Sliding behind the wheel, the car still fires up on the first try—no problems whatsoever.
I rub the steering wheel, giving a little silent praise before shifting into reverse. It isn’t until I’ve left the confines of my back alley that it occurs to me, I have no clue where this Wild Rebel Road actually is. And without the creepy assistance from a sat navigator, I need to do things the old-fashioned way—with a map. Especially with my intuition on the super fritz when it comes to him.
Pulling into the nearest gas station, I fill up on gas, and yank the map of Helena out of the glove box. It takes ages to finally pinpoint the street on the map, but thankfully, the course is relatively simple. In fact, now I can see why alarm bells didn’t go off right away. We drive right by the Helena PD on the way to his place.
Taking a deep breath, I lay the map out on the passenger seat and climb back inside.
“Okay, Diana. Let’s do this,” I whisper under my breath as I put the car in gear.
The roads look different during the day—far more relaxing as I leave the confines of the city for a more open layout. It doesn’t do much to chill out my nerves, unfortunately.
I take a deep breath and roll my eyes.
“For Godsake, you’re not asking the man to marry you, Diana. Would you get a grip?”
I twist my fingertips around the steering wheel and concentrate on the road. The drive there is fairly easy, now that I have a clear direction, thank goodness. Before I know it, I’m already turning down his twisting, long driveway.
The Tudor style home still looks impressive in the daylight and the massive trees in the front are probably gorgeous, come summer time.
Putting the car in park, I kick open my door and walk to the front entry before I can talk myself out of it.
I rap on the door hard, then step back and wait. Crossing my hands behind my back, I pace the front stoop for a moment before deciding it’s been long enough and try again.
When still no one answers, I try the handle, hoping for an easy win. Unfortunately, the door’s locked.
Dammit.
I should have called first.
Leaning toward the narrow window beside the front door, I place my head on the glass, trying to get a good look inside. Unfortunately, the narrow access only grants a view of the entry way wall.
“Now what, Diana? Wait around like a lost puppy? Or go home and give him a call like you should have done to begin with?”
As I start walking down the steps and toward my car, a dark red, beat-up pickup drives up. It comes to a halt beside the garage door.
“Hey, whatcha doing here?” Aiden asks, throwing open the door. “Was Blake expecting you?”
I shake my head. “No, kind of an impromptu meeting. Is—is he home?”
Tipping my head toward the house, I keep my eyes trained on Aiden.
“Dunno. I’m here with you,” he smirks. “One way to find out. C’mon.”
Aiden grabs a backpack and unravels his keyring in search of the front door key.
“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t mean to intrude or anything.”
“Are you kidding? You’re saving me,” Aiden chuckles as he twists the handle and swings the door open wide.
“Oh?”
“Yeah—I’d have to do homework if you go,” he laughs.
“Well, I can’t let you die of knowledge, now can I?” I chuckle.
“Exactly,” he winks, throwing an easy smile. “You hungry?”
My eyebrows tug in. I really only had one purpose—to put Blake in his place. Not raid his kitchen.
“I’m okay,” I say.
“You sure? I’m gonna whip up some nachos quick. I’d be more than willing to share.”
Aiden nods to the kitchen, urging me to follow along.
“No, really. I’m good.”
“You’ll miss out. I’ll even put avocados on it,” he says as we enter the broad expanse of a kitchen.
It’s still as sparsely decorated as the rest of the house, but you can tell a lot more care and consideration has gone into this space. Things are laid out very precisely, and the stainless-steel appliances are meticulously clean.
“Oh, and there’s coffee,” he adds.
“Alright, you twisted my arm. Coffee would be lovely.”
I take a seat and belly up to the breakfast bar the way I would at home. Aiden’s energy is very easy going and relaxed. Surprisingly, he sets me at ease right away and dispels some of the anxiety I was feeling about coming here.
Aiden sets to work, maneuvering the kitchen like a true pro. Grabbing pans, and fresh ingredients from the refrigerator.
“So, you said you were here for Blake, right?”
“Yeah, I need to talk to him about some stuff. We kinda got off on the wrong foot last time we were together,” I say, leaning forward.
“Yeah, he has a way of putting people off at first, but once you get to know him, he’s really a big teddy bear.”
I smile, getting impressions immediately from Aiden of all the good times he’s had with Blake. Christmases, surprises, special treats, and birthday parties over the years. The images flash by quickly—so quickly, in fact, he probably doesn’t even realize he’s conjured them with such potency.
“You’ve known him a long time, huh?”
“Yeah, guess you could say that,” Aiden nods, stirring some sort of black bean mixture and adding cheese to another pan to start melting.
“How did you first meet?” I already know the answer of how they got thrown in this situation together, but not how they initially met.
“I don’t know. He’s always sorta just been in my life. He was best friends with my parents, so he was kinda like big Uncle Blake from the time I could walk and talk.”
“And you’re parents—they’re not with us anymore?”
“Nope. They died
