Page 3 of Signed With Love

“Fuck you, Chadwick,” Finn says. I haven’t known Finn for long, only five years, but I always agree with him.

I ignore my friends, more concerned with how Claire hardly acknowledged my presence when I saw her earlier. I froze up, and by the time I caught her eye, she was turning away. I’ll see her one more time, and that’s all thanks to her father. I have offered more than once in the last six months to pick up the rent check for them, but he says it’s no problem, he’ll bring it by. Which always ends up being Claire instead.

It’s the only way I get to interact with Claire when she makes the trip north, so I stopped offering. But that’s about to change, I hope. I’m going to communicate with her. It’s taken me four months of practice and giving up my mother’s old treasure maps, but Billy has finally given in to my requests to teach me how to have a conversation with his daughter.

“That right there is why we’re tea sipping.” Finn’s statement causes me to jerk up and set my beer bottle down. It wobbles on the old wooden deck. Claire takes the short path toward me as I wipe my hands on my old jeans.

“Damn right, it is. She’s hot,” Chadwick says with a low whistle. I should have called off the game night tonight, but we needed it today, and I’m never sure what day she’ll stop by.

“Dude, she’ll hear you. Shut the fuck up,” Rylee says. She’s always the most sensible of the group. I send a quick prayer upstairs that my friends will behave while Claire’s here. But it’s asking a lot of Him.

I start down the stairs. I need as much space as possible between us so they don’t distract me. When Claire’s head rises, I have a moment with the full force of her azure eyes on me. They have always reminded me of gliding my float plane across a frozen lake. The way the sun reflects off the lake is blinding; so is she.

Her eyes move over my shoulder, and her steps falter. She’s crested the hill and can now see my friends sitting on the porch. I’ll only get a minute of her time if I lose my shit, and I’ve been desperate for more time with her since I first laid eyes on her. I want to know every facet of this woman.

Hello, I sign.

My friends murmur, but I bolster my confidence. I resist the urge to let my gaze travel lower to take in the way the snug denim encases her body or how her sweater hugs her gorgeous curves.

I hope the drive was good. Shit. She hadn’t driven this time because she didn’t have her car. I have to pull myself together and focus. My heart hasn’t beaten this hard in a while.

She’s frozen but eventually nods. Her hands fly quickly before me.

You know signing? she asks. I focus on the way her hand slides from her raised brow and then how they smoothly rotate around.

I’m learning a little signing. My hands are shaky, stiff in return.

Why? Her hand sweeps by her temple, and her brows lower. I try to not focus on soaking her up while we communicate, but the way her lips dip down when she wets them catches my attention.

Billy told me to focus on her hands and always make eye contact, and I still might not catch everything she’s trying to tell me. Her facial expressions and body language will say just as much as her hands do.

“You aren’t going to introduce us?” Chadwick comes down the stairs and slams a hand on my shoulder. He turns to Claire. “Hey, I’m Chadwick. Nice to meet you.”

She shakes his extended hand, her body coiling tight. I don’t want to do this for the first time in front of everyone, but if I don’t, it’ll be another month before I can try again.

After last week’s shitty rescue trip and the hard day today, I’ve been impatient. I don’t want to wait more time to get to know her.

Chadwick punches my shoulder just as Rylee jumps down and offers Claire her hand. “I’m Rylee. I haven’t seen you around before. This is Finn.”

Claire runs a hand through her blonde hair as she shakes Rylee’s hand. She reaches for her back pocket, and I work to quickly distract her from handing the check over.

I make sure her gaze is on me before I sign, Sorry. I rub my right fist on my chest. These are my friends.

Claire pauses, her breathing unsteady as her chest rises and falls.

I point to Rylee first. She’s watching us with curious eyes and a bright smile. She has her long brown hair twisted high, her bangs almost hiding her eyes, and she wears a casual flannel and jeans. This is Rylee.

I point to Chadwick next. He’s got his ball cap on, and he’s strutting around with a smirk. His usual attire. This is Chadwick. I crudely fingerspell each name.

Lastly, I point to Finn. The most straight-laced of us. He doesn’t smile often, but he’s at least not glaring at her. That’s a win tonight. This is Finn.

“Since when do you know sign language, dude?” Chadwick nudges my shoulder again, and I swear to God, I’m going to punch him if he doesn’t stop.

I turn to him and shove him away. “Go away, guys. I’ll be inside in a minute.” The last of my patience wears out. I want to do this right and just have a fucking conversation with her. Every month I have the shortest glimpses of Claire, and this longing to know her has overpowered me.

“And miss this?” Chadwick says. “No fucking way. You learned to sign for her.” I’ve known Chadwick since I was seven. My mom and his dad were both bush pilots for Thorne Air. Since I’ve been in the cockpit of a float plane, he’s been there with me. He’s never pissed me off like this before.

“Guys, just give me a fucking moment, please?”

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