by A. K. Evans
“It’s lovely to meet all of you,” Elise declared to the group.
There was a round of nods and murmurs of similar sentiments.
Speaking over the rumblings, I warned, “Before anyone gets their hopes up, I need to tell you that Elise is not my girlfriend.”
“Well, that’s just foolish,” Ash stated.
“What?” Shannon gasped.
“Have you seen her, Kier?” Cam asked. “What are you thinking?”
“You already got my hopes up,” my nan began again. “Now you’ve ruined my whole Christmas, Kieran.”
“Listen to me,” I ordered.
Elise’s hand tightened in mine.
When the room fell silent again, I explained, “Elise isn’t my girlfriend because, as of this morning, she became my fiancée.”
“Shut up!” my mom demanded. “Are you serious?”
“No way!” my nan shouted. “He’s getting married. All my dreams have come true.”
Two of the only other civilized people in the room stood and walked toward us: my dad and my pop.
“Congratulations, son,” my dad said as he clapped a hand on my shoulder.
“Thanks, Dad.”
He shifted closer to Elise, hugged her, and said, “Welcome to the family, dear. Don’t let the rest of them scare you too much. It’s all good.”
“Okay,” Elise replied.
“You know how to make an entrance, don’t you?” my pop teased. “Congratulations, Kieran. And thank you for honoring my wish from the last time I saw you.”
I let out a laugh and returned, “There was a bit more motivation there than just that, but you’re welcome.”
“One look at her and I understand that,” he returned.
Crazy. What was I going to do?
I let go of Elise’s hand and curled my arm around her back as the rest of my family moved forward to congratulate and greet us.
When they’d accomplished that and Elise and I were finally sitting down in the family room with them, the questions came at us.
“Not that I’m complaining,” my mom began. “But how is it possible that you were here alone last year and now you’re engaged? We didn’t even know you were dating.”
“Because I wanted to surprise all of you,” I answered.
“Where did you guys meet?” Shannon asked.
I looked at Elise, saw the deliriously happy look on her face, and felt something wonderful settle in my chest. Returning my attention to my family, I shocked them all when I admitted, “Elise and I met the day I left here in January. She missed her flight home to Wyoming and ended up not only on my flight but also in the same row. The middle seat was unoccupied.”
“If that isn’t the world’s best luck,” Ash pointed out.
He wasn’t wrong. I could still recall Elise and I discussing luck that day.
“It was lucky we met, but Kieran didn’t exactly feel the same,” Elise added.
“Bro, are you serious?” Cam scoffed, his suspicious eyes on me.
“It wasn’t his fault,” Elise defended me. “I told him we couldn’t exchange any personal information, and after the flight was over, we had to return to our lives as though we never met.”
“So, what happened?” Shannon pressed.
“Elise promised me that if we ever saw each other again after that day, she’d go out on a date with me,” I started. “Little did we know, her best friend is engaged to Ryker. We saw each other again a couple of weeks later when we were out celebrating Logan’s birthday. As it turned out, there was a little matchmaking event happening.”
“Wow,” my mom marveled. “Now, what do you do, Elise?”
There was a moment of silence while Elise, I’m sure, was figuring out the best way to tell them what she did. Realizing she was worried, I leaned in and said softly, “Just tell them. Trust me, it’s not going to change anything.”
Swallowing hard, Elise shared, “I own my own business. I’m the founder and CEO of Flynn Beauty.”
“Oh my gosh, how did I not see it?” Shannon declared. “You’re Elise Flynn.”
“You know her?” Ash asked.
“She’s Elise Flynn!” Shannon said as though that explained everything. “Look, it’s not like I stalk her or anything, but you’d have to be living under a rock not to know who she is.”
“I’m so confused,” Cam admitted.
“What’s Flynn Beauty?” my dad asked.
“Okay, guys, listen,” I jumped in. “Elise owns Flynn Beauty. It seems like Shannon is the only one who knows what that is. For those of you that don’t, it’s a cosmetics and skincare brand. It’s a big deal, mostly because Elise is a big deal. Yes, she’s rich. Yes, she’s known around the globe. But more important than all of that is the fact that she’s the woman I love. And she’s now a part of this family. You’ve got more than a week to learn everything there is to learn about Elise, and what she does for a living is only a small piece of her. Most of the best parts of her have nothing to do with Flynn Beauty.”
Understanding dawned. I didn’t mind the questions about how we met and completely understood why my family was so interested in Elise, but I didn’t want her feeling overwhelmed or bombarded by them all at once.
“I don’t know why any of these details matter,” Nan said. “Kieran brought a girl home. Isn’t that all that matters?”
“It is,” my dad agreed.
Following a moment of silence, understanding that I needed Elise to have a few minutes to breathe, my mom stood and declared, “Lunch. I’m going to go get lunch ready.”
“I’ll help,” Shannon said, getting up to join her.
After they left, my dad helped defuse the tension even more when he noted, “So, you guys had a good racing season this past year.”
Nodding, I said, “We did.”
