Page 78 of Whisper Of Attraction (Whisper Lake 3)

She took a deep breath and stood in her front room and looked at the time. It was nine in the morning. She thought about trying to take a nap but knew that would be a pointless endeavor. Her son had just called her an emotional superhero. He’d said that he was lucky that she was his mom. This deserved celebration. She was going to treat herself to a fancy six-dollar coffee from Cobblestone.

After jotting a quick note on a post-it and hanging it across the wall from Ryder’s door to let him know where she’d gone, she grabbed her purse and headed out her front door. She was halfway down the walk when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Axel rounding the corner from the side of the house. His head was down, he looked exhausted and beat down, like a fighter that had just gone twelve rounds.

She was thinking his talk with Izzy hadn’t gone as well as her talk with Ryder.

“Hey,” she spoke softly, not wanting to scare him.

He lifted his head and even from across the lawn she could see the emotion warring in his eyes. “Hey, we need to talk…are you going somewhere?”

She could feel herself beaming as he crossed the grass and met her on the brick path that led to her front door. “I’m going to go get a ridiculously overpriced cup of coffee. Do you want one?”

His brows bunched together. “You seem happy.”

“I am.” Ryder’s room faced the back of the house but she didn’t want to chance him hearing her. She whispered, “My son just called me an emotional superhero.”

Axel’s expression softened and he grinned from ear to ear, seeming genuinely happy for her. “Wow. That’s high praise. And I have to agree with him.”

“You don’t have to say that. I already offered to get you a coffee,” she teased.

A mischievous glint lit in his caramel stare, replacing the heaviness that had been there a second before. “Are you sure that your son wasn’t just saying it to get out of punishment?”

She swatted him the same way she had Ryder. “That’s what he said when I started crying.”

His smile dropped. “You were crying?”

Those two really were peas in a pod.

Her arms lifted in frustration. “Of course I was crying. I’m not a robot. And not all tears are bad. Crying can be very therapeutic.”

The glint morphed from mischievous to downright wicked. “I know of another form of therapy that is a lot more fun than crying and requires a lot less clothes.”

She’d been concerned that things between her and Axel would be well, non-existent like it had been after the first time they’d hooked up, but it seemed this time around her worry was unnecessary.

“Is that what you were coming to talk to me about?” she asked suggestively.

Her playful question acted as a pin in Axel’s happiness balloon, and he deflated before her eyes. “No. I came to talk to you about—”

A honking sound startled them both.

Brynn knew that she hadn’t gotten much sleep lately, so when she saw her mother’s lime green Camry hybrid pulling into the driveway, she assumed she was hallucinating.

“Is that…?” Axel started to ask.

“My mother,” Brynn finished.

***

Axel couldn’t catcha break. If he believed in the stuff Shea Daniels did, he’d think the entire universe was conspiring against him confessing to Brynn.

“Hello, Sunflower!” The woman with whom he’d had one of the oddest Skype calls of his life stepped out of a bright sedan.

Brynn looked stunned as her mother pulled her into a hug and then stepped back, keeping hold of Brynn’s upper arms. Seeing the two women side by side was a trip. Shea’s auburn hair was darker than her daughter’s, but they were the same height and build, and they shared the same smile and eyes. It was so strange to see the physical similarities when the two of them could not be more opposite in personality.

Shea waved her hand in a half circle in front of Brynn’s face, causing her bracelets to clink loudly. “Wow. Your aura is much different than I’ve ever seen it. Much brighter, optimistic, full of hope and joy. I’m guessing I have you to thank for that, Mr. Vaughn.”

Brynn’s mom turned toward Axel and took his hands in hers and stared at him, her eyes searching his. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to speak or be quiet much like he didn’t know if she was reading him or this was just how she said hello. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Daniels.”

“Mom…what are you doing here?” Brynn asked, saving him from the awkward staring contest he’d inadvertently found himself in.

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