Page 17 of Take Me Slowly, Part 1 (Aurora Hollow duet #1)

LEAH

"Should you be standing so much?" Connor gave me a look up and down.

"I'm fine." I gathered up a stack of empty glasses to carry back behind the bar.

I was going to hurt tomorrow, but I'd help out where they needed it.

Right now, that was keeping the Frosty Brew going.

Connor disappeared into the office to do the paperwork his father usually did, leaving me and Fiona to clean up out here.

He only just reappeared, his hair tousled like he'd run his hand through it several times.

"We're almost done." I loaded the glasses into the glass washer and closed the door.

"Leah," he said warningly.

I turned around, my hands on my hips. "I said I'm fine. Don't tell me you didn't need the help." He and Fiona would have been here all night without the extra pair of hands. Or they would have had to call in Zara on her night off.

"Not if it means…" He shut his mouth with a click of his teeth as Fiona stepped around behind the bar.

"You two are getting intense," she teased. "Should I leave?"

Connor's side eye suggested she should, but I lowered my hands to my sides, trying to appear less confrontational.

"I think we're both done here," I said. Fortunately the place was quiet enough tonight to close early, but the weekend was imminent. I was going to have to pace myself, or sit out. Honestly, I didn't care for either option.

"Yeah, thanks," Connor said with a grunt. "I appreciate the help." He took a step to the side to let Riley pass, carrying a keg on his shoulder. He disappeared into the cool room, followed by the clang as he lowered the keg to the concrete floor.

"That's the last one," Riley said, stepping back out and rubbing his shoulder. "I signed for the delivery."

"Great." Connor slapped his shoulder. "I'll put it into the system before I forget. You know what Dad's like with shit like that."

"Yeah, he'd lose his mind if you don't put it in thirty seconds after the truck pulls in." Riley grinned.

"Fifteen seconds." Connor sighed and disappeared back into the office.

"He acts like a fucking grizzly, but he really is grateful," Riley said. "This is more than his father's business. It's important to the whole town. Wait until summer when we get live bands here in the beer garden. The whole town comes. It's like one big, dysfunctional, more or less happy family."

"It really is," Fiona agreed. "Those are the best nights around here." She put a hand up over her mouth to cover a yawn. "I should get going. It's almost Sarah's bedtime and I have to run a couple of things over to Gavin Clarke first."

"Can I come?" I asked.

I ignored the widening of Riley's grin. I hadn't forgotten his promise that the next time I came, it would be on his mouth. My trusty vibrator might prove him wrong, but we'd see.

In the meantime, I was curious about Gavin. Should I be? It felt a little morbid, but I couldn't help myself. After the guys told me about his daughter, my heart hurt for him. If I could help look out for the man, that could be another way for me to settle here in town.

"Of course," Fiona said lightly. "Later, Ri."

"Later, Fi." He gave her a brief nod. "Later, sweetheart." He looked like he wanted to kiss me, but he tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned back against the bar to watch us leave.

"He's got it bad," Fiona said as we stepped out into the still of night.

I glanced back to see him still watching, his gaze on my ass.

"I wouldn't go that far." He wanted to fuck me, but chances were he'd forget me the second we were done.

I'd be another notch in his belt. Did I want that?

Ugh, I didn't care for that line of thought.

I didn't want to be thrown away like a disposable coffee cup the minute it was empty.

I already lived that life. I deserved better.

I pushed those thoughts away and focused on the moment. "What are we taking to Gavin?"

"A few things for breakfasts and lunches," Fiona said. She stopped to pick up a couple of bags that sat by the back door of the pub, out of the way. "Mostly bread, peanut butter, things like that." She peered into the bags, the sides of her mouth turned down.

"Does he eat them?" I asked gently, guessing the reason for her expression.

"Some of it," she said. "We throw out a lot. Louisa and Carly from the Snowdrop Café check on him when they can, and make sandwiches and things. Sometimes I think…"

"Connor and Riley told me what happened with his daughter," I whispered. If that was why she was holding back from finishing that sentence, she should know I understood. Or at least, I had the situation explained to me.

"Right." Fiona looked up. "Sometimes I think he wishes he was the one who fell into the creek. I've seen him over the lake, staring into the water like maybe he'll… I don't know. Jump in. If it happened to Sarah…" She sniffed.

"It must be hard on him," I said.

I'd never loved anyone so much I wanted to follow them under the water. I knew a couple I might hold under there, but I kept that distasteful thought to myself. I'd never act on it anyway. I could barely slice meat without feeling bad about the animal it came from.

"Yeah." Fiona pushed the door open with her back and stepped out, leaving me to hurry behind her.

