Audrey stared at the clothes piled on her bed. She had warned Forrest she was a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but she wanted to at least look nice for him. She didn’t want to embarrass him. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was a quarter to five and she still wasn’t dressed. She was running out of time. A choice had to be made so she could get ready for her date.

She picked up one shirt after another and put them back in her closet after she carefully looked at each one. She continued eliminating blouses until she picked up the last two shirts. One was a plain baby blue t-shirt and the other was a light green, over-sized flannel blouse.

Hanging the t-shirt back in the closet, she put on the light green blouse. It skimmed over her curves. The hem stopped about mid-thigh.

Audrey looked in the mirror.

She liked the length and the way the blouse fit, but it was long sleeved. It was cooler in the evenings when the sun went down now that fall was starting to creep in, but while the sun was up, the days were still warm. Audrey carefully rolled each sleeve until they were just below her elbows. She looked in the mirror again and smiled at her reflection. The flannel blouse was perfect over her faded blue jeans, and if she got cold, all she had to do was unroll her sleeves.

Audrey sat down on the edge of her bed and put on the boots she had pulled out of the closet before she started digging through her clothes. She glanced at the clock again. It was ten after five. She stood up. Grabbing her hairbrush, she ran it through her hair. Audrey didn’t bother with any makeup. It wasn’t something she put on very often, and when she did use it, she usually ended up rubbing it off. With a last glance in the mirror, Audrey left her bedroom and walked to the living room.

Seth was already at Teddy’s house. He wasn’t too happy that morning when he found the list of chores, which included him cleaning his room. He had tried to negotiate but quickly gave up when he realized she wasn’t going to cave like he hoped she would.

Audrey picked up a soft peppermint off of the coffee table. She unwrapped it and popped the sweet candy into her mouth. She was both excited and nervous about her date with Forrest. Each of the kisses they had shared last night left her hot, needy and wanting more. There was definitely a fire burning between them…an extremely hot fire. Ellie had described it as being on a roller coaster ride that never ended. Audrey was beginning to understand exactly what her sister meant.

Audrey smiled. Ellie had been happy being mated to Daniel. Yes, they had their problems and Daniel was extremely over-protective, which had caused a lot of the disagreements, but they loved each other.

“Hey sis. After all these years I found me someone to love and he’s a shifter too. I’m not fighting the feelings, but they’re so intense and that does scare me. I think it’s because I’ve never felt anything like this and I lack experience with men, but I’ve already fallen hard for him. I know. Grab the bull by the horns and hang on for the ride. See, I was listening to you.”

The doorbell rang.

“I’ve gotta go because he’s at the door.” Audrey sighed and wiped the corners of her eyes. Even after ten years, she still missed her twin sister.

She looked through the peephole. Her heart did a flip flop when she saw Forrest standing there. “Hey there,” she said as she opened the door. “How are you doing?” she asked, stepping back so he could come in.

“Hey there yourself.” A huge smile covered Forrest’s face. He gently pulled her into his arms and kissed her lightly on the lips.

Audrey moaned softly as she kissed him back. The heat of his touch flowed through her body leaving a path of desire and need in its wake.

“Wow!” she whispered when Forrest broke the kiss.

He grinned. “We had better get going. I did promise you a dinner date.”

Audrey nodded. “I just need to grab my purse.” She reluctantly stepped out of his arms. She was seriously thinking of telling him she didn’t want to go to dinner. Staying home wasn’t a bad idea. She grabbed her purse and keys off the table by the door. “I’m ready if you are,” she said when she turned back to Forrest.

“You are beautiful.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

Audrey leaned into his touch. “You make me feel beautiful and desired.” She looked into his warm whiskey brown eyes. Audrey blushed when she saw his passion and desires shining through them.

Forrest took her hand and led her outside. He waited while she locked the door. “Did Seth make it to his friend’s house?” he asked as he led her to his truck.

“I dropped him off after school. Teddy’s mom will bring him home tomorrow afternoon, and then he gets to start his chores after he’s finished with his homework. He wasn’t happy about having to do homework and chores.”

“I know.”

Audrey looked at Forrest. “How do you know?”

He opened the passenger door and helped her get in. He closed the door without answering her.

Audrey rolled her eyes. She waited patiently for him to get in the truck. “How do you know Seth’s not happy about the chores?” she asked as soon as Forrest closed his door.

His eyes were twinkling as he looked at her. “Because not long after you dropped him off at his friend’s house he called me.”

“He called you?” Audrey shook her head. “This is going to be a good one. I can already feel it.”

“He said to make sure you had a really good time this evening.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

“He did, did he?” Her mouth dropped.

“Seth also said to make sure you ordered one of your favorites. Either a medium-well T-bone with a loaded baked potato or a bacon cheeseburger with extra pickles and onions, mustard and mayonnaise, but no tomatoes or lettuce, with extra crispy fries on the side. For dessert, he said either chocolate cream pie or buttermilk chess pie.”

Audrey stared at Forrest. He had listed all her favorites and the way she like them. “Did he say anything else that I should know about? Like maybe, the last words I should carve on his headstone?”

Forrest laughed.

“I’m not joking. I’m serious about the headstone.”

“He said to make sure you had a good time and were happy. If you know what I mean. He made a set of air quotes. “The last part was his words, not mine.”

She felt the heat creeping across her cheeks. “Most definitely he is going to need a headstone and probably a casket to go along with it.” She looked at Forrest. “That little rat. I’m guessing he thinks if I have a really good time I will reduce his list of chores.”

“He didn’t exactly say it was but that’s the impression I got.”

Audrey turned and stared out the windshield. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh at Seth or ground him for the rest of his life. A wicked little smile slowly formed. She turned and looked at Forrest. “If I’m not mistaken, the garage needs to be cleaned and organized, especially since Seth has a lot of stuff in there. He can go through everything and see what can be donated, what needs to be trashed, and organize everything that’s left.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s probably going to take more than just the weekend.”

“I know. He’s got the punishment for skipping school, and now a huge reminder of why it’s not cool to try to manipulate people, especially you and me.” She flashed Forrest a huge smile.

“I don’t think he was trying to manipulate me,” said Forrest.

“Maybe not outright, but he was definitely testing the waters. If we don’t shut it down now, it will eventually get worse.”

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me. He’s a teenager. Ground rules and boundaries, because he’s a charmer and he knows it. If I don’t put a stop to it now, we won’t be able to live with him.” Audrey hated being the bad guy but she knew Seth’s boundaries had to be enforced.

Forrest shook his head. “You don’t happen to have a manual on how to raise kids, do you? I think I need to start reading it tonight.”

“There have been a lot of times I wish I had a manual. The best advice I can give you is be a parent first, stick to the rules and punishments you’ve set, and love them with all your heart.” She said as they walked to his truck.