21. Aiden

Chapter Twenty-One

AIDEN

Aiden stood at the kitchen sink, scrubbing grime from his hands with lava soap and a brush while he listened to the faint hiss of Seth's shower. He was tempted to sneak upstairs and join him, but he knew Seth would never fool around with his sister in the house.

Aiden wasn't expecting a warm reception from her after that incident at the festival, but he wasn't too worried. He'd charmed crankier people than an overprotective college girl. If he could convince Gus Awbry to thaw toward Seth, he could win over anyone.

It was only early evening, but the world was bathed in long shadows that were only kept at bay by the glowing bulb hanging above the sink window. The scent of roasting meat, garlic, and herbs wafted through the kitchen, making his stomach rumble. He'd worked up such an appetite that it felt like his stomach was trying to chew through his backbone. He couldn't help but peek in the oven, salivating at the marbled slab of chuck nestled in a bed of carrots and pearl onions. Surely, cutting off a little piece wouldn't do any harm.

He pulled out the wire rack and had just begun to ply one corner with a fork when a loud shriek nearly busted his eardrums. Aiden dropped his cutlery and slammed the oven before taking off down the hall. The door to the downstairs bathroom opened just as he skidded past in his socks, and he collided with a towel-wrapped woman.

"Tessa?" he asked, grabbing her by the shoulders to avoid knocking her to the floor. "You okay?"

"Do I look okay?" she demanded, gesturing wildly to the towel wrapped like a pink turban around her head. One tendril of wet, greenish-looking hair trailed from beneath the fabric.

"I don't…" Aiden began hesitantly. He didn't know much, but he knew not to make assumptions about a woman's appearance.

"Look! Just look!" Tessa interrupted him with a frustrated groan. She tore the towel off her head, and her formerly dark, glossy hair tumbled around her shoulders in swamp-green clumps. She jabbed an enraged index finger at her head, bugging her eyes out in an expression that demanded reciprocal shock and sympathy.

Aiden coughed and scratched his chin. "It's, uh…it's a bold look," he offered diplomatically.

"It's hideous!" she wailed.

She flopped forlornly into the living room and collapsed onto the sagging couch, still wearing nothing but her towel. She looked up at him, red-faced and miserable, and then buried her face in her hands.

"What happened?" Aiden asked, shifting from foot to foot and shooting a helpless glance toward the ceiling. He prayed Seth finished his shower soon. Aiden didn't have siblings; he didn't know how to deal with situations like this.

"I bought some bleach and henna from the Stop n' Shop," Tessa muttered into her hands. "It was supposed to turn my hair a beautiful shade of auburn, but I think I mixed in too much indigo."

"Ah." Aiden took a seat beside her and picked at a putrid-looking clump, struggling to keep the helpless amusement from his tone. "Not exactly close on the color wheel," he observed.

She glared at him through a gap in her fingers and said in a dark voice, "Don't you dare laugh at me, Aiden Doyle."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he protested innocently, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "You'd skin me alive."

"Damn right. I'm still mad at you for how you treated Seth yesterday. What gives you the right to hurt him like that? After everything he's done for you—" She cut herself off abruptly, ruining her ferocity with a tearful sniff.

"He hurt me too," Aiden said quietly.

She had no response to that, but her eyes glittered with outrage from beneath her wet, spiky eyelashes. Aiden gently knuckled a tear off her cheek, searching for words to explain the complicated mix of emotions he'd struggled with for so many years. "The thing is…" he began awkwardly, "Seth did a lot for me growing up. He gave me rides, meals, training. Hell, he even helped buy my trailer. I'm living the life he gave me, and all I ever had to repay him with was my friendship. In the end, it wasn't enough."

"That's all he wanted!"

Aiden shook his head, debating how much to say. It wasn't his place to discuss Seth's sexuality, but Seth had already admitted Tessa suspected his feelings. She'd been a bright, watchful little girl. The details she probably noticed were enough to break Aiden into a cold sweat.

