Bidder - An Auctioned to the Billionaire Romance (Criminal Passions Book 2)
Page 17
“Wow. They’re fighting over you. I’m almost jealous.”
She wasn’t really, though. If anything, the last year had been great with her parents. Her dad’s accident combined with her experience in Vietnam had brought them together in a way she could never have predicted.
With the fragility of life on full display, nothing but the big things seemed to matter anymore. Petty arguments fizzled out after a few words, and the wounds of the past were never brought up. Terri felt like she had started life over.
“So? What did you tell him?” She pulled her phone out to see if Charlie had texted. “About the meat?”
“I told him I know nothing about it and I value and trust his expertise.”
“That’s not entirely true, but that was sweet of you to say. I’m sure it stoked his ego to no end.” She opened up a text from Charlie. “Aaaand of course.”
“What’s that?”
She waved her phone. “Charlie will be twenty minutes late.”
“That’s an hour in Charlie time.”
“He said he’s trying to be better. You know, in his defense.” Her stomach grumbled. “I really hope we’re not gonna wait for him to eat.”
Logan put his hand on hers and made a sympathetic face. “Should I pull over and get you a snack?”
“That’s sweet, but no.” She rubbed the back of his neck. “We’re five minutes away.”
“Oh, I know. I recognize that.” He pointed at the bench they’d sat on downtown.
“Aw. I guess that’s kind of our spot, isn’t it?”
“Our Girard spot.”
His hand was still on hers, and she flipped her palm over so their fingers could intertwine. They passed the diner, the post office, and the gas station her parents had used for years. The twisted up, anxious feeling she used to get whenever she visited home was nowhere to be found.
But it wasn’t because Girard had changed. It was because she had changed, had become a woman in control of her life. Confidence and purpose cast a new light on everything in her life.
Speaking of purpose…
She looked at her purse on the floor by her feet. The tip of the envelope stuck out between the handles. The temptation to open it returned, but with it so did terrible nausea.
She started to tell Logan to pull over lest she be sick in the car, but he was already pulling into her parents’ driveway and parking behind her mom’s car. They’d arrived.
“You all right?” Logan asked. Concern spread across his features.
“Yeah.” She breathed deep, feeling better already. The letter would need to be opened sooner or later, but maybe arriving at the house right then was a sign. “Let’s go.”
Purse in hand, she climbed from the car. Logan joined her in the driveway and they walked hand in hand across the yard. The front door was open with the storm door allowing light to pour in, but the smell of a grill and the sound of voices suggested her parents were in the backyard.
As they walked around the side of the house, one of their phones chimed with a text alert. Terri dug in her purse, looking for her cell.
“Was that me?” she asked, shuffling papers, her wallet, and a menagerie of makeup around.
“It was me.” He checked his phone while walking. “Charlie. Says he’s almost here.”
“Yeah, right,” she laughed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Terri! Logan!” Her mom waved from the folding table in the middle of the yard, where there were several covered platters of food.
“Hi,” Terri called. “Oh, shoot.”
“What?” Logan looked down at her.
“I forgot to grab the drinks.”
He nodded at the beer and soda bottles cradled in one arm. “I got them. You didn’t notice?”
“Somehow, no.”
He kissed her forehead. “You have a lot on your mind right now. Plus, I think they call that…” He quieted down as Terri’s dad approached.
“I’ll take those,” he said, getting the drinks from Logan. “How was the drive?”
“Pretty standard. Nice.”
Terri dropped her purse on the end of the folding table. “Anything I can help with?”
“Oh, no,” her mom said. “Everything is basically done. Why don’t you grab a drink? Looks like you brought some good beer.”
“I’ll take a ginger ale.” She grabbed for one from the ice bucket. “My stomach doesn’t feel right.”
Her mom gave her a funny look, hands hovering over the watermelon slices.
“What?” Terri asked.
“Nothing. You sure you don’t want something to drink? Wine?”
Terri’s eyes narrowed. “No, Mom, but thank you.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, but continued to watch Terri out of the corner of her eye.
“Where’s Charlie?” Terri’s dad opened up the grill.
“He says he’s almost here,” Terri laughed. “If you can believe it.”
“Not for a second.”
There was a scratching noise on the back door. The second Terri turned the knob, Biscuits and May flew out of the house, the two cats launching themselves at Logan.
“Oh, that’s the cutest thing,” Terri’s mom said. “They just love him.”
Biscuits rubbed against Logan’s legs while May looked up at him and mewed loudly.
“How are my two favorite kitties?” Logan bent down and scooped them each into an arm. Biscuits wiggled a bit before jumping down and going to hunt something in the grass, but May purred loudly as Logan cradled her like a baby.
