Chapter 11

Present day…

“Look who finally made it downstairs,” Gary laughed as Aubrey joined him in the dining room where he was having a late breakfast. “Coffee?”

“Nah,” she said and walked over to where he was sitting at the head of the table to hug him and kiss him on the cheek. “I felt knackered after last night.”

“Speaking of which, you went missing for a while. Where did you go?”

“The river,” she said in a nonchalant tone. “I needed some time alone.”

Gary sighed. “You can’t keep doing that every time, Sweetheart. You can’t keep secluding yourself like that. It’s as if you don’t want to be a part of the clan anymore.”

Aubrey sighed too. “Give it a rest, Daddy. You already know how I feel about socializing with folks who don’t really care one way or the other about my existence.”

“Honey, you know that’s not true. Some people might avoid you because they don’t really know you. You have to give people a chance to get close to you and warm up to you.”

Her dad’s words reminded her of what Eric had said to her last night. He’d said he didn’t know her, and her dad was here buttressing his point.

“Ok, Daddy. Next time, I’ll stick around and participate in the festivity next time.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Gary said with a satisfied smile. “Got plans for today?”

Aubrey thought for a moment. “No, I’ll just chill out in my room and sleep some more. I’ll be catching an early flight back to Anchorage tomorrow.”

“Okey-dokey, then. I’ll just go and get dressed and get to work. Eric will be here any minute now. He has a desk full of work to see to today.”

The moment she heard his name, her heart missed a beat. “He’s coming here today?”

“Who? Eric?”

“Yes,” Aubrey said almost breathlessly.

“He works with me, remember?” Gary said with a laugh and stood up to leave.

“You know what? On second thought, I’ll be going out in a few minutes,” she said quickly, thinking fast. She couldn’t face Eric just yet after that humiliating situation last night. She hadn’t fully recovered yet.

“You’re going out?” Gary was surprised. “I thought you said—“

“Never mind what I said before, Daddy. I’m going over to see Sierra Black. I haven’t seen in such a long time. It’d be nice to drop by and hang out with her.”

“Uh, ok. But do you remember that she has kids now? So, I don’t know about you two hanging out…” Gary said uncertainly.

Shit! What’s with this town’s people and having kids? Was there a baby-making contest going on that she wasn’t aware of? I thought Sierra hated babies, she wondered.

Then again, she hadn’t seen Sierra or spoken to her since they graduated from high school over a decade ago, so, yeah. A lot must have changed in all that time. Nevertheless, she was determined to spend the entire day outside of this house and avoid running into Eric. She wasn’t the type to run and hide after an embarrassing encounter, but this was a delicate situation, and her pride was at stake.

She got off her seat and hurried out of the dining room while her dad gazed after with a look of confusion on his face. Within ten minutes, she was dressed and ready to leave the house. She met her dad on the stairs as he made his way upstairs to change from his pajamas into something more suitable for work.

“Going out already?” He asked Aubrey.

“Yeah,” she said and paused briefly to give him a kiss on the cheek as she passed him “Aren’t you going to have breakfast first? René made your favorite.”

“I’ll stop by the kitchen and say hey, ok? Bye now,” she said quickly and hurried off. As she headed towards the kitchen, she heard the housekeeper letting Eric in at the front door. Aubrey quickened her steps and disappeared into the kitchen before Eric would see her. She needed to regain her composure before facing him again, if at all. In fact, if it was up to her, she would rather never set eyes on Eric Brown again!

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” René said. His French accent made it seem like he was asking her a question.

“Hi René. I’m sorry I won’t be having breakfast this morning. I’m in a rush, as you can see,” she told him quickly as she beat a hasty retreat towards the kitchen back door.

“But Aubrey, I made your favorite meal,” the chef said, sounding a little disappointed.

“I know, René. I’ll eat it all once I get back, I promise!” She ran outside before the chef could appeal to her one more time. She didn’t want to risk Eric coming into the kitchen and finding her there, not after all the effort she had put in just to avoid him.

The back door slammed shut just as Eric entered the kitchen. “Good Lord, this place smells like heaven René,” he said, inhaling the air in the kitchen deeply.

René laughed. “Thank you, Eric. Would you like some coffee?”

“Is the sky blue? Heck yeah, gimme that black gold!”

René laughed again. He liked having Eric around because of his happy-go-lucky nature and great sense of humor. “One cup of hot coffee coming right up, with a freshly baked croissant and blueberry jam to go with it.”

“I could kiss you right now, René,” Eric said and rubbed his hands together gleefully. One of the perks of working in the Chief’s house was all the delicious meals he got to eat here for free. It was like having a free pass to a five-star restaurant every day. Heaven!

When the kitchen door opened, Eric stiffened, thinking it was Aubrey coming into the kitchen for breakfast.

“I knew I’d find you here,” Gary said, entering the kitchen. “First you come to work late, and then you bother my chef?”

“Hey Gary. Just thought to stop by here and give René some moral support.”

Gary chuckled. “Moral support for what?”

“For having a kitchen full of delicious meals and nobody to eat them. He needs to know that he’s doing a great job.”

Gary slapped Eric on the shoulder playfully. “You would say anything just to get an extra croissant, wouldn’t you?”

To René, he asked, “Did Aubrey stop for breakfast before going out?”

“No, she didn’t. She said she was in a hurry.”

“Ah…that girl,” Gary said and shook his head. “Well, I’ll be in the study then,” he said to no one in particular and left.

Eric couldn’t help the guilt he felt after hearing this information about Aubrey’s hasty departure this morning. A part of him felt responsible for that because of how he’d dismissed her last night. After she left him in the woods, he had felt like an asshole knowing that he’d deliberately hurt her feelings just to get back at her for the last time when she did the same thing to him. It was a childish move and he regretted it.

“You don’t like the croissant?” René asked, breaking into his thoughts.

“Of course, I like it,” he said as enthusiastically as he could muster. “You nailed it again,” he said and gave the chef a thumbs up.

He made a mental note to stick around long after work today to see if he would run into Aubrey when she returned home. He owed her an apology and he would not leave the Silver residence until he apologized to her.