Page 28 of Family Bonds: Carson & Laine

“He found out I don’t swear.”

“Sure, you do,” Avery said. “You called my ex an asshole a few times.”

She grinned. “I swear when it’s personal. When it makes me upset or hurts those I care for and love.”

“What did Carson think of your ‘swearing’?”

“He was confused at first and then laughed. He joined in. It was funny. And sweet. Adorable really.”

“You should see the smile on your face right now.”

Since she felt the smile from ear to ear, she could only imagine how she looked.

“I haven’t felt this silly about a man in a long time. That’s crazy at my age, isn’t it?”

“You’re never too old to feel that way about a man. If you didn’t, then it wouldn’t be worth it. Trust me, I know.”

“And got a diamond on your hand too,” she said.

“Carter is great. Nothing like Carson in personality, but you and I aren’t the same either.”

“Not that far off,” she said. “I mean you get dirty playing with animal’s bodily fluids and I do it in paint. Speaking of paint. I didn’t change before I went to the ER.”

Avery burst out laughing. “Your black shirt that might even have holes in it?”

“That’s the one. I had short cotton shorts on too. I slid flip-flops on and had paint on my foot. Once I was in the ER I realized I looked like a homeless person.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“You’d be surprised what people think. But no one judged. At least to my face.”

She’d been judged enough in her life. So many looked at the way she grew up and talked. She didn’t understand why strangers cared about her life.

“So you’re cooking him dinner and swapping silly swear words. Then what?”

“I tell him about my list. It came up. Not sure how, but it did. Next thing I know, he says he’ll do a lot of them with me.”

“Wow,” Avery said. “Moving right into it.”

“I love it,” she said. “I think he was genuine too. At least I hope so. I know he’s got a bit of a ladies’ man reputation. Do you know why?”

“Why would I know?” Avery asked. “You’ve lived here longer than me. It’s not like Carter talks much, let alone about his cousins. Plus the whole bro code thing probably comes into play too.”

“I know,” she said. “I’ll figure it out. I know Carson’s mother. I’ve met her a few times. She’s a very nice lady.”

“I have too,” Avery said. “At one of the Bond family functions.” Avery looked at her watch. “You’ve got five minutes before Olivia leaves.”

“And you aren’t paying me to chat but to give lessons to Josie. In summary he is making a list of things he wants to do and then we are going to get together and go over them. We’ll start knocking things off the list when we both have time.”

“First, I’m not worried about paying you for Josie’s lessons and you know it. You aren’t even charging enough. I’m not sure why you aren’t.”

“Because not everyone can afford it. Just think of the loss in the world if someone couldn’t reach their potential because money limited them.”

“You’re just too good of a person,” Avery said. “You could be using that studio space to create and sell. You don’t need to give lessons to kids or have paint and sip parties that probably barely cover your supplies let alone time.”

“Nope,” she said. “I don’t need to do any of those things. I do them because I want to. Because they are fun. Because it’s the right thing to do. It’s the same reason you probably give discounts when someone can’t afford care for their pets.”

“Pets deserve care too even if their owners don’t have the money.”

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