Just like that, the entire mood shifted, and I felt Elise relax beside me. That was all I needed… to know that she was comfortable. Luckily, my family kicked ass and came through for me.
And over the next week and a half, my family got to know Elise better while they showed her who they were. Everyone fell in love, just like I knew they would.
When Elise and I were ready to leave and head back to Wyoming, there were far more tears than there had been one year prior when I was leaving alone.
“This has been the best Christmas of my life,” Elise declared when we landed back in Rising Sun hours later and were walking through the terminal toward baggage claim.
“I’m glad you had a great time and got along well with everyone,” I started. “I told you they’d all love you.”
Smiling up at me, she returned, “I love them, too. Only slightly less than I love you. Thank you, Kieran, for giving me something so special this year.”
Squeezing her hand, I warned, “You better buckle up, lady. I told you I was going to give you everything, and I meant it. This ride you’re on with me is only going to get better from here.”
At my words, even though we continued to walk through the airport, Elise dropped her head to my shoulder. I let go of her hand and wrapped my arm around her back. Curling her into my body, I felt that same warmth settling in my chest.
One year ago, I was frustrated at the reality that I knew I’d found the woman of my dreams and had to watch her walk away from me. I never expected I’d be here now engaged to that woman, but I knew I’d spend the rest of my life being thankful that I now had the responsibility of keeping her happy forever.
Elise was right.
This had been the best Christmas of my life, too.
OUT OF ALIGNMENT PREVIEW
“If you do the vacuuming, I’ll do the bathrooms.”
“Okay, Parker,” my little sister, Kaia, agreed.
“We’ve got an hour to finish all that and get dinner ready.”
“I’ll do it as fast as I can,” she promised.
“Just make sure it’s spotless,” I warned her.
There was a look of worry on her face as s
he nodded at me. I’d grown used to the look. I was sure she saw something similar on my face now and then.
As much as I wanted to reassure her, I couldn’t. We didn’t have time.
“Go get started,” I told her. “Meet me in the kitchen when you’re done.”
Without another word, Kaia walked out of our bedroom to get the vacuum. I followed her out, moved down the hall, and went into the bathroom. No sooner had I gotten the cleaning products out and opened the shower curtain to clean the bathtub when Kaia returned.
“Parker?” she called.
“Yeah?”
“Something is wrong with the vacuum,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Everything is staying on the floor,” she answered.
I sighed. “The roller is probably clogged with hair,” I explained as I straightened up and walked toward her. “Let’s go look at it.”
Sure enough, a few minutes later, I learned I had guessed correctly. I had to spend the next fifteen minutes cutting the hair out of the roller so Kaia would be able to complete the vacuuming. I got everything working again as quickly as I could and hurried back up to the bathroom.
There was no missing the awful feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. We were running behind schedule.
Kaia and I had gotten home from school a little while ago. The minute we walked through the front door, we got started on our homework. We finished up simultaneously, and now we needed to get to work on our chores. Today was vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms before we made dinner.
I didn’t necessarily mind having chores to do. What worried me was when we ended up falling behind schedule. Kaia and I had learned that we needed to do whatever was necessary to stay on track.
Because if we didn’t, we knew there would be a price to pay.
I was thirteen now; Kaia was ten. I’d been doing chores since I was nine.
Actually, I didn’t know why I referred to them as chores. We kept the house ourselves. Making dinner, cleaning dishes, washing laundry, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning the bedrooms and bathrooms, and changing the bedsheets were on the regular list of weekly chores. We did that on top of homework and studying.
Our routine had become such a part of our daily lives that I normally didn’t give it a second thought. The only time I really started to think about it was when something happened to interrupt what we needed to get done.
As of right now, we were going to be cutting it close.
I got the bathroom done as quickly as I could, raced downstairs, and started preparing dinner as my heart pounded in my chest.
Luckily, I was making spaghetti, meatballs, and garlic toast. It was simple to make, but it was going to be right down to the wire.
Two minutes before the front door opened, Kaia joined me in the kitchen.
“What can I do?” she asked.
“I’m almost done with the food,” I answered. “Can you set the table and get drinks out?”
“Sure.”
As the front door opened, Kaia had successfully finished setting the table while I carried the plates to it.
Our father walked in, and his eyes swept across the table as he made his way to the kitchen to put his empty lunch containers in the sink. Not even a full minute later, we were seated at the dinner table.
Kaia and I always remained quiet through dinner. Truthfully, anytime we were around our dad, we remained quiet. He was an unreadable man, so it was hard to say what his mood would be on any given day at any particular moment.
“Is your homework done?” he asked after having taken several bites of his food.
Though he never directed his attention at one of us specifically, nor did he call our name, we both knew the question was meant for both of us.
“Yes, sir,” Kaia answered.
“What about the bathrooms?” he pressed.
“Both bathrooms have been cleaned, and the vacuuming has also been done,” I replied.
There was a slight dip of his chin as he returned his attention to his meal. And from that point forward, we knew no more words would be spoken.
Once Isaac Banks confirmed what he needed to know from his daughters, the conversation was finished. We knew better than to interrupt him while he was eating and didn’t speak unless spoken to.
