This Love

by Kelly Elliott

  Was that…Steed? Mitchell? Tripp? Holy fuck…Dad?

  “Cord! Are you okay? What is it with you falling? Did you hit your head yesterday? Are you dizzy? Do we need to go back to the doctor?”

  The door opened, and Tripp stood over me, laughing his ass off. “Dude, who the hell were you trying to run from?”

  My mother grabbed my chin and forcing me to look into her eyes. “Did they check to make sure you didn’t hit your head?”

  “I didn’t hit my head!”

  “Then why did you run into the glass door?” she asked, acting innocent.

  “Because you said protection…and deflower…and…about your first time with…Dad!” I made a gagging sound.

  “Oh hell, I don’t want to know what this conversation is about,” Steed said, stepping over me like I was nothing more than a barrier while he made his way over toward the sounds of his two kids.

  Corina stopped in front of me. She held onto her daughter Merit. I knew by the smile on her face, I was about to catch hell. “Hey, Cord! I knew someday a woman would knock you on you’re a-s-s. Just didn’t think it would happen twice in twenty-four hours.”

  I rolled my eyes and stood. “I thought you were on a phone call with Paxton?” I said, eyeing Corina.

  “Oh, I got the FOUR one one, don’t worry!” She put emphasis on the number four and it took me a minute to get her equating that with the number of times I’d made Maebh come. Jesus, was nothing sacred with this family? “Good job, by the way!”

  I groaned. The only good thing was that my mother had long forgotten me by the time Waylynn and Jonathon walked in. She took Liberty from Jonathon’s hands.

  “Corina, Merit is up next!”

  Tripp stopped in front of me and motioned for me to follow him outside. I did, and shut the sliding glass door behind me.

  “You want to tell me how in the fuck you’re all here on my weekend away?”

  Tripp chuckled as he made his way down to the boat dock.

  “Mom called this morning in a panic. Said she hadn’t heard from you, and I said I had talked to you this morning and you were fine. She then decided we all needed to pack up and head up here.”

  “Why? If she arranged for Maebh and I to be here alone, why in the hell would she bring damn near the whole family?”

  Tripp stopped and looked back at me. “Because, she overheard Paxton telling Amelia that Maebh was…well that she was…you know.”

  “No, I don’t know.”

  Looking like he was uncomfortable as hell, he answered in a low mumble. “A virgin.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Does the whole family know?”

  He shrugged. “Pretty much. Mom freaked out and said she would have never pushed y’all together had she known and that we all had to come up here to save poor Maebh from the clutches of her manwhore son, Cord.”

  My eyes went round. “She said that?”

  He laughed. “I made most of that last part up, but Mom was worried. She didn’t want you to pressure Maebh.”

  “Holy fuck, what makes her think I would do that?”

  Tripp stared like I had just asked the dumbest question ever. “Listen, your track record with women alone was cause for her to worry. Plus, y’all just sort of started dating and Mom felt guilty for butting in.”

  “Now she feels guilty. Now? She just fucking cock blocked me for the whole weekend, dude!”

  Tripp tossed his head back and laughed.

  “Tell me you’re not staying here all weekend? Christ, what time did everyone get up? Did you follow each other here?”

  “Like a goddamn Parker family caravan. I don’t think I’ve seen Mom and Dad so happy though.”

  “Let me get this straight.” I cleared my throat and scrubbed my hands down my face. “This weekend, the weekend I was supposed to spend alone, but really with Maebh, has now become a family weekend?”

  He nodded. “Yep.” With the pop on that p, that bastard.

  My eyes closed, and I groaned. “Fucking hell.”

  Slapping me on the side of my arm, Tripp said, “Dude, I get it. I’d be pissed, too. If it was me, I’d pack my shit up and take Maebh back home and spend the weekend with her locked up at your place.”

  My gaze drifted over his shoulder to my dad. He was walking toward us, a huge smile plastered on his face. He looked happy as hell, and Tripp knew I would never leave and go back to my place. I’d have to be resourceful is all.

  “Cord, I tried to talk your mother into not coming.”

