Page 34 of A Cowboy's Bride
Jake shook his head, but he wasn't the one Petra watched with fascination. Jinx had her arms around Dixie’s neck, her eyes wide as if their comedy routine had her mesmerized.
Petra didn't think the light-hearted badgering was fake—too much true affection came through in the way the brothers spoke to each other. But Jinx was eating it up, and the longer the guys teased as Jake sat to the side of Declan and began updating the progress list, the more her mouth hung open in shock.
It was a nice normal family situation as far as Petra could tell. Not that much different from what she and her own family were like on a regular basis.
Which meant this kind of light banter was probably nothing Jinx had experienced for a long time, if ever.
Petra had snuck a quick read through the papers Aiden had tucked into her pocket, which gave the bare bones of what Danielle had been told of Jinx’s living situation. Jinx would tell more about her past in the days to come once she was ready, but for now, it was all about building trust one hour at a time.
Which meant Petra had this first evening to get through as well.
Followed by a night sharing a bed with Aiden.
What did she want?
It was one thing to have upturned her entire life to help—and the longer the day went on, the more grateful Petra was that she'd been in the right place at the right time for that. But did it mean she had to put her own desires on hold when it came to her and Aiden?
Fooling around would offer the perfect endorphin rush to deal with the current situation.
An elbow nudged gently into her side. “Teacher wants to know why you're not participating,” Aiden teased.
Petra blinked and discovered all eyes on her. She'd been so caught up in her own head she’d lost track of what was going on. “Sorry, you have to say that again.”
“Keep your girl awake over there,” Jake grumbled before turning back to his papers.
Aiden curled his arm around the back of the couch which snuggled Petra in closer. He grinned down and waggled his brows. “Can't have the boss unhappy.”
Only Jinx’s eyes were on them, and her body language was stiffer than before. Petra twisted on the spot, curling her legs under her. Aiden's arm fell away even though they remained side by side. She poked him in the chest with amusement. “You don't need any encouragement to get distracted. What was the question, Jake?”
“Eventually, we'll have different evening activities lined up. Things like schoolwork, or prep for the artists’ studio. But for the most part, we’ll take the evening to relax. I asked if you’d share what goes onyourlist for evening relaxation activities.”
Heat rumbled through her as Aiden laid a hand on her thigh. His hands, all over her… That was one relaxing evening activity that wasnotgoing to be named now, no matter that it leapt to mind.
Petra considered then listed a bunch easily. “I crochet. Usually put on a podcast and stitch for an hour or two. Sometimes I put on a show or listen to some music. I usually go for a walk in the evening, but that's because my day jobs often require me to sit on my butt for a long time. Since coming to High Water is still recent, I haven’t figured out my new routine.”
“I don't usually need any more physical labour in the evening,” Declan said, “but I don't mind listening to music or that sort of thing. I like to whittle, and it's nice to have something going on in the background.”
Jinx frowned. “Why don't you guys just do what you always do? You don't have to change things because I'm here.”
Aiden leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “That's very kind, but it's not that we’re going out of our way or inconveniencing ourselves, Jinx. You're part of this family now, and yeah, sometimes families do stupid things, but usually they do their best to do smart things like make it easy to spend some time together in a way that’s comfortable and makes everybody happy.”
“Consider it a family routine,” Declan pitched in. “Who knows? Maybe you'll decide you want to learn how to whittle. Always good to have an expert to teach you.”
“I'll put that on my list, then,” Jake said. “Find an expert whittler to teach Jinx?—”
Declan scratched between his eyes using his middle finger.
Jake snorted. “You're still swearing. You know Jeff would never let you get away with that.”
Petra laughed. The awkwardness she'd felt was slowly being melted away by the strong bond between the brothers. “Okay, so we're looking for ideas for High Water family night. Right now, we don't have much on the outside calendar, so there's no reason why we can't hang together in here, or by the fire, or things like that, right? Just no work.”
“No work.” Jake agreed. “Emergencies will happen, and once Jinx is in school, she might have things that happen after supper, so we'll have to make some adjustments. But for now, how about we let the weather decide?”
Jinx lifted her fingers the slightest bit, as if asking for permission to speak.
Petra ignored the urge to tell the girl this wasn’t school. She’d figure it out eventually. “What's up?” she asked.
“I like some music. And some podcasts, and some shows, but there's some stuff I don't…” Beside her, Dixie nuzzled in, whining softly as she looked for what was upsetting her new charge. Jinx stroked the dog’s head then determinedly lifted her head and looked Petra in the eye. “There's things I won't watch. Nothing violent, or cruel, or sex stuff, just so you know.”
