Rock Bottom

by Emily Goodwin

  Rory’s parents live in a Craftsman-style house with a large, frozen pond in the front yard. It’s set back from the road, with a little section of yard carved out from a wooded hillside. Rory’s Jeep is parked in the driveway, and my heart lurches in my chest.

  She’s here, just inside.

  And I hope to God she’ll let me talk to her.

  I send her a text, not wanting to have a gun shoved in my face when I knock on the door in the middle of the night.

  Me: Come outside.

  Rory starts typing something back right away only to stop again. I put the truck in park and shut off the engine. She starts and stops typing several times before sending something through.

  Rory: I’m not home.

  I get out of the truck and slowly walk toward the front porch.

  Me: I know. Come outside.

  A light upstairs turns on, and I see her go to a window, looking down into the yard. Her eyes meet mine and her lips part, shaking her head. Then the light goes out, and the entire house is still, holding its breath.

  Time passes slowly, and I think that this is it. That I fucked things up beyond repair and I’m never going to see Rory again. Pain ripples through my entire body, and I think it would feel better to dive to the bottom of that frozen lake than to realize Rory wants nothing to do with me.

  But then the front door opens.

  “Rory.” I rush up the cement porch steps. She’s standing in the doorway, wearing sleeper shorts, a baggy sweatshirt, and fuzzy socks. Her hair is a mess and her eyes are red from crying.

  “Dean? What…what are you doing here?”

  “I want you, Rory,” I rush out. “I want to be with you tonight. Tomorrow. And every day after that because I love you. I tried not to fall, but I did, and the moment you walked out the door, I knew I made the biggest mistake of my life by letting you walk away.”

  Tears fill Rory’s eyes and she crosses her arms over her chest, shivering from the cold air.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m an idiot and got scared. I don’t want to get hurt again, and I don’t want to hurt you. You are so much more than I deserve, and the thought of disappointing you fucking scares me,” I admit. Damn, it feels good to tell her exactly how I feel with no holding back. “I don’t want you to move back here. I want you to come back to Eastwood…to come back home. With me.”

  Her bottom lip quivers and tears mar her pretty face. I bound up the rest of the porch stairs and take her in my arms.

  “I love you, Rory.”

  She wraps her arms around me, blinking away tears. “I love you too, Dean.”

  Chapter 38

  Rory

  I shut the door and take Dean’s hand, leading him inside. I’m shivering, but my heart is bursting with so many emotions. Dean came all this way to tell me he loves me.

  “I love you,” he repeats, cupping his large hands around my face. I slip my arms around his waist and let him kiss me, feeling warmth and desire flood through me.

  “Dean,” I pant, breaking away. He rests his forehead against mine. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my whole life. The second you walked out the door, Rory, I knew I couldn’t lie to myself. I was scared, but losing you terrifies me more than anything in this whole fucking world.”

  Tears spill out of my eyes and Dean wipes them away with his thumbs. “I love you too.”

  “Come home with me, Rory.”

  My head bobs up and down, and a light upstairs flicks on. Oh, right. I’m at my parents’ house. Everything faded away, until there was only Dean—only the man I love—in front of me.

  “Rory?” Dad asks. “Is that you down there?”

  “Yeah, it’s me.”

  “Is someone here.”

  “Yes.”

  Dad hurries down the stairs, pausing when he gets to the landing. By the way Dean and I are holding each other, it’s obvious he’s not here to rob us or something.

  “This is Dean. Dean, this is my dad, David.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Dean says, holding out his hand to shake. Dad takes his, confusion taking over his face.

  “David, what’s going on?” Mom calls from the top of the stairs.

  “Someone named Dean is here.”

  “Dean!” Mom gasps and comes down the stairs. “Here, now?” She stops on the stairs next to Dad.

  “I’m sorry to intrude,” Dean goes on. “I took a wrong turn and had to backtrack, making it take longer to get here than I expected.”

  “Rory, what is going on?” Dad asks, glowering at Dean. I haven’t told him anything about Dean yet, and all Mom knows is that we were dating and it sizzled out.