On the one hand, I guess it was a bit comforting to reach this point. At the very least, there was an understanding of what would happen for the remainder of the night. The most intense and uncomfortable part of our day was behind us because after he finished eating, our father would retire to the living room where he’d watch a couple of hours of television while Kaia and I cleaned up the dinner dishes and his lunch containers, make sure everything was put away, climb the stairs, take our showers, and spend time with each other until it was time for bed. Most nights, we had ourselves already in bed before our father walked in. He’d turn off the light and close the door behind him as he left.
That was precisely what I had expected would happen tonight.
But not everything went according to plan.
Initially, all was going well. We finished dinner, he moved to the living room, and Kaia and I cleaned up.
We had both finished taking showers and drying our hair. It was crazy hair day at school tomorrow. Having to come up with ideas on our own, I recalled a few girls last year who had told me they braided their normally straight hair at night to make it look wavy the next morning before they styled it. I told Kaia about it, and she was so excited. So, I braided her hair for her.
“Are you going to do yours the same?” she asked as she got up from my bed and walked across the room to hers.
“You won’t mind if we do the same thing?”
She shook her head. “No. Sometimes I wish we were twins,” she shared.
“Really? Why?”
Kaia shrugged. “I don’t know,” she started. “It’s just that there are two girls in my class that are twins. It’s so cool that they’ll always be together through school. Plus, they even said that they could feel each other’s feelings. Like if one of them is happy, the other knows it. Or if one of them is in pain, the other can feel it. I always want to be that close to you.”
I stared at my sister and wanted to cry. She was the best thing I had in this world. A world that was often cruel. And while I knew some kids had it worse than we did, I sometimes hated what we had to endure.
“Kaia?” I called.
“Yeah?”
“We don’t have to be twins to be that close,” I told her. “Maybe we won’t be in the same classes at school since we’re in different grades, but that doesn’t mean anything. And trust me, we’re already like twins.”
“We are?”
I nodded and smiled at her. “If you’re ever upset or in pain, I feel it,” I said. “And when you’re happy, I feel that, too.”
Kaia’s eyes widened. “You do?”
“Yes.”
The look of surprise on her face vanished and was replaced by sadness. Before she could say anything, I questioned her. “Why does that make you sad?”
“I don’t think I have it,” she answered.
“Have what?”
“I don’t feel your pain or happiness,” she confessed.
Offering her a sympathetic smile, I explained, “Well, I couldn’t feel it right away either. I don’t think it was until I was closer to eleven that I started recognizing it for what it was. If you’re like me, you’ll probably just need a little more time.”
Understanding washed over her. “That makes sense.”
“Okay, I’ll do my hair the same as yours,” I stated. “Then, we can dress in similar colors tomorrow and feel like we’re twins.”
Kaia’s face lit up. Seeing that look made my day.
I’d just finished braiding my hair when we heard the thundering sound of our father’s footsteps climbing the stairs. I glanced at the clock and noticed it wasn’t quite bedtime yet.
Confusion came over me, and I real
ized then that Kaia had been wrong. She knew what I felt because she took one look at me, and terror came over her.
We’d had a couple of good weeks lately. I couldn’t think of anything we’d done wrong, but we might have forgotten something.
A few seconds later, our bedroom door opened, and our father walked in carrying an envelope.
“What’s this?” he asked.
I grew even more confused because I hadn’t seen the small white envelope before now. But I took a moment to glance at his face and saw he wasn’t even looking in my direction. His eyes were pinned on Kaia.
And my sister?
She was visibly shaking.
“I asked a question,” he clipped.
“I… I got it in school today,” Kaia stammered. “My friend, Stacey, is having a birthday party next weekend.”
Oh no.
Kaia must have forgotten to take the invitation out of her backpack to throw it away.
We knew parties weren’t an option. We weren’t even allowed to participate in after-school sports.
“There are no parties,” our dad sneered. “None. I’m not going to work all day long to make money for you to squander it on someone’s birthday party nonsense.”
“I know, sir,” Kaia murmured.
He took two steps toward her bed, bent at the waist, and pressed his clenched fists into the mattress. Kaia began shaking with terror.
“If you know that, why would you even bring it home?”
His voice was scary and only inches away from her face.
Kaia continued to shake. Her eyes never met his. “I… I…” she stammered again.
I watched as my father straightened himself up and started to pull his hand back. I knew what was coming, and I couldn’t let it happen.
I jumped off my bed and shouted, “It was my fault!”
He froze. Well, everything but his eyes did. They came to me, and I saw nothing nice in them.
“What does that mean?” he asked as he dropped his hand.
Relieved that he wasn’t going to hurt Kaia, I had to think quickly. That’s when I blurted, “When we got home from school, Kaia told me about the invitation. Stacey has been a good friend to her in class, so I knew how much it would have meant for Kaia to go to the party. I told her to hold on to the invitation, and maybe we could figure out a way to have you agree to let her go. We’re willing to do extra chores or find a way to earn extra money so Kaia could buy a present. This way, you won’t need to pay for one.”
