Page 384 of On A Manhunt: Complete Series

LUKE

“Who might you be?”

At the question, I spun around on Aspen’s stoop. There stood an older woman in denim overalls and rubber rain boots holding a small shovel. Her gray hair was chin length, her wrinkles plentiful, and her blue-eyed gaze piercing.

“Luke.”

She cocked her head to the side as if assessing me. Maybe considering if I was dangerous, but I was in jeans, sneakers, and a white t-shirt. If I wanted to break in, I wouldn’t have knocked. “You look more like Shep Barnes to me.”

Ah, another one. Obviously, she had a TV.

I scratched my head a little sheepishly. “That’s what people tell me.”

She glanced toward the second floor. “I’m Erma Waddle. This is my house.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am. You have a lovely home.”

“Thank you. Making house calls?” With her brow arched, she had a mischievous look about her. I had a feeling she was talking about sex. But I couldn’t be sure.

“Um, I–” What the hell did I say?

“If you are, good. Just what Aspen needs.”

I frowned. Mrs. Waddle was pimping me out to Aspen?

The side door opened and there was Aspen in a black t-shirt dress. Thank fuck. Not only because I needed rescuing, but because the dress meant easy access. I had unrequited plans and a three-hour flight on a private plane.

She might have been my fake girlfriend, but what I felt for her was real.

I meant that I’d pay her, too. She didn’t need to owe some cheating asshole fifty thousand dollars hanging over her head.

If I had to tie it into this arrangement, then fine.

I’d already sent the money through my banking app, finding her in it easily enough.

I’d have sent it directly to Duncan the Dick’s lawyer so she didn’t have to do a thing, but I didn’t know who it was.

Aspen was doing me a favor and I was getting to be with her, uninterrupted. I’d say it was an even trade.

“Hi, Granny,” she said to the older woman, a big smile on her face. “You’ve met Luke?”

“Yes. I’ve never seen a head of hair like his.”

Aspen couldn’t help but laugh and I tried not to roll my eyes. If I went bald, I would be in big trouble.

“I’m headed with Luke to California for a few days while Sierra’s away,” Aspen told her.

The older woman smiled. “That’s wonderful, dear. Did you hear from our girl?”

Aspen nodded. “This morning. She talked non-stop about the breakfast, but she wanted me to reassure you the pancakes weren’t as good as yours. Then she went on and on about the practice and the games and–well, I don’t think she breathed.”

It was good to hear Sierra was having fun.

The little girl had been so excited the other day to go to camp.

Same with the boys, Johnny and Jackson. But I’d been more worried about Aspen and her tender, mother’s heart.

Hopefully, I could take her out of state and have her not worry.

Well, if my own mother was any indication, she’d always worry, but maybe have some fun, too.

“Sounds like she’s having a good time. Now you go have one, too, with this young man.”

I liked Mrs. Waddle.

Aspen looked to me. I wasn’t sure if dealing with Lacey was going to be fun, but with Aspen at my side–and in my bed–it was looking a hell of a lot better.

“I’ll try,” Aspen told her.

Mrs. Waddle looked to me. “Be good, or my grandsons have a woodchipper.”

I frowned. What was up with the fucking woodchipper? “I’m guessing your grandson’s name is Daniel.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “How did you know?”

“Good guess,” I muttered.

Mrs. Waddle and Aspen hugged, then the older woman disappeared around the front of the house. Aspen grabbed her bag for the trip and stepped out onto the landing.

“She probably told you, but this is her house. She split it into two right before I moved here. I’ve been her upstairs tenant since before Sierra was born.

She’s my number one babysitter. That door goes into her apartment.

” Aspen thumbed over her shoulder. When I was here before, I didn’t notice the door to the lower level, probably because I had her pressed up against it and my fingers in her pussy.

“In the mornings when I teach class, I open it so it’s kinda like one house again.

Sierra comes down to have breakfast with her Granny Waddle. ”

Reaching down, I took her bag and set my hand on her back as we walked down the driveway to my rental car. “That’s nice. A built-in babysitter.”

She glanced at me. “She’s got lots of family here, but I like to think we’re her family, too. She’s definitely ours. I have a feeling Sierra knows about your show because they watch it together eating popcorn and all kinds of hydrogenated fats.”

“You don’t have any family in town?” I asked, opening her door for her.

She shook her head. “Nope. I moved here when I was pregnant with Sierra. I’m… estranged from my parents.”

I frowned. She said it so easily, as if this wasn’t a new situation. As if she’d resigned herself to it or maybe even okay with not being close with them.

“That’s too bad. I’m close with my mom and dad. Plus, I’ve got a brother and two sisters. All married with kids and living in my hometown. It’s crazy when I go back to visit.”

“Where’s that?”

“Peckers Cutoff, Nebraska. My parents have a ranch.”

Her eyes widened and then she burst out laughing. “Peckers–”

“Cutoff, yeah.” I grinned because what else was there to do?

“That’s a real place?” she asked while trying to catch her breath.

“You think I’d make that up?”

She bit her lip as if trying to keep from laughing further. Her hands slipped around my waist as she tipped her chin up to meet my gaze. Fuck, she was pretty. “A cowboy, then.”

She had on a bit of makeup. Mascara and tinted lip gloss. Nothing more. Her hair was half up, half down and I slid my hand over it and cupped the back of her neck.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“What’s the saying? Save a horse and ride a cowboy?”

I was outright grinning now. And I was hard. “You want to take me for a ride?”

“Not everything about this has to be fake,” she reminded.

Thank fuck.

“True. How about you do that while we join the mile high club?”

“Multitasking,” she murmured, pushing up to her tiptoes to kiss me. “I like it.”

Me, too. Me, fucking too.