  “I love your daughter,” Dean says, looking back at me. My heart flutters and I lock my arms around his waist. “And she needs to know just how much she means to me. I couldn’t let her leave and take the job here without telling her that.”

  “Can we have some privacy?” I ask, tearing my eyes away from Dean for a moment. “Please?”

  “Yes,” Mom says, tugging Dad back up the stairs. I take Dean’s hand and we go to the living room couch. I’m shivering and Dean’s not wearing a coat. He pulls me close to him and I cover us both up with a blanket. Before either of us can say anything, Dean kisses me, pushing his tongue into my mouth.

  “I’m so sorry, Rory,” he breathes between kisses. “I never should have let you walk away.” He runs his hands through my hair.

  “No, you shouldn’t have.” I smile and kiss him again. “I love you, Dean, but I need something to be clear.”

  “Okay.”

  “I want a relationship that has the potential to turn into something more. Marriage. A family. I’m not saying I want it soon, but I need you to know that is my end game.”

  “It’s mine too,” he confesses. “It’s always been my end game, and it didn’t work the first time, but it was because I wasn’t with the right person. You are the right person. My person. I’ve never felt this with anyone before.”

  I’m smiling again. “I do like being your first.”

  He pulls me onto his lap, adjusting the blanket. “Come home with me, Rory? I mean Eastwood. I know this is your home.”

  “I grew up here, and my childhood home will always be special, but it feels…wrong. I know where I’m meant to be, and that’s in Eastwood. With you.”

  “Everything good?” I ask, rolling over. Dean and I are squished together in my old twin bed in my childhood bedroom.

  “Yeah. It is.” We fell asleep in each other’s arms last night, and his work alarm just went off. He texted his dad, briefly explaining why he’s in Michigan, hence him not being able to go into work. “What are you going to do about the interview?” he asks, spooning his body around mind.

  “Is it shitty to call off at the last second?”

  “I think it’s better to cancel than to waste someone’s time with an interview when you’re not going to take the job.”

  “True. But is it shitty to text Michelle instead of call her?”

  Dean chuckles. “It’s not the most professional.”

  “Dammit.” I roll over, facing Dean. A huge weight has been lifted off both of us, and despite how painful yesterday was, everything is perfect.

  I’m in Dean’s arms.

  I love him.

  He loves me.

  No one knows what the future holds, but we’re going to go into it together.

  “Fine. I’ll call.” I tear myself out of Dean’s arms and grab my phone. My pulse quickens and I thankfully get Michelle’s voicemail. I leave her a message saying I just can’t leave my current job…or current life in Eastwood. I hang up and go back into Dean’s arms. We stay tangled up together a while longer, until the smell of coffee and bacon fills the house.

  “We should get up,” Dean grumbles, not making any attempt to let me go.

  “I’m hungry.”

  “Me too.” He kisses my forehead. “And I’m looking
forward to getting back to your place. We need to have makeup sex STAT.”

  I laugh and put my lips to his. “There’s a make-out spot a few miles from here. We can pull off the road and do each other in the car like horny teenagers.”

  “Don’t tease me, Rory.” He runs his hands up and down my body. “Are you tired? We have a long drive.”

  “Ugh,” I grumble. “In separate cars.”

  “Let’s get up and get it over with.” He presses his lips to my forehead and we both get up and go downstairs. Dad is at the stove, making breakfast.

  “Honey,” Mom calls from her office. “Can I borrow you for a moment? You’re about the same size as my client and I need someone to try on this dress.”

  “Yeah,” I tell her, knowing half her needing me is so Dad can talk with Dean. I take a sip of coffee and then go to Mom’s office. She’s holding a pale pink ballgown.

  “Is everything okay?” she asks, helping me into the dress.

  “It’s perfect.”

  “He must really care if he drove all this way in the middle of the night.”

  I smile. “He does. I love him,” I say, smile widening.

