Read Online Spring Training by Stacey Lynn Rhodes - Free Book Online Page B

nice of you. Thank you. I just don’t want you stressing about it. You have enough on your own plate.” Her gaze went to his shoulder and he rotated it self-consciously, pleased when it didn’t give much of a twinge at all.
    “Don’t worry about me. I don’t do anything that I don’t want to. I’m a big boy.”
    Her smile took on a more sensuous cast at his last words, but before he could react, some rather loud music came on out in the living room. They smiled at each other.
    “He’s making himself at home,” Teri observed unnecessarily. “Sorry about that.”
    “Nah, it’s okay. I tend to listen to a lot of music when I’m by myself.” He hadn’t lately just because it seemed sort of rude to subject other people to what he felt like listening to without checking if it was okay. Better to just avoid the whole topic, though he had to admit that it had seemed unnaturally quiet.
    They walked back into the other room to discover that Emery wasn’t even in there. No wonder it was loud. He was evidently listening to the music from his bedroom.
    Teri headed over to where Emery’s phone was plugged into the Bose speaker system.
    “Don’t worry about it. Why don’t we go for a walk before it gets dark? There’s a nice trail system that runs along the river and you can get down there a couple of blocks from here. It’s really nice and quiet back there—just a few dog walkers and the occasional jogger.”
    “Is that where you go running?” Teri asked as she reversed direction and went to the front door.
    “Yes, sometimes. That trail leads to a park, then you can actually get to a couple of other parks on trails leading from there—all interconnected.”
    “That sounds really nice. I’d love to. I actually walk every morning. Well,” she continued wryly as she sat right down on the floor and grabbed her shoes, “except for this morning, of course. I was sleeping hard and then wham, had to go into action as Supermom and get Em his stuff.” She finished lacing up her cross trainers and looked at Aaron expectantly.
    He’d been sort of zoning out on her legs and snapped himself back to attention.
    Shoes. Right .
    Teri smirked at him. “Lost ya there for a sec.”
    “Oh, no. I was definitely paying attention to you,” he retorted and watched a blush creep up from her neck to her cheeks as she rose to her feet.
    After he’d donned his own shoes, he glanced back toward the hallway to the bedrooms then looked at Teri. “Should we let him know where we’re going?” As soon as he asked, he shook his head just as she did the same.
    “He’s an adult. And housebroken, for the most part.” Teri winked and led the way out of the front door. Aaron went ahead and locked up behind them from habit, then they started down the stairs.
    One of the reasons he’d loved the condo complex and had decided to buy there rather than just rent somewhere else was the little park in the back. It used to be a municipal park, but when the developers had purchased the land for the complex, there had been a dispute over access. Eventually the city had sold the developers the park with the caveat that there be public access and right of way. The complex maintained the tiny riverfront park, which tended to flood in the late spring, though it hadn’t yet this year. The bonus for the people who lived there was that there was a quiet greenway buffer behind the condos—all you could see was the park and the trees along the river, no other structures or roads.
    Another plus was the unofficial dirt path between their small park and the real, city-maintained trail along the river. Enough people cut through there that it was well-defined and only really got overgrown toward the end of summer when all the vegetation was at its peak.
    Aaron led her through the trees the short distance to the actual trail, then turned and, on a whim, held out his hand.
     

Chapter Nine
     
     
     
    Teri looked from Aaron’s outstretched palm to his face,