Page 12 of Pillowtalk

Aaron

“She’s pretty, huh?” Aaron mused, reaching across the cab to ruffle Charlie’s fur. Now that he was out of sight from Kennedy, he could finally drop the mask he’d decided to wear whenever she was around.

His nine-month-old husky turned a wide, panting grin at him before stretching across the seat to rest his head in Aaron’s lap. A sigh fell from Aaron’s lips as he stroked the pup to sleep on their way home. It had been a long night, even though his normal outings with Natalie were much longer. But sitting through an entire meal listening to her throw every insult under the sun at him—followed by a near-full glass of red wine—made the evening feel like an eternity. Using a public place to break things off was supposed to be a good plan, but Natalie hadn’t had any qualms about using the highest decibel her voice possessed. By the time she left, half the town was aware of Aaron’s relationship status, and—if he was honest with himself—he’d bet most of them weren’t surprised in the slightest.There goes that Sheppard boy again,they’d most likely utter under their breaths.Another inevitable split.

He didn’t care much for the small-town gossip, but he deserved every bit of the negative rumors that were spread about him. Most people were good-intentioned neighbors, and when it came down to it, no one held a grudge against him for what happened years ago…with one exception.

Aaron shook his head hard, attempting to clear it like an Etch-A-Sketch with a major mistake that ruined the entire design. The only problem with ridding himself of those thoughts was that it left nothing to distract him from the thought he was desperately tryingnotto have.

She really is pretty.

Grateful that it was then he arrived home, he pulled into the dirt drive and shut off the engine, prodding Charlie to wake up. He hopped out with the husky bounding down between Aaron’s SUV and Austin’s work van. The anxious puppy ran to the front of the house, tail wagging so hard it clunked against the wooden rungs that surrounded the wraparound porch. Aaron nodded to his brother, who was animatedly talking on the phone, leaning against the dark wood of the railing. Austin gave him a wave, his mouth split open in a laugh caused by whatever was said on the other end of the call. Aaron whistled for Charlie, leading the excited puppy around back to do his business before heading in.

Charlie sniffed around the edge of the lake while Aaron leaned against the back porch and tried his best to keep his eyes off the B&B he could see clearly on the other side of the water. When they were kids, Jared and he would row or swim across it just to spy on the guests there. They’d pull stupid pranks that most of the time backfired, but there was the occasional scare. One man was still swearing that the place was haunted when he checked out in the middle of the night, demanding his money back. When the Teas wised up to what was happening, Jared and Aaron had to make up for the revenue the business had lost due to their antics, with manual labor. Aaron could still hear, clear as day, Jared’s laughter as they were bent over yanking weeds from the front garden as he said, “Totally worth it.”

A dull ache ran through his chest, and the grin that had settled on his face from the memory faded away with the rest of the sunset, and the sky turned from dark blue to inky black above the lake.

“Yo,” Austin said from behind him. “How’d it go?”

Aaron let out a humorless laugh and pulled at his red-stained shirt. “At least I’m not attached to it.”

“The shirt or the girl?” Austin teased, and Aaron lazily attempted to punch him for it. Austin easily avoided injury, leaned against the railing, and elbowed Aaron in the upper arm. “You need a drink?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. It wasn’t only the draining breakup he’d just gone through, but he needed to dull his thoughts…especially since those thoughts kept creeping back to a certain guest who looked as if she was still awake, what with the light on in the top-floor guest room just across the lake at the place he swore he wouldn’t sit there and stare at. Obviously, he’d proved he was still no good at self-restraint.

Austin’s strong hand came down on Aaron’s shoulder. “Awesome. Go change.”

Aaron’s brow pulled together. “Why…?”

“I’m getting you a drink.”

Aaron shook his head. “I thought you were offering a beer from the fridge.”

“Not strong enough.” His brother tapped a rhythm against the railing. Aaron raised an eyebrow at the jovial mood, wondering who exactly had been on the other end of that phone call. Austin didn’t give him a chance to ask. “Come with me to Carson’s. I got a surprise for ya.”

Damn it. He knew he couldn’t say no now; Austin rarely insisted on anything and if he was this excited, it must be worth his while. Aaron hung his head, defeated as he watched his dog roll around in the overgrown grass. He’d been avoiding popular places in town ever since he arrived, regardless of everyone he had talked to telling him that no one gave a “hoot and a half” about why he left town in the first place. Most were thrilled to have a tech-savvy person to help upgrade their business systems. But beyond work, Aaron hadn’t been in very many social situations since he crossed the state line. The town watering hole on a Friday night seemed a lot like jumping into shark-infested waters with an open wound.

Aaron let out a groan that his brother assumed—correctly—was a yes. Austin whooped and headed inside through the back door. “Leaving in ten.”

“You’re buying!” Aaron called out after him.

—

As predicted, Carson’s Watering Hole was filled to the brim, patrons flowing from the front door. Loud laughter and raucous conversation could be heard from down the road, and Aaron braced himself for his grand entrance. Sure, he’d been seen around town—not an hour ago even, doing what he did best: breaking things off with a woman—but he knew there were a few Lyra Valleyites who’d only heard rumors of the evil Sheppard twin returning to town. Most of them were about to have physical proof.

Austin practically leapt from behind the steering wheel, the Porter’s Garage van door screeching when he closed it. Aaron idled behind his brother, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he looked up at the familiar bar. The Carsons had updated their lighting and painted the exterior, and there was a newOPENandCLOSEDsign hanging over the door. But everything else felt much the same as it had been before he’d left.

Austin received several enthusiastic greetings as he passed a group of happily trashed people. Most were either too drunk to notice that there was another brother nearby or too slow to recognize Aaron as he walked past. One of them actually called out, “Austin, man, didn’t you just go inside?” Aaron shook his head and laughed at the gravel under his feet.

Stepping through the front door sent a million memories through his head, the first being his last time at the bar. He’d passed out on top of one of the back pool tables and somehow made it home, but he still had no idea how that happened.

“The hell…?” came a thundering voice from the bar, one Aaron recognized immediately. A grin spread over his face as he turned to see the familiar, friendly face.

“Whoo!” the man hollered, slapping a thick hand against the lacquered bar top. The entire place quieted to listen in. “That there is Aaron Sheppard.”

Aaron felt a chuckle rise from his gut, and he weaved his way across the room to greet his old friend. “And that there is Sawyer McCain.”

Sawyer grinned from underneath a wiry red beard, shoving up from his stool. “Damn it, get over here and buy me a drink.”

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