  Mom fluffs the skirt, beaming up at me. “Are you two able to stay for another hour or so?”

  “Yeah, we’ll stay for breakfast but then should head back to Eastwood. Figaro probably misses me.”

  “I texted Sam about Dean.” Mom bends down and pins the hem of the dress. “He said he likes him and thinks he’s a good guy.”

  “Mom, seriously?”

  “I thought you’d be happy your brother likes your boyfriend. Out of the last few guys you’ve dated, none of your brothers have been a fan.”

  “That is true. I should have dated Sam’s friends a long time ago.”

  Mom stands back and has me spin, making sure the dress swirls the way she wants it to. Satisfied, she helps me out of the heavy dress, and I put my pajamas back on. “You’re glowing.” She takes my hands in hers. “I have a good feeling about this, Rory.”

  I beam. “I do too.”

  Chapter 39

  Dean

  Four months later…

  “I lean across the bar, showing just the right amount of cleavage, and ask Tomlin if he’ll let me have a room for one gold piece instead of five.” Rory looks at me, giving me a wink. “He finds me very hard to resist.”

  Quinn pushes her little pewter game piece next to Rory’s. “And I stand behind her, causally running my finger over the blade of my dagger.”

  Rory nods. “My friend and I would really like a room. We’re quiet and will tidy the place when we leave.”

  “Tomlin’s resolve is strong,” I say, looking down at the guide. “Two gold pieces and the room is yours.”

  “Thank you, kind sir,” Rory says. “I pay for our drinks and go up to the room in the inn.”

  The oven timer beeps, and I get up, putting the Dungeons and Dragons game on hold. Quinn, Archer, Weston, and Scarlet are all here, and we’ve made D&D an almost weekly thing. It took a while for us all to get into it, but now we’re all slightly addicted.

  “And I have to pee.” Quinn puts her hand on her stomach. “Help me up.”

  “Of course, babe.” Archer stands and helps Quinn to her feet. Quinn is finally feeling less nauseous but now has a lot of back pain. They found out recently they’re having girls, making Aiden the Quinn of the family with four sisters instead of four brothers.

  Rory goes to the stove and takes out the cookies she put in right before we started our games session.

  “That smells good,” I say, snaking my arms around her waist. “I want one.”

  She stands on her toes and gives me a kiss. “You’ll get my cookies later.” She wiggles her eyebrows and I kiss her hard. “Can we end the game now?”

  “We haven’t even left the tavern!”

  “I want to take you to the tavern.”

  “Ohhh, I like when you talk nerdy to me,” she coos.

  “You have work in the morning, right?” I ask.

  “Yeah,” she groans. “It’s a full moon tomorrow too. It’s going to be crazy.”

  “Poor babe. I can meet you for lunch.”

  “If I get a lunch.” We kiss again before she turns to take the cookies off the sheet, putting then on a cooling rack she then carries to the table. We resume the game, playing for an hour and a half before putting it on hold again until the next time we’re able to sneak a few hours away from our adult responsibilities.

  As soon as I close and lock the door, I make a rush at Rory, picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder. “You’ve been kidnapped by orcs,” I say, putting my Dungeon Master hat back on. “But you are insanely attracted to him.”

  Rory laughs, trying to squirm out of my arms. I carry her upstairs and toss her down on my bed.

  “The only way to escape my clutches is through the power of seduction,” I go on and Rory laughs, but looks at me with lust in her eyes at the same time.

  “Well, in that case…” She pushes up on her knees and grabs my hands, pulling me down onto the mattress with her. My heart swells in my chest, and I look at Rory, falling in love with her a bit more and more every day. And every day, I think it’s impossible to love her more than I already do.

  Epilogue

  Dean

  A year and a half year later…

  “Hey!” I say, stepping into the kitchen of my parents’ house. It’s Sunday night dinner, and the whole gang is here. It hasn’t happened too often lately, with scheduling issues and Emma and Jackson busy with extra circulars.

