrapped around the metal bowl. Cameron absently ran his hand over Piper’s curls. Audrey briefly wondered if he realized he’d done it.
He shrugged as he turned to face her. “You can’t help but tell people what to do. I’m kind of thinking maybe you should have been a teacher. Or a prison warden,” he added with a grin.
Audrey opened her mouth to argue, as always seemed to be her first instinct with this man, when she realized what he was doing. “I thought maybe you were going to say it’s because I care about Piper.”
“Well, yeah,” he agreed. “But that wouldn’t have made your cheeks go all red.”
Audrey resisted the urge to