"I don't think so," he said awkwardly. "I don't think that's all either of us wanted…if you know what I mean. We didn't know how to handle it. He pushed me away, and I let him."

"So…why did you stay away so long?" Tessa dropped her gaze to fiddle self-consciously with the knot of her towel, hiking it modestly beneath her armpits. But Aiden didn't miss the fresh tears that spilled down her cheeks.

His voice was thick when he admitted, "I didn't know I was wanted."

"Wasn't it obvious?" she scoffed.

"Not to me."

That must have surprised her because her head came up in a flash. She scrutinized him with intense, dark eyes, so much like Seth’s, except her eyes were still young and hopeful, and Seth’s had always looked old. Aiden couldn't hold her gaze for long, so he stared down at the floor and began counting the dust bunnies he could spot beneath the couch.

"You get it now, right?” she asked. “That's the reason you spent the night?"

Aiden's throat felt dry. He'd been hoping to charm her without a come-to-Jesus moment, but there was no escaping it now. He swallowed hard, remembering what Seth had said to him earlier. How he'd looked at him, held him, kissed him…like he mattered.

"I'm learning," he admitted awkwardly. "Trying to, anyway."

She studied him with a narrow gaze. "Seth has been through too much. He deserves someone brave enough to stand by him, no matter what."

He considered cracking a joke to lighten the mood, but he knew that would be a fatal mistake. Seth wasn't the only overprotective McCall sibling. They both deserved honesty, no matter how terrifying it was. He met her eyes fearlessly and promised, "I'm all in. I swear."

"Good." She nodded, and despite her own inner turmoil, she offered him a wobbly smile. "That way, at least one of us can have a happy ending."

Aiden chuckled. "It's hair, sweetheart, not the end of the world. We can fix it."

"How?" She toyed despondently with the limp ends of her hair. "I can't correct it in time. I only have the henna, and it would take almost two hours to make it to town and back for more supplies. Riley is already on his way to pick me up. He's taking me all the way to Burns for a movie."

He raised a wondering eyebrow. "You sure have a knack for timing."

She glared at him like he'd said something outrageous before reluctantly admitting, "I wanted to impress him. Some girls at the festival said Riley likes redheads."

"You don't need to impress anyone," Aiden said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezing her fiercely. "Least of all, Riley. That kid stares at you like you hung the moon."

"He'll be staring for a different reason now," she muttered darkly.

He chuckled despite himself but sobered quickly once he saw how devastated she was. "Maybe it'll wash out?"

"I already tried that."

"Hmm." Aiden tried to ruffle her hair while he thought, but his fingers stuck in the gummy locks, and he was forced to untangle the strands one by one. The bottom step of the stairs creaked, and they both raised their heads as Seth came around a corner.

He was clean and freshly shaven, barefoot, wearing a pair of loose sweats and a cotton t-shirt speckled with damp spots from his loose hair. His eyes widened as he took in the scene on the couch.

"What in tarnation—" he began, sounding absolutely baffled. He drew up short when Aiden made a slicing gesture across his throat, but it was too late. Tessa had already seen his expression. She buried her face in her hands again.

"It's hopeless," she groaned. "I look like a swamp creature."

"You always did," Seth retorted, but he grimaced immediately like he'd been unable to resist the brotherly impulse. Tessa half-heartedly lifted her middle finger, and he scowled, "You've been flipping everybody off too much. Where'd you learn that?"

"Your mom," she shot back nonsensically.

Aiden laughed for real this time. He'd always wished he'd been born into a loud, affectionate family; this pure, unadulterated sibling energy was what he thrived on. The McCall family had been whittled down to only two now, but maybe it didn't have to be that way forever. Tessa would probably have kids someday, and Seth…damn, Seth would make an amazing father.

For a split second, Aiden dared to wonder if the two of them would make it that far, but he sobered fast. Daydreams like that belonged to another time and probably to a better, more responsible man than him.