  “Oh my goodness, how cute!” Rory drop my purse on the ground and goes over to Quinn, who’s sitting at the kitchen table with both babies in her arms. They’re dressed the in Elsa and Anna dresses we got them for Christmas. “Dean, look!”

  “They finally fit.” I smile at my nieces.

  “I was so excited,” Quinn tells us. “Thanks again for getting these for the girls.”

  I wrap my arm around Rory’s waist and plant a kiss on her cheek. We went to Disney World a few months ago and Rory and I had way too much fun buying stuff for our many nieces and nephews. It turned out to be way more expensive than we thought though to buy everyone a shirt or outfit, but it was fun seeing the excitement on their faces.

  Owen, Charlie, and Olivia come in the house next, surprising everyone.

  “You’re on time?” I bring my hand to my chest, faking shock.

  Owen takes Olivia’s coat off and motions to Charlie. “Being ridiculously early for everything is part of her nesting.”

  Charlie puts her hands on her stomach. “This little guy has me wanting to organize and prepare everything. I keep panicking about having two kids.” She looks at Quinn and shakes her head. “How are you still functioning with five?”

  “I’m not,” Quinn laughs. “Though having a nanny helps.”

  “Must be nice to be rich,” Owen quips, teasing Quinn. “The rest of us have to take care of our own children and wash our own dishes.”

  “You wash dishes?” Charlie puts her hand on her hip.

  “Hey, I’m a good housekeeper.”

  Charlie gives us a look and we all laugh. Olivia takes Owen’s hand, dragging him to the backyard so she can play outside with Quinn’s other children.

  “Want to outside?” Rory asks, looking through the window at Archer, Weston, my parents and all the kids. “It’s so nice out.”

  Of course.” I pull out a chair for Charlie, who slowly lowers herself down, and take Rory’s hand. We run around with kids for a while, and Rory gets winded easily.

  It’s a little humid out, but that’s not why she’s not feeling like herself.

  “Come with me,” I tell her, motioning to the covered glider. I wrap my arm around her and gently push my feet against the ground, bringing the glider back.

  “This is nice,” Rory says, resting her hand on my shoulder. “And my rings look so sparkling in the sunlight.”

  I laugh, taking her
left hand in mine. “You should get them cleaned more often.”

  “That requires going to the jeweler,” she laughs. “But they look like they did on our wedding day.”

  “Speaking of our wedding day, I think you should bust out that white lacey thing you wore under your dress tonight.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” She resituates, hooking one leg over mine.

  “Have I told you I love you yet today?”

  She beams, tipping her head up to mine “You have, but I wouldn’t mind hearing it again.”

  I put my lips to hers and rest my hand over her stomach. “I love you so fucking much.”

  “That’s more like it.”

  We stay outside for a bit longer, enjoying the sun and the warm summer air. Then Logan and his family arrives, and it’s the typical ten minutes of chaos that always happens before everyone crams around the table.

  “Who wants sangria?” Scarlet asks, coming to the table with a pitcher of sangria she made just for tonight. “Besides you, preggers,” she says to Charlie with a wink.

  “No thanks,” Rory tells her and I wait for anyone to raise their suspicions, Rory doesn’t drink all that often, so it’s not that odd for her to decline any alcohol tonight.

  She looks at me, trying not to smile. We planned to wait until dinner to share our news, but I don’t think either of us can keep the secret any longer.

  “You gonna ask Rory why she doesn’t want any sangria?” I ask casually, taking great care to put mustard on my hamburger.

  “Oh my God,” Quinn squeals, bring her hands up and shaking them excitedly.

  “Are you?” Mom asks, eyes going wide.

  Rory looks at me and smiles. “Yes. I’m pregnant!”

  Thank you

  Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy life to read Rock Bottom! I never actually set out to write Dean a story, but after Kara’s character grew into the unlikable you-know-what that she is, I had so many readers beg for me to give Dean a HEA! The more I thought out it, the more I knew I HAD to write this book, and the idea for Rock Bottom came into my head and I couldn’t stop thinking about Dean and Rory!