  “He lies,” Tripp whispered.

  I let him pull me into a quick man hug as he slapped me on the back. “Don’t worry about it, Dad.”

  His smile grew bigger. “This is damn amazing. All of us here. We need to hit the lake, do some fishing. Just us guys.”

  Tripp and I exchanged looks. I couldn’t even think of the last time we’d all gone finishing together. Tripp lifted a brow. I knew the ball was in my court. I could get pissed and stomp out, or I could stay and let Maebh become a part of the family. God knows I wanted that, but I also wanted her. Again. And again, and again.

  Shit.

  “That would be great, Dad. Maebh caught a large mouth yesterday. Son of a bitch was huge, about ten pounds. I’ll have to show you the pictures.”

  His face lit up. “No kidding! Then it’s settled. Let’s talk to the women and see when we can make this happen.”

  His arms landed on our shoulders, and we were soon headed back up to the house.

  “We’re not ruining your weekend, are we, son?”

  I shook my head and felt my chest constrict. I wanted my family here, I truly did. But Maebh and I had made love for the first time this morning, and I had confessed to her that I loved her. I wanted to make sure we carved out time for just us. I also wanted to spend time with my family. I was fighting with two feelings: guilty and pissed off.

  Taking in a deep breath, I blew it out and answered my father truthfully. “Not at all, Dad.”

  When we walked into the kitchen, five women stared at me. All of them wore the same goofy smile.

  I stopped. “What?”

  Corina wiped what looked like a tear from her cheek. Harley shook her head and slapped her hand over her chest. Amelia bounced up and down like a little girl while Paxton and Waylynn smiled at me like they had just won a damn bet.

  “Cord, how are you feeling?” Waylynn asked, walking a circle around me.

  “This is my cue to leave,” my father said, Tripp hot on his heels.

  “Me, too,” my brother said.

  “What! Wait! Dad! Tripp!”

  Tripp glanced over his shoulder and shot me a smirk.

  “Fucker!” I cried out.

  Waylynn made another circle around me.

  “What in the fuck are you doing, Waylynn?”

  “What are your intentions with our sweet Maebh?” she asked, her hands going to her hips.

  “Don’t most of you have kids you should be watching? Some mothers you are…” I accused, trying to step around my sister. I was blocked by her outstretched hand.

  “Not me,” Amelia stated.

  My eyes shot over to my little sister. “Meli, help a guy out here.”

  She shook her head. “Answer Waylynn’s question, Cord.”

  Threading my fingers through my hair, I felt a bead of a sweat form on my forehead.

  “What do you mean, what are my intentions with your Maebh? She’s mine, no one else’s.”

  Amelia stepped forward. “Um, no, wrong. She was ours first. Not yours. You swooped in with your big fancy dick and stole her from us.”

  I nearly choked on my own tongue. “My big fancy dick? What the hell, Meli!”

  She half shrugged. “Maebh might have shared a little too much information, and I will admit, I was slightly disturbed, but happy at the same time.”

  Feeling the need to cover my junk, I asked, “She called my dick fancy?”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head, “I can’t tell you wh
at she said. It would break girl code.”

  My curiosity piqued. “Well, hell, now I want to know.”

  “You can’t know!” Waylynn bit out. “Now answer the goddamn question before I twist your balls up and pull them around your neck.”

  I stepped away from my older sister and swallowed hard. “Jesus, poor Jonathon,” I whispered.

  “Cord!” Paxton exclaimed.

  “Fine! What do you want me to tell you? We made love, it was amazing, I’ve never felt this way before in my entire life. I’m scared shitless because I’ve never felt this way, but it’s a weird kind of scared. I woke up with her in my arms, and I knew I wasn’t ever going to be able to wake up again without her in my arms. All I can think about is making her happy and hearing that damn accent of hers. She scares me, and thrills me, and makes me want things I’ve never even thought I’d be wanting. I love her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, marry her, have a couple of kids. I’m freaking out because I don’t think like that! But that’s…well…that’s where I’m at.”

  I blew out a loud sigh.

