Old Flames

Old Flames: Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A few days passed.  Lainie and the kids went about their normal schedules without any more interruptions from Aaron or Dusty or any other person determined to muddle up Lainie's heart even more.

Aaron didn't hear from or see his dad since that day in the fire station, and as the weekend approached and he looked forward to a span of four whole days off work, he figured he'd finally fix Bowser's backyard habitat.  His vexatious canine managed to escape the confines of the chainlink fence again, so Aaron wrote out a work list and paid an early visit to the home improvement store on Saturday.

Two hours later, he arrived home with his truck bed full of lumber, fencing, and various miscellaneous materials for his outdoor project.  Lainie and her children were in their front yard, raking piles of leaves.  Rather, Lainie was raking, and the kids were un-raking as they jumped and ran through the browned oak leaves.  He stood a moment, watching them and smiling when Lainie finally threw down her rake and chased Chris and Chloe around the yard, screaming and giggling and thoroughly enjoying the autumn morning.

With every particle of his being, he wished Lainie would look up, see him standing there and wave him over to join them.  He visualized him and Lainie playing with the twins in the yard, and the mental picture looked so much like a normal, happy family event that his heart ached for it.

He ached for them.  Lainie.  Chris.  Chloe.

With Bowser in the mix, they'd be the perfect family.  Mom and Dad, with 2.3 kids.  Living in a modest subdivision where the older kids could play basketball in the streets safely, and a walk to the park only took five minutes.

He had never been part of a normal family...couldn't possibly contemplate what that even meant, but he knew he wanted that.  Being a single, unattached bachelor all these years had worked fine for him.   Not any more.  As much as he hated to admit it, Aaron was more like his father than he originally assumed.  He'd never stuck to a relationship longer than a few months.  As soon as the shine wore off, he moved on.  Or he chose women that did the same. 

His heart had been broken once.  That was enough.

Now there was only one woman that could put it back together again.

Bowser spied him emerging from his truck and barked loudly from the open, front window.  Lainie heard and her gaze traveled across the expanse to connect with him.  Chris stiffened by her side, glaring at Aaron with all the hatred in the world.  Chloe grinned beautifully and waved.

"Hi, Mr. Fireman!" the sweet child called, a leaves sticking to her clothes and hair. 

"Good morning," Aaron called back, smiling in a non-threatening, friendly way for Chris' benefit.  Bowser began to scratch at the window screen, whining to be let out.  "Bowser, stop that."

Chloe scampered up from her leaf playground and ran to the edge of the street.  "I think he needs to go potty, Mr. Fireman.  Dogs have to potty outside or your house will get stinky."

"So, that's what I've been smelling," he teased Chloe.  She giggled.

"Whatcha doing with all that wood?" she asked, inching into the gutter and pointing to his truck.

"I'm building Bowser a new doghouse and fixing the fence in the backyard," he answered, stuffing his hands in his front jean pockets and approached the little girl, keeping a wary eye on Lainie and Chris.  He definitely had some fences to mend with those two.  Lainie eyed him with embarrassment and a trace of anger.  Chris was downright hostile in his expression.