My legs felt a little stiff and achey. I didn't need to look to know they were beginning to swell. I'd try to have a bath when I got back home. Maybe I could prevent the worst of a flare-up.

"So, you went up to the lookout with those two," Fiona said when we were about half a block away from the pub.

"Let me guess, you've never been there either?" I asked.

She glanced over and smiled. "Oh, I have, but not with either of them. I was seeing a guy for a while. Things didn't work out."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm sure you deserve better."

She laughed. "I really do. He was sweet, but he always had one foot out of Aurora Hollow, you know? I wouldn't leave and he wouldn't stay."

"Definitely his loss then," I said. "Where did he go?"

"Last I heard, he was playing baseball in Toronto. Professionally. I mean, I guess I can't blame a guy for leaving to do something like that. There aren't many professional baseball teams in town. Specifically…none."

I laughed. "Yeah, okay, I get that. Do you think he'll ever come back?"

"Reese?" She looked thoughtful. "Maybe. I mean, he comes back for holidays and during the off-season.

Sometimes we hook up, sometimes we don't. But I don't know if he'd want to stick around permanently.

Why would he when he has fans chasing him.

What's the baseball equivalent of a puck bunny? Ball bunny? Bat bunny? Jersey chaser?"

"I have no idea," I admitted. "If picks them over you, then he's crazy."

"I agree completely," she said. "I told him I wouldn't wait for him, and I won't. Even if I didn't deserve better, Sarah does. I don't want someone in her life who's ready to walk out the door at any moment. I want her to have stability, to be able to trust the people around her."

"You're a good mom," I said. "She's lucky to have you."

"I'm lucky to have her," Fiona said. "It was a high risk pregnancy. The doctor suggested I not go through with it, but I couldn't bring myself to end it. Although, there were times when I had morning sickness so bad I thought it would end both of us." She scrunched up her face.

"That sounds terrible," I said sympathetically. I'd never given much thought to having children. Getting around was difficult enough, and if I passed my arthritis onto them…

"It was. I became very intimately attached to the bathroom floor, in front of the toilet," she said with a laugh. "But Sarah is completely worth it. I wouldn't have changed those days for anything."

"Can I ask you something?" I asked carefully.

"That depends what it is," she said. "You can ask, but I don't guarantee to answer." She smiled, showing she was at least half joking.

That was fair.

"Sarah's father. You said he's not around?"

"That's right," she said lightly. "It's not Reese, if you're wondering. He would have stuck around for her. And I would have spent my life feeling guilty about tying him down."

I told her what I told Riley about my father taking off when I was little. "I know how it feels to have an absent father. My mother was physically present, but she was otherwise absent. At least Sarah has you."

"That's terrible," Fiona said. "I can't imagine having a kid and not giving them everything they need as best you can. I know I can't do everything for her, but I try. You know?"

"I do know, because I've seen you together," I said.

"She adores you. I can't help wishing… I had what you give her.

" A mother that cared whether she succeeded or not.

That supported her and nurtured her. The kind of parent I wished for every child.

Parents who wanted their offspring. That didn't seem like a whole lot to ask to me.

"I wish you did too," Fiona said softly.

"I wish you grew up here in Aurora Hollow.

I bet we would have been like sisters. Doing everything together and all that shit.

Whitney and Holly are great, but they're older than me.

When they started high school, I barely saw them.

We drifted apart for a long time. We kinda didn't hang out again until a couple of years ago.

But you and I, we could have given Connor and Riley a bunch of shit.

And the other guys in town too." She made it sound amazing.

"That would have been wonderful," I said wistfully. Even if my family was distant, I would have been surrounded by found family. There was no reason I couldn't have that now. It already felt like I did. I could certainly have worse sisters than Fiona, Whitney and Holly.

"Well, you're here now," Fiona said. "We can make the most out of that."

"I hope to," I said. I'd never been anywhere that felt like home like this town did. More than anything, I wanted to belong. To be a part of this place and the people in it. A valuable member of the community, not just someone who lived here. I wanted it so much my heart ached.

She was silent for a few minutes as we made our way down the street.

We crossed an empty side street and stopped in front of a cottage with a facade made entirely of river stones and timber.

Judging by the wear on the heavy wooden door, it must have been standing for at least a hundred years.

In the centre, an iron door knocker in the shape of a horse shoe was shiny, like hundreds of hands had gripped it to announce the visitor's presence.

The mat in front of the door showed signs of once having words or patterns on the surface. Whatever it was, I couldn't make it out now. It could have been anything from the word 'welcome,' to a picture of a moose or maybe a kangaroo, its tail out behind it.

"This is where Gavin Clarke lives." Fiona nodded towards the door before she pushed it open and stepped inside. "Gavin?"

I hesitated for a moment before following her in.