Free Home Sweet Home: A Sweet, Texas Novella by Candis Terry Page B

us. But … I just don’t know if I can carry that weight right now.”
    She chuckled to break the tension in the air. “Are you calling me fat?”
    “No. I’m calling you wonderful. Amazing. Perfect. But I need to be someone you can count on. Someone you know will be there for you when you need someone.”
    “I understand.”
    He kissed her again, then got up off the bed. “I should probably grab a shower and get out of here. I know you’ve got things to do.”
    “There’s nothing more important than you.”
    “You’re wrong, baby.” He leaned down and kissed her again. “There’s nothing more important than you.”
    When he turned toward the bathroom, she somehow managed to keep her tears at bay. “Aiden?”
    He stopped and looked over his shoulder.
    “I’ll be right here. Always.”

Chapter Ten
    A WEEK LATER, Aiden stepped from the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist, and went in search of something decent to wear that wasn’t camo or threadbare cotton.
    After he’d been cornered at the Touch and Go Market by Gladys and Arlene and shocked to his toes over the whole ice-cream-sundae bit, they’d asked him to be a judge in the festival’s apple-butter competition. Apparently, the prior year there had been a controversy due to favoritism.
    How could he refuse the passion behind their request? At least it momentarily diverted Arlene’s passion for his biceps.
    But now, when he’d rather be enjoying the festivities from where he could blend into the background, he’d be thrust in the spotlight. With respect, he would listen to all the nice things people had to say about his serving in the military, while deep inside he thought of himself as a total screwup. He’d failed his best friends. He’d abandoned his dog. And he’d disappointed Paige.
    Jesus. He was batting a thousand.
    With a long groan, he turned his attention back to matters he could control. There were two sets of clothing choices in his closet. Military and ultracasual. Not much in between. He grabbed a freshly laundered button-down shirt off a hanger, then went to raid his brother’s closet for a pair of khakis.
    Ben came around the corner in the hall and stopped in his tracks. “I don’t mind sharing a house with you as long as you don’t run around in your underwear.”
    Aiden laughed. “I was just on my way to steal a pair of pants from you.”
    “Got a hot date?” Eyes dark like his own assessed his face, looking for a clue behind Aiden’s getting dressed up in the middle of the day.
    “Judging the apple-butter contest at the festival.”
    Ben crossed his arms. “How do you rate?”
    “Arlene Potter likes my biceps.”
    “Arlene Potter likes everyone’s biceps.
    “Yeah. She and Gladys kind of take crazy old lady to another level.”
    “Ah, they’re harmless.” Ben walked into his room, grabbed a pair of khakis from his closet, and tossed them to Aiden.
    “Easy for you to say,” Aiden said. “Arlene wasn’t feeling you up in the ice-cream aisle.”
    “Thank God. You taking Paige to the festival?”
    “No.”
    “Meeting her there?”
    “Nope.”
    “Why the hell not?”
    “None of your business.”
    “You’re living in my house. That gives me the right to be nosy. So why the hell aren’t you taking Paige to the festival?”
    “Because …” Aiden poked his legs through the pants and looked down to zip them up. “I’m trying to let her go.”
    A whack upside the head knocked him off balance.
    “What the hell did you do that for?” Aiden put a hand to the area of attack.
    “Knocking some damned sense into that thick frickin’ skull of yours.”
    “I’ve got sense.”
    “Bullshit.”
    “I do. Which is exactly why I’m trying to back away. She deserves a great life, Ben. I can barely figure out what I’m going to do on a day-to-day basis.”
    “Exactly.”
    “What? That doesn’t even make any sense,” Aiden said. “If that’s what you believe, then you should be on my side and see the situation like I do.”
    “No, little brother. What I believe is that you and Paige belong together. You