  All five of them stared at me with goofy grins on their faces.

  “I can’t believe it,” Waylynn said. “Did you just say you loved her?”

  “I don’t care if y’all think it’s too soon. It’s how I feel.”

  With tears in my older sister’s eyes, she softly said, “Cord Parker has been bit by the love bug.”

  Paxton smiled. “I knew the moment you first looked at her she was the one. Something about you instantly changed, Cord. Don’t be scared.”

  “Well, I am, because I know I’m going to fuck it up.”

  “No, you won’t,” Harley said.

  Corina walked up to me next. “Just be yourself, Cord. And if something scares you, tell her. Be honest with her. This is new for you and not that I don’t think you can be a one-woman kind of guy, but I think you need to take things slow.”

  The rest of them agreed.

  “Now, go upstairs and see her. We helped her move her stuff into the master you’re staying in. Mom and Dad will stay in the other bedroom.”

  “Is she okay?” I asked, my heart beating erratically.

  “Maybe a little traumatized that my daughter walked in on y’all doing…er…whatever it was you were doing, but other than that, she seems blissfully happy.”

  Chuckling, I shook my head and then kissed each one of them on the cheek before heading up the stairs to the second floor. The last thing I wanted to do was walk back through the main living room where everyone was waiting.

  The door to the bedroom was shut. I opened it and saw Maebh sitting on the window seat, her chin resting on her knees as she stared out over the lake.

  “Hey,” I softly said.

  She turned and smiled. “It’s like a family reunion.”

  Rubbing the back of my neck, I sighed and shut the door. “Yeah, I’m sorry. If you want to leave…”

  Her smile instantly fell.

  “No, I don’t mean you leave. If you want us to leave, we can.”

  The corners of her mouth rose. “No, I don’t want to leave. I love your family and I think your mother had good intentions. The girls said she found out I was a virgin and panicked. Said she had to save me from your evil clutches.”

  I groaned as I sat down on the seat. Lifting my leg, I motioned for her to come to me. She did and sat with her back pressed against my chest. We looked out the window, neither one of us saying anything until Maebh broke the silence.

  “Are we moving too fast? The girls were surprised we said we loved each other.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. I’m sure any normal guy would wait a bit before busting out those three words.”

  Her body shook with a light chuckle.

  “But when I felt it in my heart, I wanted to tell you. I’ve never felt that before and why should I hold it in?”

  Her body tensed in my arms.

  “Talk to me, Maebh.”

  “What if this is just different for you? The girl you thought you didn’t want, but turned out you did. The something different that you craved…and soon you’ll get sick off.”

  Now it was my turn to tense up. I wanted her to trust me and my feelings.

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  Her head dropped back to my chest. “Cord, what if you miss being with other women? Do you really think you can stop and be with just me?”

  Pushing her away, I turned so she was facing me.

  “I can’t even tell you the last time I slept with a woman. All I’ve been thinking about for months is you. I don’t want anyone besides you, agra.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes. “Please don’t hurt me, Cord. I don’t think me heart could take it if you broke it.”

  My heart fucking felt like it was breaking in two. I never wanted to be the reason this woman cried. Ever. My hands cupped her face and I drew her mouth closer to mine.

  “I feel the same way about you, baby. I’ve never given my heart away to anyone and you hold the power to completely destroy me if you wanted to.”

  Her gaze flicked across my face before landing back on my eyes.

  “We’ve got a serious problem, though.”

  Pulling in my brows, I asked, “What is it?”

  She chewed on her lip before saying, “I want you, and there’s a whole house of Parkers.”

  I laughed. “Oh, I’ve already figured out how to handle that.”

  “Is that so? Care to share with me? Or better yet, care to show me?”

  Shaking my head, I replied, “You’ll let it slip to someone else and they’ll be using our nooky place.”

  “Nooky place?”

  Pulling her body back against mine, I said, “Yep. Our secret sex place.”

  Maebh laughed. “I can’t wait to see where this is.”

  Waylynn had somehow managed to get all the women, including my mother, to go shopping in Marble Falls. It was just the guys with the kids. Our father conveniently slipped out of the house to go check on his lake buddy next door.

