by Rachel Hanna
“I have to ask,” he said through quick breaths as he pulled away for a moment.
“What?” she breathed back, her lips ready to land on his again.
“Are you mad that I kissed you?”
“Do I seem mad?” she asked with a seductive smile before she grabbed his head and pulled him toward her.
They walked sideways to get shelter from any prying eyes and leaned against the large magnolia tree in the front yard.
“My God, you’re a fantastic kisser,” he said as he slid his lips over her neck.
“You’re not so bad yourself…” she said, her head falling backward to give him better access.
“I’ve never done this with my boss before,” he said. “Of course, my bosses have always been men…”
“Brad?” she said, stopping him with her index finger over his lips. “Shut up, okay?”
He laughed and pulled her close again, and the night wore on as they exhausted themselves under the magnolia tree.
Chapter 8
Rebecca stood there staring at her son. He was leaving soon for a three week trip with the local church youth group, and she was going to miss him. Still, he was getting involved and that was a good thing. Leo had had a hard time fitting in after they moved from New York, but her relationship with Jackson Parker had changed all that.
Jackson had changed everything about her life, actually. After losing her husband in the September 11th attacks, she’d decided to remain alone forever, but Jackson wasn’t having any of that.
He’d been a wonderful role model to Leo and the perfect partner for her. She loved her life in January Cove, and everyday it was only getting better.
“Mom, I’ll be fine. We’re only going to West Virginia.”
“I know, but I’m your mother and it’s still hard.”
He was going with his youth group to volunteer in some underprivileged areas, and she was so proud of him. He was growing up into a man, and Jackson was showing him what kind of man to be.
They spent a lot of time together throwing the football and fishing. Leo finally had a father to call his own, and it was a blessing.
Jackson had started mentioning their future a lot lately, but Rebecca wasn’t sure. She’d never seen herself as married again, but she knew that wasn’t logical or practical. She wanted to be with Jackson for the rest of her life, but she felt almost like she was betraying her husband’s memory by walking down that aisle with another man.
Again, not logical, but logic has little place when it comes to emotions.
“Okay, it’s time to go eat,” Rebecca said after being lost in thought for a few minutes.
“Where’s Jackson?”
“He’ll meet us at the Parker house,” Rebecca said as she grabbed her purse and they headed for the Sunday brunch.
* * *
“Welcome, welcome…” Adele said as her children walked through the door one by one.
Everyone was there, and she loved it. Having them all together was precious to her, but that would soon change and she wasn’t sure how anyone would take it.
“Hey, Mom. What smells so good in here?” Aaron asked as he and Tessa hugged Adele.
“My pot roast and homemade apple pie,” Adele said, and Aaron’s mouth immediately began to water for his mother’s famous cooking.
“Hey, Mama Adele,” Clay said as he walked through the door with Addison closely behind holding her prized little girl. Adele immediately reached for her, and this time she won as Addy let the baby go.
“Wow, I can’t believe it…” Adele muttered as she walked away with her granddaughter in tow.
“Hello, Parker people!” Brad yelled from the doorway with Ronni on his arm. Everyone stared for a moment, but Brad shot them a look of warning.
“Hey, sweetie,” Adele said as she hugged her son. “And you must be Ronni?”
“I am,” Ronni said with a smile. Adele pulled her into a side hug and welcomed her.
“See? They’re not so bad,” Brad whispered to her.
“I never said they were bad.”
“No, but you were scared. They’ll love you like I…” he said and then stopped himself. What an idiot. What kind of guy professes his love in such a short period of time… to his boss?
“Excuse me?”
“Hey, do you like pie?” he said, changing the subject as he tried to pull her to the kitchen.
“Brad, what did you say?” she asked again.
“I misspoke. It’s okay. Don’t panic.”
She stood there, cocked her head to the side and took a deep breath before looking at him. “That’s the thing. It didn’t panic me.”
With that, she walked away into the kitchen and started talking to Addison. The question was, did it panic Brad?
* * *
After lunch, the family retired to the screened porch to have coffee and dessert. Everyone was talking and laughing, as usual, but Brad could tell his mother was tense.
She was fidgeting and kept whispering to Harrison, and Brad was worried. What if her health was failing again? The mild stroke she’d had a year ago was always on his mind, and he didn’t want her to stress out.
Finally, she cleared her throat.
“Can I have everyone’s attention for a minute?”
The kids all stopped talking and looked at Adele. When she demanded attention, she got it.
“I have an announcement to make, and I thought doing it today made the most sense because we’re all here together.”
“Mom, you’re scaring me. Is everything okay?” Addison asked, bringing up what everyone was thinking.
“My health is fine, so no worries about that.” A collective sigh of relief was audible throughout the room. “But this is big news, and I hope you’ll all take it as good news… because I do.” Brad noticed his mother sending a knowing smile toward Harrison Gibbs, and he was sure this was about the two of them and not just her alone.
“Don’t leave us hanging, Mom,” Jackson said, crossing his arms and smiling.
