Page 75 of Heat Exchange
“Your mother,” he grumbled. “I’m surprised you’re not staying with your boyfriend.”
Lydia shook her head and started walking toward the bedroom again. “I’m not talking about Aidan with you, Dad.”
“I thought you knew better than that.”
“Better than what?”
“To come between them. Aidan and Scotty, I mean. You got no business there, and you probably ruined their friendship.”
“I haven’t done anything to Scott. Nothing about my relationship is any of his business. Or yours, for that matter.” And she didn’t know what their relationship even was anymore, if anything, since she hadn’t seen him.
“That ain’t how it works, and you know it.”
“If you mean that I know you consider your brotherhood of firefighters more important than your actual family, then yes. I do know that.”
He recoiled, as if she’d physically struck him. “That’s not true, Lydia.”
“Itfeelstrue. And it always has.” They could stand here and argue until they were blue in the face and it wouldn’t make a difference. “That’s why you’re standing here telling me I’ve done something wrong instead of telling your son it’s none of his damn business who I sleep with and to grow up and get over it.”
“I’m going back to bed. Maybe tomorrow you’ll be more reasonable.”
“If by being more reasonable, you mean I might admit you’re right tomorrow, I wouldn’t count on it.” She went into the spare room and closed the door behind her. She didn’t slam it, but she wanted to.
The room she’d shared with Ashley had been made into a true guest room, with no debris from their childhood scattered around. What they hadn’t taken with them when they moved out but didn’t want to throw away was boxed up in the cellar, and the bunk beds had been replaced by a queen mattress and box spring on a plain metal frame.
The bedding was clean and she was too tired for a little dust to bother her. After changing out of her clothes, she crawled in between the sheets and tried to rein in the thoughts racing around her mind.
First and foremost, of course, was the hope she and her old man both survived this forced cohabitation. She also hated fighting with Scotty, though this was not the first time and it probably wouldn’t be the last. And then came Ashley and Danny. Lydia genuinely hoped they were on the path to saving their marriage and getting back on track.
Which brought her to the point where her runaway train of thought ran off the tracks. Ashley putting her life back together meant Lydia would be free to go back toherown life. The one in New Hampshire, where she chose who to be friends with and there were no bar patrons who’d known her since she wasn’t old enough to be in there, and no firefighters.
And no Aidan.
She’d made her peace with being involved with him because it was only temporary. But now that the clock was ticking and that temporary time was running out, she wondered how she’d make peace with not having him in her life anymore.
She’d fallen in love with a freaking firefighter.
Rolling onto her side and curling up, she tried not to think about that. She’d gotten used to having Aidan around and now she wasn’t sure how temporary she wanted their relationship to be. At the same time, she didn’t see how it could be anything else.
Sighing, she drew the covers up over her face and started counting beer brands she could name in place of sheep. She’d think about Aidan tomorrow.
Chapter Eighteen
LYDIAWASGOINGto throw everybody out of Kincaid’s Pub, hang the Closed sign in the door and go find her brother. Once she was done slapping some sense into him, she’d find Aidan and give him a piece of her mind, too. They were both idiots and the next time she saw either of them, it wasn’t going to be pretty.
No fewer than seven different people had asked Lydia if she’d heard about the fight between her brother and Aidan Hunt, and it pissed her off to no end. Not being asked about it—she was expected, as bartender, to be gossip central—but because she had to hear about it from her patrons rather than one of the idiots in question.
She managed to piece together a bare minimum of information. They’d gotten into a fistfight while playing hockey and then been called onto the carpet for it. If the customers had any balls, she knew the real question would behow long have you been sleeping with Aidan Huntbecause nobody would be able to imagine anything else that would make them exchange blows. And depending on how discreet everybody was, they might not have to imagine.
But didsheget a heads-up? It might have been nice if one of them warned her the bar might be a hotbed of speculation that night, especially since it involved her. But apparently this was going to be aguything, despite both of them knowing that would send her over the edge.
When she couldn’t take it anymore, she sent a text to Aidan.
Are you home?
Yeah,but I might go do some stuff.
Stay home.I’m coming over.
