Page 30 of Always Yours

Chapter17

Ally

Elle looks at me with hope and excitement on her face. “Are you ready now?”

I look across the room, but not at Elle. No, I look at the pile of bags that are stowed in the corner. “He shouldn’t be buying me all that.”

Elle goes over to pick up the bags. She carries them toward me to lay on the end of the bed. Back and forth she goes between the corner of the room and back to the bed, carrying bag after bag. Elle got here shortly after Austin left. She and Huddy carried all these bags into the room, but I told her I didn’t want to open them yet. Mostly because I felt guilty accepting so many gifts from him. It’s too much. Way too much.

Elle and I have eaten lunch, talked, and watched a new romantic comedy that we’ve both been waiting to see, and now here we are. Elle holds the last bag up and drops it on the bed. “All right, let’s talk about the elephant in the room.”

I force a laugh. “You mean the mountain of bags you’ve laid on my bed?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “No, I mean why you don’t want to accept these gifts from Austin.”

I’m not ready to get into all that. “Okay, you talked me into it. Let’s check it out.” And then I shake my head. “I mean, I know you’ve already seen it all, so I can go through it later if you want.”

She brings a bag closer to me. “Oh no, I haven’t seen any of it. All I know is that Austin asked Huddy to meet him downtown this morning before we came over here. He and Huddy carried all this to our truck. Austin picked it all out.”

My eyes about pop out of my head, and my mouth drops. “No way.”

She giggles. “Yes way. Why else do you think I’ve pestered you all day? I want to see what he got too.”

I can’t help but laugh. I haven’t known Elle long. She’s sort of new to Whiskey Run, but as soon as Huddy met her, he pretty much claimed her. Since then, she’s been a part of all the Blaze festivities, and since I’m Austin’s best friend, I’ve gotten pretty close to her. “Okay, well see, you should have started with that. Let’s open them.”

She sits on the bottom of the bed and watches me. Bag after bag of clothes. All of them are cute maternity clothes. The next bag contains bras and panties. Some are practical, and some of them have my blood racing when I imagine wearing them in bed next to Austin. With a blush on my face, I quickly stuff those back in the bag but not before Elle gives me a look that says she knows exactly what I’m thinking.

When I think I’ve gone through them all, Elle lifts the last bag. “One more.”

I take the bag from her hands and open it, looking inside before I pull it out, thinking it might be more underwear. I gasp when I look inside, and Elle asks, “What is it?”

I open the bag and pull the stuffed animal out, gasping as I take it all in. It’s a huge, pink teddy bear. Probably the biggest one I’ve ever seen. Elle clasps her hands together under her chin. “Awwwww.”

I just stare at the bear in awe. It’s perfect.

“Knock, knock,” Huddy hollers from down the hall. He dropped Elle and the bags off this morning, and he’s back now. As soon as he walks into the bedroom, his eyes go to Elle. They both smile at each other, and it’s a sight to see the love shining between them. “You ready to go?”

She bounds off the end of the bed and goes to him. She kisses him lightly and then pulls away when he tries to hold her to him. “Soon. I’m going to put all these clothes away. Have a seat, big guy.”

He goes across the room and sits in the chair where all the bags were sitting moments ago. Elle starts gathering items from the bed. She grabs the bag of underwear and whispers, “I’m just going to set these on the shelf in the closet. You can try them on later.” She winks, and I blush again.

When Elle goes into the closet, I look at Huddy. He’s staring at me, and I shift in the bed. “How’ve you been, Huddy? I know Austin’s glad to have you home. All the brothers are.”

He grunts, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s all he said to me, but he surprises me when he tacks on, “I’m glad to be home. I wouldn’t have met Elle if I hadn’t come.”

A smile forms on my lips. Forever, even when we were younger, Huddy was the distant, grumpy one. The fact that he’s not only showing emotion but talking about it too makes me happy.

But Huddy’s not really smiling. If anything, his frown at me deepens.

Unaware, Elle walks into the bedroom, grabs some clothes, and disappears back into the closet. I could just leave it alone, but the longer I sit here with Huddy glaring at me, I know that I need to say something.

“I know it doesn’t look like it, but after the doctor gives me the okay, I’m moving back home.”

Huddy scoots to the end of the chair. “I hope not.”

I rear back. “You hope I don’t move back home?”

He stands up, crossing his arms over his chest. “No, I don’t.”

---