“Okay. Ya’ll know that Harrison and I have enjoyed spending time together,” she started as she tenderly placed her hand on his shoulder. He sat in the chair beside where she was standing, her small frame still a large presence in the room. “A few days ago, Harrison proposed.” She grinned as big as Brad had ever seen, and it filled him with joy that his mother would finally have a partner in life. She deserved it more than anyone he knew.
The room erupted in congratulations and laughter and hugs, but Adele wasn’t finished. “Wait… wait! That’s not all…”
“You’re not pregnant, are you?” Aaron said, which garnered a huge round of laughter.
“You sure would feel funny if I answered yes to that question, my dear son, but no. I’m certainly not pregnant!” she giggled. “But this might be even bigger. I’m leaving January Cove.”
“What?” Jackson almost yelled, probably because he’d uprooted his life in Atlanta by staying in January Cove for his mother. Well, sort of. He’d also found the love of his life, and he certainly wasn’t leaving her.
“I know this is a shock to all of you, but Harrison and I want to spend our later years getting to do all of those things we never got to do while we were raising kids. We want to travel and see things. I haven’t been on a vacation in years, and it’s just time.”
“But what about Anna Grace?” Addison couldn’t help but say. She felt terribly guilty for it, but she wanted her daughter to know her mother.
“Oh, sweetie, we’ll come visit. I promise. I would never miss out on seeing her grow up!”
“What about the real estate company?” Jackson asked.
“Well, I was sort of hoping my sons might team up and take my place…” she said coyly.
“Mom…” Jackson said.
“I know, I know… You’re all busy. But maybe you could run things just until I can sell the company?”
“I guess we could do that,” Kyle finally piped in as he pulled Jenna close to his
side. He couldn’t begrudge his mother for wanting to finally live her life. She’d spent her whole life raising kids alone, and all of those dreams she’d had with their father had gone by the wayside because of it. Now was her time.
“Well, I for one admire you for doing this, Adele. It’s courageous to start a whole new life at any age, and I respect you for it,” Ronni suddenly heard herself saying. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken out. I know this is a family thing…”
“No, honey, I appreciate it. And if you’re here with a son of mine, you’re already part of the family. My boys only bring home the best,” she said smiling. Brad’s face turned red, but Ronni’s might have been even redder.
“So, what’s the plan from here?” Kyle asked.
“Harrison and I are going to the Justice of the Peace tomorrow.”
“What?” Jackson said a little more forcefully than he meant to.
“No need to wait at our age,” Harrison said with a smile. There were a few muffled laughs from the kids.
“True story,” Brad said.
“Anyway… After we get married, we plan to rent a motorhome for a couple of months and travel up the East coast. Go wherever the wind takes us,” Adele said as she smiled sweetly at Harrison. Brad had never seen his mother so happy, and it was good to see.
“Well, congratulations to you both,” Jenna said as she walked over and hugged Adele tightly. “No one deserves it more than you.”
The family spent a lot of time together for the rest of the day, recounting old stories and laughing a lot, as they usually did. Ronni seemed to fit in well, spending a lot of time talking to Rebecca and Tessa.
“She seems nice,” Jenna said as she appeared beside Brad and slipped her arm through his.
“She’s very nice…”
“Oh, so tight lipped, by wonderful brother-in-law,” she giggled.
“For once, right?”
“Yeah, you’ve never been known for your quiet nature.”
“Well, she sometimes takes my ability to speak away.”
“Uh oh. I think you might be in love.”
“Jenna, I’ve only known her a couple of weeks. Don’t jump the gun,” he said with a smile, but without making eye contact.
“You Parker men are the worst liars…” she said under her breath as she walked away. Brad was afraid she just might be right. He’d never felt this way about any woman, including the one he was set to marry at one time.
“Well?” Ronni said as she took Jenna’s place at his side.
“Well what?” he asked, worried that she’d heard his conversation with Jenna. His stomach knotted up.
“What do you think?” Her expectant look was not what he anticipated. She looked hopeful and happy and not at all irritated by what she’d obviously heard.
“Um… It seems like a good thing, right? I mean love is always a wonderful thing to experience… I think…” he was rambling now. He looked into her beautiful eyes, and she continued smiling.
“Of course I think so! New beginnings always make me smile.”
“Really?”
“Brad Parker, do you think I’m so cold hearted that hearing these professions of love wouldn’t warm my heart a bit?” she asked as she inched up and put her hands on his chest.
“You surprise me every minute, Ronni Blair,” he whispered into her ear. She jumped a bit and he swore he heard her moan as his lips brushed against her earlobe.
She leaned back and smiled at him. “I’m happy for them. I think it’s wonderful.”
“Them? Who?” he asked, suddenly confused by their conversation.
“Your Mom and Harrison, of course. I thought that’s who we were talking about…” she said before her face changed and she stepped back. “Wait…”
“Hey, you want some of those little mini quiche things? They’re like egg pies… really good… with bacon and cheese, I think…” he said as he started to walk away. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back. For such a thin woman, she sure had great upper body strength.
