The Switch by Debra Kayn (desktop ebook reader TXT) 📗

brother entertain Trina while I cook, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay." Kenny walked into the living room.

Little brothers filled the position of third wheel, and it was her intention not to let Zach and Trina be alone under her roof.

She opened the freezer, thankful for whatever reason that Ruger left it behind when he moved out. Pulling out some already formed hamburger patties, she put four in a skillet and set them to cooking.

There was still macaroni salad left over from yesterday that would do for tonight. While the meat cooked, she danced in front of the stove, caught up in Lynyrd Skynyrd singing Sweet Home Alabama.

"Mom!"

She danced her way to the living room with the spatula in her hand and came to a stop at finding Trip standing inside the house.

"What are you doing here?" she blurted, caught off guard.

After they had sex and spent time at the get-together last Friday, she hadn't seen him for six days—yes, she counted.

Shook from the intensity gawking back at her, she stepped forward, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into the kitchen. She wouldn't want him to say anything in front of the kids, and going by the look in his eyes, he had one thing on his mind.

He cupped her face and kissed her. The big smack took her by surprise, and she stared up at him. Excitement shot through her like light through her chest.

He ran his hands over her face, no rhyme or reason. "I had to see you and couldn't get through on your phone."

That impulsive confession from a man who was direct and always in control was better than the drop-in visit to see her.

"I'm glad you came." She pulled him over toward the stove while she flipped the burgers. "Do you want to stay for dinner?"

He dipped his chin. She retrieved another patty, though she could probably skip dinner now and survive off the excitement over seeing him.

She washed her hands and then slipped her arms around him. "I am so glad you're here. Can you stay awhile?"

He sat down at the table, and she took that as a yes. She filled a glass with water and set it in front of him.

"I don't have any beer." She leaned down and kissed him.

He was too irresistible, sitting in the kitchen, ready for dinner. She checked the burgers, acutely aware of Trip watching her.

Bon Jovi broke into I'll Be There For You over the radio. She swayed, taking the burgers off the skillet and putting them on a paper plate. Before she called the kids, she put the raw patty in the skillet.

Taking out the buns, she brought out all the condiments, lettuce, and sliced the one tomato she had along with some onion and cheese.

"Come and eat," she yelled into the other room.

Grabbing paper plates out of the cupboard, she set them on the table. Without thinking, she started making a hamburger for Trip. She stopped herself. "What do you like on yours?"

He leaned forward and stroked the back of her leg. "Go ahead and eat. I can wait."

"The other patty will be done in a few minutes. This one is yours." She put everything available on the burger, then scooped macaroni salad onto the plate. "Go ahead."

As she assumed, the kids came and slapped cheese on the burger inside a dry bun and returned to the living room to get away from the adults. She finished cooking her patty and then turned down the radio and joined Trip at the table.

After she took a bite, she wiped her mouth on a piece of paper towel. Making no excuse for the lack of dinner dishes, she reached under the table and squeezed his leg.

"So, tell me. Do you live at the clubhouse? Is that where you eat dinner every night?"

He finished the last of the burger. "No, I've got a house."

"Tell me about it." She plucked a piece of lettuce that'd fallen out of her burger and popped it into her mouth. "In town or...?"

"On the other side of the river." He paused. "Do you know where the bridge is?"

She nodded.

"The school?"

Her eyes widened. "There's a school?"

That was news to her. When she was young, any kids she met while visiting Grandpa Gene were bussed to a different area for school. Of course, Avery Falls was more of a camping area without accommodations back then.

"Yeah." He hitched his shoulder. "I live past the school. First house on the right."

His house temporarily forgotten, she asked, "What grades are at the school?"

"All twelve. It's small."

"It's public?"

"I don't know what that means, but all the kids in the area go there."

She turned in her chair. "Trina?"

Speeder's daughter came into the kitchen. "Yeah?"

"Are you going to school here?"

"I'm supposed to when summer is over."

She exhaled loudly and yelled, "Boys?"

Kenny and Zach joined them. She grinned at them. "Guess what? You're going to school."

"I thought we had to do online school."

She shook her head. "There's a school by Trip's house down by the river. You'll go."

"Whatever." Zach walked out.

Kenny shrugged and went back to the living room with Trina. Satisfied that one more thing was falling into place, she would no longer have to worry about getting all the information to continue the boys' schooling—a job she wasn't sure she was up to doing.

"You made my night." She smiled at Trip. "Things sure have changed around here since I was a child."

Growing used to the silence that often fell between them, she no longer thought it awkward and enjoyed the quietness. It was the way he was. Trip was comfortable being here, and she liked that he could relax around her family.

"Avery Falls Motorcycle Club has built a sustainable community where people can live year-round and raise their family." He finished the salad, wiping his hand down his whiskered jaw.

"You're like a walking tourism pamphlet on why people should move here." Her thoughts went back to the information he'd given her. "So, if I drive over to the school and check it out and