Page 62 of Clap Back (Carter Brothers)

Quaid appeared not long after, gave Athena a look at how well she fit into the booster made for his child, and then started the truck up.

“Everyone is heading to your place,” he said.

It took us forty-five minutes to drop Athena off at her car, for her to immediately fall into line behind Quaid’s truck

We had a convoy as we made our way into Sunnyvale.

I kept my eyes peeled for the place that was for rent and pointed it out when I finally found it.

“That!” I pointed excitedly. “That’s the place that I’m thinking about renting.”

Ellodie gasped. “That would be the perfect! And the trip when you move here would be so nice!”

Quaid snorted as we pulled down a beautifully lined street that went from city to country really fast. “I think you’re moving them through the steps kind of fast, aren’t you?”

I saw a small smile flash on Auden’s face, causing me to smile myself.

“I also contacted a real estate agent about the possibility of selling my house. Just to get a feel,” I admitted. “Not that I’m trying to move here because y’all are here or anything,” I hastily added.

Auden’s eyes caught mine. “Sunnyvale is a good place, regardless of us or not.”

Something inside my belly settled.

A nervousness that I hadn’t been hiding well drifted away at his words.

I wasn’t trying to rush this relationship.

Hell, we didn’t even have a relationship yet.

What I knew, though, was that he made me feel peace I’d never felt before.

Not once in my life.

Quaid pulled up to a house that had a great yard, and I immediately knew it was Auden’s based on the landscaping.

“Wow,” I breathed. “This is so beautiful.”

“He puts our yards to shame, doesn’t he?” Ellodie scrunched up her nose.

“All you’d have to do is put a few…” I explained in detail what she could do to her yard, and Ellodie and Quaid stared at me with surprise.

“You’re one of those, aren’t you?” Ellodie shook her head.

“One of those?” I asked, confused as I got out.

“One of those people who are up at the ass crack of dawn to work in their yard, and goes to Lowe’s on Sundays for plants.” Ellodie giggled.

I snorted. “I don’t go to Lowes. I go to a nursery. Lowe’s is like going to a Walmart for health supplements.”

Ellodie and Quaid both burst out laughing at the same time.

When I looked to Auden in question, the tops of his cheeks were rosy.

“What?” I asked him.

“I said something similar when I was outfitting my own garden,” he admitted. “They might have given me shit then, too.”

I flashed him a grin that caused the cut on my forehead to pull taught.

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