"Okay, let's put the brakes on this clown car before the wheels come off," he said, standing and pulling Tessa to her feet after him. "Seth, go check on dinner, will you? I'm starting to smell some char. Tessa, you run upstairs and get dressed. Dry your eyes, fix your makeup, all that stuff."

"That won't fix my hair," she protested. "I need to cancel our date."

"Sure, if you want to break that kid's heart," he said, grinning when she made a face at him. "Just twist your hair up in something tight. The movies will be dark, and the drive will be even darker. You've just got to get him out of the house without noticing."

"How am I going to do that?"

He grinned and gave her a nudge toward the stairs. "Just leave it to me."

Seth stood back, giving his sister a wide berth, and then reached out to curl an arm around Aiden's waist and reel him in. The spicy scent of his body wash enveloped Aiden, and he tucked his nose against Seth's collarbone to breathe deeply. Just a breath of him was all it took to settle the constant jittery feeling in Aiden's stomach.

"She's got to stop flipping everybody the bird," Seth muttered despite the faint curve of his lips. "It's a nasty habit."

Aiden chuckled. "She could've picked up worse habits in college. Besides, I think she sees it as a sign of affection."

"Looks like you're back on her good side."

"Of course," Aiden agreed, tilting his head to grant Seth access to the tender spot beneath his earlobe. He shivered, fingers digging into Seth's forearms as the edge of Seth's teeth pricked his sensitive skin. "I told…t-told her I'm here for as long as you'll have me."

"Mm." Seth brought his head up, eyes sharp with concern. "How'd she take it?"

Aiden raised one eyebrow and cocked his head, giving it a moment's thought. "I think she'll rip my liver out if I ever hurt you. But that's a sign of affection, too."

"In our family?" Seth chuckled. "Seems to be."

"You were right earlier," Aiden murmured, wrapping his arms around Seth's waist in a loose hug and resting his chin on his shoulder. "I think she already knew, or at least suspected, what was going on with us. She said you were obvious."

"Mm." Seth's fingers tangled in the base of Aiden's hair. The rumble in his chest was like the purr of a mountain lion. "She was always the smartest one in the family. Sees things she shouldn't."

"Better than a dumbass like me, missing something right in front of my face."

"You didn't miss it," Seth whispered, stroking his cheek. His eyes were dark and tender. "I did my best to make sure you never knew."

"That was stupid," Aiden grouched, but he kissed him to take the sting out of it. He couldn't maintain the serious conversation for long without cracking a joke, so he added, "Imagine if I wasn't here and you had to deal with the hair crisis on your own. You'd probably tell her to put a plastic bag on it. You need my genius."

"What are you planning?" Seth asked suspiciously.

"I'm not a magician," Aiden said with a shrug, "but if there's one thing I know, it's making an absolute spectacle of myself. Tess will look great by comparison."

"Don't do anything you'll regret," Seth cautioned, but Aiden just gripped his face in both hands and planted a loud peck on his lips.

"Trust me," he said brightly. "It'll be a blast. I've always wanted to do this. I just hope there's enough of that dye left."

When Riley Jensen knocked on the door an hour later, he was greeted by an exasperated Seth juggling a food plate in one hand and keeping a wildly laughing cowboy with red clown stripes all over his head at bay with the other.

"Whoa!" Riley exclaimed, taking a quick step back and nearly falling off the snow-covered porch.

"Evening, Riley!" Aiden chortled around a massive bite of pot roast. He wiped the savory juices off his lips with the back of his hand and waved the kid inside. "Come in and join the party!"

Riley remained frozen, mouth agape, staring in horror at the disaster that was Aiden's hair. Nothing but his eyes moved as he shifted a questioning glance toward Seth, who nodded. With that invitation, Riley stomped the snow off his boots and stepped cautiously across the threshold.

"What happened to you?" he asked. "Did you lose a bet?"