“They seem to be a lot happier now that you’re here.” Terri scratched May’s head.
“How are things at Morning Light?” her dad asked.
“Great,” Terri said, eager to talk about one of her favorite subjects. “We have a couple new people on staff, and it’s really working well. I’m basically never needed there anymore.”
“She still goes in every day.” Logan looked at her with pride. “To check on things.”
“What’s wrong with your stomach?” her mom asked.
That again. Why was she still bringing it up?
“I must have eaten something bad.” Terri shrugged without looking at her.
“It could be nerves,” her dad said. “Did you get any acceptance letters yet?”
Terri’s stomach flip-flopped. “Um… I got one, but I haven’t opened it yet. I’m not ready for that.”
Her mother’s lips pursed. “I’m sure it says you’re accepted. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Terri shrugged, noticing the way Logan watched her. Though he gave a barely perceptible nod, her mom caught it anyway.
“What? What was that about?”
Terri stood a little straighter. “There’s more going on, actually. We have some news.”
“Really?” Donna cocked her head in interest.
“Yeah.” Logan put the cat down in favor of looping his arm around Terri’s waist.
Terri rubbed her palms together. “We had planned on waiting until Charlie got here…”
“But who knows when that’ll be,” her dad added as he flipped the steaks.
“Now you have to tell us.” Her mom folded her arms. “It’s not bad, is it?”
“Not at all,” Logan promised. “It’s good news.”
“Very.” Terri took a deep breath. “We’re expecting a baby. In about six months.”
Her mother’s jaw dropped. “No!”
“Yes.”
Suddenly, the lawn exploded with noise. There was hugging, hand shaking, even a few tears from both parents.
“It’s why I’m nervous about school,” Terri said. “One of the reasons. The baby’s coming not long after the first semester starts. Maybe it’s the wrong year to do this.”
“It’s up to you, honey.” Her mom squeezed her hand.
“If you go to school this year,” Logan said, “we’ll hire a nanny. We can make whatever you want work out.”
“There you ha
ve it.” Terri’s dad clapped Logan on the shoulder. “It can happen.”
Terri nodded, the discomfort in her chest easing a bit. Since reading the pregnancy test six weeks before, she’d worried endlessly. Could she handle everything she was piling on her plate?
Her family’s assurances made the imagined burden feel a little lighter. She was lucky in so many ways. Not only did she and Logan have a housekeeper and a cook, but they were able to afford a nanny, should they choose to get one.
Remembering that made Terri smile. Fortune had helped her out. It would be her greatest honor to dive into law school and start doing the same for other people.
“Hey, everyone.”
The four of them turned at the sound of Charlie’s voice. He strode into the yard, whipping off his sunglasses.
“Don’t tell me I missed the celebration,” he said.
“You made it.” Terri had trouble closing her mouth.
“Just to prove you wrong, sis. Congrats, by the way.”
Had he overheard her saying she was pregnant? How long had he been standing at the edge of the yard for?
“I told you any and every law school would want you.” He held up an open letter.
It took Terri a long moment before she realized he was holding her letter from the University of Chicago. It must have fallen out of her purse while she walked through the grass.
“You opened it?” She clutched at the base of her throat.
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Like I said, I knew they’d accept you.”
“Woohoo!” Terri’s mom hugged her tight. “A law degree and a baby.”
“What?” Charlie dropped the letter. “Did you just say…”
Logan turned his palms over. “You heard right, Uncle Charlie.”
“Get out of here,” he whispered, right before striding across the lawn and pulling Terri and Logan into a group hug. “Boy, you’re going to have a good year.”
“Really?” Terri laughed. “You don’t think it’s crazy? Too much?”
“For some people, yeah. You’re Terri Lane, though.”
“My point exactly,” Logan said.
“You guys…” Tears pooled in her eyes, and she brushed them away.
“So that’s why you need ginger ale.” Her mom threw up her hand. “You have morning sickness.”
“Actually, I’m feeling better now.” She took a sip of the ginger ale anyway. “I think I really was nervous about juggling school and a baby.”
“And now?” Logan played with a lock of her hair.
“Now…” She looked at the people assembled around her. “I’ve been through a lot… I have a lot. You guys… Morning Light… I feel like I can handle anything.”
“That’s because you can,” Logan said with all the assertiveness in the world.
Terri burrowed her face into his chest, inhaling the scent that meant comfort, love, and home. The world had thrown her more than one curveball, but she’d played the game good and come back strong—with great help from the people she loved the most.
For the first time, she really understood what it meant to say the world was your oyster.
“You know what?” She lifted her face from Logan’s chest and looked deep into his eyes. “This will be a kickass year.”
He cupped her face. “Year? Babe, this will be kickass life.”
The End
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