  Sitting back with a beer in one hand and a remote in the other, Wade and I watched Jonathon, Steed, and Mitchell handle their kids. Tripp was in the corner with Chloe. Since he was married to a vet, she’d enlisted him to do surgery on her doll whose arm had been ripped off by Hemi in a tug of war between Chloe and the dog.

  “Make you want one?” I asked Wade with a chuckle.

  “In a way, yes. But Amelia is thinking about this movie deal and if she goes for it, I’m not sure now would be the time.”

  I turned to him. “Why not?”

  He lifted his beer to his mouth and took a drink. “I don’t want her being stressed out while pregnant. Plus, I don’t think she’s ready for that yet. Kids, I mean.”

  “Have you asked her?”

  His head jerked to look at me. “Why, has she said something about wanting kids?”

  I could see the hope dancing in his eyes. I lifted my hand up, “Whoa, don’t go getting all daddy on me. I haven’t talked to her about it and the other girls haven’t said anything to me. From the look in your eyes, I’m thinking y’all need to talk about this.”

  Rubbing the back of his neck, he tilted it side to side, cracking it. “I know. I just want her to decide on the movie thing first before I say anything.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Wade leaned forward, his brows constricted. “Steed? What’s Gage got that he’s pushing up his nose?”

  Steed had been showing Jonathon a trick—how to get Liberty’s pants on easier—when he glanced up at his son.

  “Gage? What do you got there, buddy?”

  Steed’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he looked closer.

  “Holy shit! Something’s up his nose!” Steed cried out.

  “Hell! Shit! Fuck!” Chloe yelled out, knowing her father wasn’t going to get after her since her baby brother currently had something lodged in his nose.

  But Tripp did. “Chloe Parker. You k
now better!”

  Her little shoulders dropped, and she skipped over to Steed and bent down to take a look for herself.

  “Daddy, let me look. I’m a mommy and I know what to do.”

  My gaze lifted to Steed. He shrugged. “Her baby dolls.”

  “It’s a noodle,” Chloe declared.

  “Holy shit, they really are born with it,” Wade whispered next to me. I attempted not to laugh as Steed stared at his daughter and then let out a somewhat scared-sounding laugh.

  “A…noodle? Pumpkin, what do you mean?”

  “Yep. The kind that you make ’roni and cheese with.”

  Steed swallowed hard. “That’s up his nose? How do we get it out?”

  Chloe shrugged. “Don’t ask me. You’re the dad.”

  Steed picked up Gage, panic written all over his face.

  “What’s going on?” Mitchell asked. He had just put Merit down for a nap.

  “Gage shoved a piece of macaroni up his nose,” Jonathon answered.

  Mitchell looked down at Gage who was looking up at Mitchell and smiling. When my brother gagged at that noodle lodged in his nose, I nearly pissed myself laughing.

  “Dude, calm down. It’s a piece of pasta. Just have him blow his nose, it will come out. And Mitchell, since when does pasta make you gag?” I asked.

  “Since it’s stuck up a person’s nose!” he replied.

  Twenty minutes later, we had a crying Gage who wanted the pasta out of his nose. We were all staring at one other as we tried to come up with ideas. Gage couldn’t blow his nose and only got frustrated the more we tried to get him to do it.

  “You gotta do it, Daddy,” Chloe said, staring up at her father. Her hands were on her hips exactly like my sister Waylynn’s had been earlier today when she was grilling me about Maebh. It had to be a Parker woman thing.

  “You do,” I said as Tripp, Jonathon, Mitch, and Wade all nodded in agreement.

  “She’s going to kill me,” Steed said.

  “Better you than me,” Chloe piped in, causing most of us to laugh. Steed was the exception.

  “Wonder where she learned that?” Tripp chuckled.

  “Chloe, you call Mommy from Daddy’s phone.”

  My adorable niece held out her hand and rolled her eyes. If she had been twenty years older I could imagine her saying, “Give it to me. Women have to do all the dirty work.”