“Brad, were you talking about us?” she whispered as she pulled him around the corner and out of sight.
“Seriously, if I don’t get some quiche now, I’m just going to leave.” What the heck was he saying?
“Brad.” She said his name in a similar fashion to how his ninth grade teacher, Mrs. Sykes, used to say it. He hated that woman, but right now he would kiss her full on the lips if she’d drop from heaven and save him.
“What?”
“Were you talking about loving… me?” she asked softly without breaking eye contact.
He took a deep breath in and then let it out as he stared up at the ceiling. “And what if I was?”
“Well, that would be crazy, for one thing. We barely know each other!” her whisper was more of a hushed yell, but she didn’t seem angry. She seemed incredulous, maybe, but not angry.
“And how long do we need to know each other?” he asked, finally making eye contact. He genuinely wanted to know the answer.
“Excuse me?”
“Well, just tell me when I can consider the option of loving you.” He pulled out his iPhone for effect and opened the calendar. “Is late August good for you? No? Too soon? What about Halloween?”
“Quit being an idiot,” she said as she pushed his phone down away from between them.
“Impossible.”
“True story.”
“See? You ‘get’ me, Ronni Blair,” he said as he slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her into one of the spare bedrooms on the main floor. He locked the door behind them.
“What are you doing? Your whole family is out there!” she said without making any real attempt to escape the situation.
“I’m aware of the location of my family…” he said through kisses down her neck.
“Brad…” She was trying to have rational thoughts, but his lips were making it extra hard.
He stopped long enough to put his hands on both of her cheeks. “Ronni, I’ll admit it. I’ve fallen madly in love with you, and it makes no sense. You’ve irritated me since day one, but I knew the first moment I saw you that I couldn’t live my life without you. Now, this profession of love might make you think I’m desperate or crazy, and maybe you’ll run away and file a restraining order against me, but I think you feel the same way.”
“I…”
He put his finger over her lips. “And you don’t have to say a thing. I don’t need to hear it. I just need you to know how I feel, okay?” He leaned down and looked at her eye to eye.
“You make no sense to me, Brad Parker… But I won’t be filing a restraining order because I’d break it over and over again to be with you,” she said, grabbing his collar and pulling his lips to hers.
Unfortunately, Brad had no idea that secrets were about to be revealed and things weren’t always what they seemed.
* * *
Aaron drove up to his small cabin in the campground he ran and stood for a moment staring at the front door. Inside were his two favorite people, Tessa and Tyler. The love of his life and… the other love of his life. He couldn’t imagine not having his son, and a blood relationship just didn’t matter to him.
Not that he didn’t want to make a whole bunch of beautiful babies with Tessa one day, or at least do a lot of “trying”.
After a hard day at work, his favorite thing was to come home, wrap his arms around her waist and kiss the crook of her neck. She always smelled like a mixture of the ocean and chocolate chip cookies, both of which were two of his other favorite things.
“Well, hello…” he said as he slipped his arms around her waist. Tyler was passed out asleep on the sofa that was pushed against one wall of their small cabin. Cartoons were on the TV, as usual, and a juice box sat perched on the edge of the sofa that Kyle had given them as a hand-me-down a few months ago.
“Hey there, my sexy man,” she said, as she always did, before she turned around and gave him one of those kisses that still made his legs weak.
“Whatcha cooking?” he asked after noticing a little smoke coming from the oven.
“Dang it!” Tessa yelped. She grabbed a hot pad and opened the oven door. Smoke billowed out, and it wasn’t long before the smoke alarm started blaring. This woke Tyler up, of course, and he started crying out of fear.
For a moment, Aaron stood there taking in the scene. His girlfriend running around like a headless chicken holding something that was big and black in a pan. Tyler was crying, and that was the only thing that broke him out of his daze.
“This blessed oven cooks so much faster than it should. Dinner is ruined,” she sighed.
Tyler pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay. I know somewhere we can go for dinner.”
“I’m not dressed for going out,” she said, looking down at her casual t-shirt and jeans.
“The place I’m taking you has a very ‘homey’ feel anyway. Come on, get Tyler and let’s go!”
Within minutes, they were in the car and heading across town. Aaron wouldn’t tell her where they were going, and she’d tried every restaurant in town anyway.
“Can you please tell me where we’re going?” she asked once again. Aaron just smiled and squeezed her leg.
“Nope.”
A moment later, they were pulling up in a very familiar driveway. Tyler bounded out because he knew exactly where they were.
“We’re eating at your mother’s again?”
“Sort of.”
“You’re giving me a headache, Aaron Parker,” Tessa said with a half hearted laugh. “I really wasn’t up for this tonight. I’ve got a load of laundry to take to the laundromat before we run out of towels and…”
“Tessa… Trust me. Okay?” She smiled, and as usual it melted his heart.
“Okay.”
They got out of the car and walked inside, where Tyler was already playing with his stash of toy cars in the floor of the foyer.
