Page 5 of Aaron (Dresden Pride #1)

“I did. One of ours, I take it.” Aaron told his dad that she was, and that would be all that was said about her.

Instead of giving him details, he, like Mom, preferred to not have anything that might slip out when talking to someone.

Not that he thought they’d ever do that, but they didn’t want to take a chance.

He didn’t blame them; what they did could hurt a lot of people.

“What do you know about the football team this season? Do you think they have what it takes to be a champion again? Last year, we nearly made it all the way to the playoffs. I’m hoping this year they’ll be a bit better. ”

They talked about the local high school team for the next hour or so.

The others joined them, but Darius was running late.

He was teaching at the local college and had been having a little bit of trouble getting out of the building.

He’d never tell them this, but it was because he was so good-looking that he had to hide from the young college students, the females, and some males in order to get home.

He was a good professor, too. Voted the best teacher at the school four years running.

Aaron was proud of all his brothers, but especially fond of Daruis.

He was the youngest of all of them and seemed to have the hardest time with women. He loved the kid for that.

When they were called to dinner, they all waited until their mom was seated before they started eating.

She would be embarrassed, but he knew that she loved the fact that they all waited on her.

She was the love of his life, and he knew that he’d never find another woman like her for as long as he lived. Mom was perfect in every way he knew.

Dinner was a loud affair with all of them having an opinion on whatever topic that was being discussed.

It was good, clean fun, and they never got seriously mad at one another, so it was also a great stress reliever as well.

Once dinner was over and all the plates cleared away, they’d go into the living room and talk more.

But in this room, it was quieter and seemed to have a purpose, not like the one in the dining room, where it was a free-for-all on who won the biggest argument.

“I need your help, Aaron.” He told his mom that he’d move heaven and earth for her.

“Not so much all that, but it is something big. I need for you to go to your grandparents’ house tomorrow and see what is happening with their front door.

Your grandmother swears that it’s ringing because your grandfather fiddled with it, and he swears that it’s haunted.

I don’t know what’s wrong with the doorbell, but it rings all the time, even late at night.

They’ve gotten to the point where they say that they want to sell the house.

I guess it’s interrupting their sleep.” He asked if grandda did fiddle with the door.

“He says no, but my mom said that he’s forever thinking that he’s some kind of wizard about fixing things, and drags his tool bag all over the place to fix things.

I think dad needs a job, but I’m staying out of it. ”

“Did you tell him that he needed a job?” She said she might have mentioned it. “I’ll have to know if I’m going to be looking in the want ads for him. He’ll be bagging up groceries if we don’t watch him, and the store manager won’t have hired him.”

“He only did that the one time, and your grandmother was sitting out in the car waiting for him to come out. He’d only gone in to take the cart back and didn’t tell her that he’d taken over the job for two hours.

I wonder what she was thinking, waiting on him to come out and take her home.

” They both laughed at the antics that his mom’s dad had.

“Then there was the time that he was disappearing for days on end because he was teaching science at the high school. Why on earth did he even think he could do that is beyond me. He’s forever getting himself into one thing or the next. ”

“My favorite job that he had was when he decided that he could drive a school bus. He just went all over town picking up kids and their parents in the bus that might have needed a ride to someplace. He was two hours late for school, but people got to their doctors’ appointments on time with him behind the wheel.

” Mom said that was one of her favorites, too.

“Do you believe he puts it on his resume when he files one out for a job? I wouldn’t put it past him. ”

“Me either. And please don’t allow him to apply for jobs.

The next thing we know, he’ll be applying for your job.

” He marveled at his grandparents. Grandma would fuss about Grandda being underfoot, but she’d make sure that he wasn’t getting into trouble too.

Grandda was a good trouble maker from when he was a kid, and the seven of them, himself and five brothers and grandda would go out on adventures.

If his mom ever knew about the things they’d get into, she’d never allow him around them at all.

It’s a miracle that none of them had been arrested a few times.

~*~

Frank watched his favorite grandson play around with the doorbell.

He’d broken it, of course, but he’d never tell him that.

When Aaron declared that the doorbell was fixed, he wondered if he could get him to fix the lock on the front gate again.

The stupid lock kept locking on its own, and he’d either be locked in or out depending on where he’d been headed at the time.

He started to mention it when Aaron said that he had to go back to work.

“You only just got here. You don’t have to leave just yet.

” He said that he’d been on his lunch hour and really did have to get back before someone noticed him missing.

“I don’t know if you know this or not, son, but if they can’t find you, that’s gonna hurt your momma and grandma.

They don’t love you as much as I do, but they sure do come in a close second and third. ”

“Thanks, Grandda. I do have to get back.” Milly brought him out a sandwich just as he was getting in his truck. “Thanks, Grandma, this will hit the spot. You always make the best sammiches.”

Aaron had been calling them that since he was just a little kid.

And telling Milly that she made the best of them, too.

Waiting for his turn to be complimented, he was nearly to the truck when Aaron stopped and hugged him tightly.

While holding him, he told him not to tinker with the doorbell again or he’d tell on him.

He wouldn’t; it was a nothing threat. But he wouldn’t mess with the thing again; he’d been sick of not getting any sleep for the last few nights.

“The front gate is giving me some fits. You’ll have to come out later tonight to fix it.

We’ll even have you over for supper if you want.

” He asked what they were having, and after being told, Aaron said he’d be there.

“I’ll make me up a list of things I’ve noticed going bad around here.

Not only does the front gate lock up funny now, but the bathroom lights flicker on and off, too. ”

“Grandda, what am I going to do with you?” He told him that he didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Sure you don’t, and I’m a monkey uncle as you always say.

You have me a list and I’ll get to them as I can.

I might take your tools away from you if you don’t behave. I’m surprised Grandma hasn’t.”

“She knows that I can fix things, so she leaves it alone.” She’d fuss at him if he even pulled it, but again, he didn’t say anything about that. He looked around for his Milly and was glad that she’d gone back in the house. “I’ll see you about six then. You know that’s when we eat around here.”

“I know.” As his grandson drove off, he started figuring in his head about what had been giving him fits around the house.

Not only were the bathroom lights going off and on, but there was something wrong with the barn door.

Not that he’d had anything to do with that, but it was old like he was and needed adjusting.

There were another dozen or so projects that he needed to have repaired, too, that he’d have Aaron work on.

About six months ago, he’d pulled out his tool bag and begun working on things that he knew he shouldn’t have.

Then two weeks ago, he’d had the trouble with the bathroom.

He’d thought that it was the light bulb, but he wasn’t so sure now that it kept doing that.

He was fearful of it catching the house on fire and was going to have Aaron work on it first. He’d even let him use his tools if he asked nicely.

Even if he didn’t ask, he’d still allow him to use them. He loved that boy to distraction.

He loved all his grandsons, but not like he did the first one.

Aaron had been born when he’d been about as fed up with life as he’d ever been.

Being depressed wasn’t something that his kind had ever dealt with, but he was about as depressed as he’d ever been when that little baby boy had been put in his arms. And just like that, it had all cleared up, and he’d been happy since.

Oh, there were days when he could barely get out of bed.

If not for his Milly, he was sure he’d never get up again.

But she needed him, and he was trying his best to make sure that he was there for her.

But like he thought, some days were harder than the ones before, and it was only one of the grandboys coming around that got him out of his funk.