"Maybe," Aiden said with an unconcerned shrug. He ran a hand through his newly dyed curls, shaking them so the red squiggles were on full display. From the corner of his eye, he caught Tessa coming down the stairs wearing jeans and a pink sweater. Her hair was slicked back in a tight bun that obscured the greenish tint. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, but her makeup was flawless, and she lit up like a Christmas tree as soon as she locked eyes with Riley. Aiden pitched his voice louder so she could hear. "Who cares if it came out wrong? It's just hair, right?"

"Whatever you say, man," Riley agreed distractedly. He couldn't take his eyes off Tessa. "I don't really give a shit about hair."

Aiden gave him a Cheshire cat smile. "I figured."

"You look great," Riley blurted, reaching for Tessa as soon as she hit the landing. He held her gently by the hand, and his cheeks slowly began to flush an endearing shade of red.

Tessa grinned up at him, looking radiant and only slightly self-conscious. She lifted a hand toward her hair and then hesitated. "I…I joined Aiden's hair challenge. Does it look…"

"It looks beautiful," Riley gushed, but he didn't even glance toward her green tendrils. His eyes were locked unwaveringly on her glowing face. Aiden didn't bother asking them what movie they were going to see; he was pretty sure Riley wasn't going to remember a damn thing from it.

"Back by midnight," Seth warned. He'd set down his plate and was waiting at the door like an imposing sentinel. His arms were crossed so his biceps popped and his shoulders looked as broad as an NFL linebacker’s.

"Ha," Tessa scoffed, wiggling into the winter coat Riley held open for her. "That hasn't worked in years. How about you not waiting up?"

Seth's eyes narrowed, his teasing expression vanishing in an instant, but he didn't reprimand his little sister. He only stared at Riley. Hard.

The kid's complexion drained of color. "Midnight," he agreed, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans.

"But it's such a long drive; we'll barely have time to eat after the movie!" Tessa complained, outraged.

"Shh." Riley flung a scarf around her neck, muffling her complaints, and ushered her outside. He kept one wary eye on Seth the whole time. Aiden leaned against the door frame, watching with great amusement as the kid refused to turn his back on Seth until he was almost to the truck.

"Midnight!" Seth called with steel in his voice.

"Yes, sir!" Riley shouted back, settling Tessa in the passenger seat before diving behind the wheel like wolves were nipping at his heels.

Seth stood at the door, oblivious to the cold draft swirling through the house. He watched unblinkingly until the truck's taillights disappeared in the distance. Even then, he seemed unwilling to move. He reminded Aiden of a livestock dog, bristling at some distant threat only he seemed to sense. Seth always tried to protect everyone around him, whether they wanted it or not, but Tessa wasn't a little kid anymore. Aiden didn't think she'd take his meddling with good humor for long.

"I know you raised her," Aiden said affectionately, slinging an arm around Seth's waist and drawing him back into the house. "But you've got to let her live her own life."

"I let her go, didn't I?" Seth growled.

"You couldn't have stopped her," Aiden said with a laugh, and then he laughed harder when he caught Seth's glower. "Look on the bright side," he coaxed. "The Jensen kid is scared spitless of you, so you know he's going to treat Tess like she's made of spun glass."

"That's true," Seth acknowledged, looking pleased.

Aiden kissed the smug smile pulling at the corner of Seth's mouth, whispering mischievously, "You realize what this means, right?"

"What's that?" Seth murmured against his lips.

Aiden grinned, slipping one finger beneath the collar of Seth's shirt to stroke his collarbone. He leaned in close, his breath warm against the shell of Seth's ear, and whispered in a low, suggestive voice, "We've got the house to ourselves."

Seth's expression softened, and he crooked one eyebrow. "What exactly did you have in mind?" he asked, eyes gleaming with interest.

"You get the food," Aiden said, tilting his head toward the kitchen, and then he nodded toward the cold grate of the fireplace. "I'll build the fire. How about we have a little fireside picnic, and then afterward, you can see if the carpet matches the drapes on my new dye job."