Page 53 of Small-Town Secrets
Laurence
Once Aaron was gone, I walked up to the guest room where the kids were staying. I'd put them to bed hours ago, so I tried to be as quiet as possible as I opened the door. I didn't want to wake them, I only wanted to see them. In the low light falling in from the hallway, they looked like little angels as they slept. The image was deceiving, of course, but I loved it nonetheless.
Nothing mattered as long as I could keep my babies safe.
It didn't matter if Aaron was mad at me or not. Yes, I'd had a crush on him, but that wasn't important now.
At least, that's what I tried to tell myself.
Aaron was just another alpha after all. He wasn't going to be my savior and I needed to stop entertaining fantasies like that.
With a heavy heart but a new resolve, I left the twin's room and trudged downstairs. There was no telling when Aaron was going to be back, so I might as well go to sleep. My bed on the couch wasn't super comfortable, but it was fine. Usually I was tired enough by the end of a day that I didn't care where I slept.
Left behind by his owner, Sarge jumped on the couch when I lay down and cuddled up by my legs. I reached out to pet him.
"We're going to be fine, aren't we?"
He made an appreciative noise and I smiled at him. Sarge was a good dog.
I lay on my side and closed my eyes.
Sleep wouldn't come, though. I told myself it was the lines of the couch digging into my back. The couch wasn't to blame, of course, but I didn't want to think about Aaron anymore.
What was the point?
The sound of the front door opening pulled me out of my musings.
Sarge hopped off the couch and ran to his owner.
I stayed where I was, straining my ears to listen to Aaron's every move. I heard him take his shoes off and then he came into the living room. He didn't turn the lights on, though, and he lingered by the door for only a moment. Then he went up the stairs, probably toward his bedroom.
In the darkness, I got up. I'd thought I could let things rest until the next morning, but I couldn't. I needed to talk to Aaron now, figure out exactly what was going on inside his head. I needed to know whether I needed to look for a new home for myself and the children in the morning.
I needed to know if he was going to make a claim on the children the way Howard had tried.
Halfway up the stairs, I stopped.
Aaron hadn't gone to his bedroom the way I assumed he would. Instead, he stood in the door to the twins' room, the same way I had maybe half an hour ago. The only difference was that he was holding his dog in his arms. When he noticed me, he carefully closed the door and turned around to me. "Laurence," he started, but then didn't seem to know how to go on.
I squinted, trying to judge the situation. Aaron didn't seem mad anymore. He stepped away from the guest room and met me on the stairs. "I'm sorry for the way I left."
What? An apology was the last thing I'd expected.
Had I fallen asleep on the couch after all?
This being a dream was the most feasible explanation I could come up with.
"You're not the one who should be apologizing," I said, but he only shook his head.
"Let's go downstairs. We shouldn't wake the kids."
He was right about that, so I followed along as he led me back to the living room. "I've done some thinking," he said while I was still trying to figure out if I was asleep or awake.
"Yeah?" I asked, eyeing him cautiously. He'd sat down on the couch, glancing at the bed I'd made for myself as if he didn't like the thought of my sleeping down here instead of in his bed, the way I had the night before.
He couldn't truly be thinking that, could he?
My heart hammered in my chest.
