Keep Me Safe (24 page)

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I should be able to see them a lot more from now on anyway. There’s no big rush.”

“What, you didn’t get to see them that often before?”

“Not really. Brent didn’t like me traveling and they couldn’t really afford to fly here all the time. A lot of months between visits gets to me sometimes. We’ve always been so close.” He started rubbing his thumb on my arm and I felt instantaneous comfort.

“Well, we’ll make sure that you get to see them soon. Christmas, maybe? Maybe sooner?”

“Hopefully Christmas. That’s been the plan, anyway. Assuming your parents don’t hate me and you end up breaking up with me, how would you feel about coming home with me for Christmas? I mean, you don’t have to. Don’t feel obligated. You don’t even have to say anything right now,” I rambled.
Ugh,
I do that way too much
.

“Snowy Christmas, fire place, hot chocolate. Hmm. And with you? I’d say that would be the best Christmas ever. I’d love to go. And I have plenty of vacation days saved up, so it shouldn’t be a problem at all.” I tilted my head back to look at him and his smile was as big as mine.

He leaned down to kiss me and quickly separated my lips with his tongue. I accidentally let out a moan, probably since it felt like forever since I had seen him.

“Damn. I missed you,” he whispered while taking a breath, “and your noises.” I felt him smile against my lips. Normally I would’ve been embarrassed, but I wanted him so bad I couldn’t stand it. Now, I knew how race car drivers felt. My body could go from zero to ‘right now’ in seconds.

“I’ve missed you too.” He leaned me back until I was flat on the couch and he hovered over me. I reached down between us and grabbed his shirt and pulled it up. He grabbed the back and pulled it the rest of the way over his head and tossed it on the coffee table. God, his body. I seriously could watch him be shirtless all day long. It was like looking at sex. If sex were a person. A very hot person.

He lightly grabbed the back of my neck and starting kissing down to my collarbone. “Not wasting any time, are you?”

“No, not today. I need you, and it has to be right now.” I reached down and grabbed my own shirt and pulled it off. No reason to take any longer than necessary.

****************************************************************

I heard the seagulls before I opened my eyes. I quickly heard Parker’s heart beating under my ear and felt his arm around my back. I opened my eyes and saw us tangled in the sheets, the only thing separating our naked bodies from the open air. Of course there was the obvious reason why I loved being in bed with him, but the two of us comfortable enough to sleep together like this and wake up together was definitely a close second.

I heard Parker’s phone ring in his pants pocket. I assumed he heard it because he started to wiggle under me.

“Good morning, beautiful.” He stretched but put his arm back around me. “Was that my phone?”

“Yeah. Do you need to get up and get it?” I kept my hand on his chest hoping the answer was no.

“I don’t think so. What time is it?”

I looked over at my alarm clock. “9:15am. Wow, we actually slept in.”

“Shit,” he groaned.

“What’s wrong?” I sat up on my elbow.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just forgot that I have paperwork in my car that James needed for something today.”

“Poor thing. On Thanksgiving?”

“He’s a single guy with no family, and he always offers to work holidays, so they’re not short staffed. He’s probably the one calling. I told him I would come by the station before we went to Beth’s.”

“I think Beth said to come over around ten and I still have to put the pie in the oven. Will you be back in time?” I tried really hard not to pout.

“Yeah, I should be. Um,” he sat up and grabbed his pants, “tell you what. Why don’t you go ahead and get the pie in the oven and get ready, and I will come back here to get you and we’ll go over there together.”

“Okay, that’s fine. I should be ready to go by 10. Or 10-ish.” I smiled.

Parker leaned over and kissed me goodbye. “I’m sorry baby. I totally forgot about the papers. I should’ve told you last night. I’ll make it up to you, okay?”

“Ooh, I like the sounds of that.” I wrapped the sheet back around my body and laid back down.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already got something in mind.” He winked and put his shirt back on. He grabbed his shoes and carried them out the door.

I threw a big t-shirt on and went down to the kitchen. I took the pie out of the box and put it in after very carefully reading the instructions twice. I really was a terrible baker. It was just a frozen, store-bought apple pie, but if there was anyone who could screw it up, it would be me.

Once I got the pie started, I headed upstairs and took a shower. When I stood in my closet to pick something out, I ended up with a pair of jeans, and a white short sleeved chiffon shirt with a tan tank top underneath. I was going for cute and comfortable today and my brown canvas flats were perfect for that. I wasn’t going to dress up, but I didn’t want his parents to think I was a bum either.

After I did my hair and makeup, I went downstairs and had two minutes to spare on the oven timer. I checked my cell phone to make sure I didn’t miss any calls and of course I didn’t. It was 9:55 already though. I hoped Parker wasn’t too late.

My phone rang.
Speak of the devil.

“Hey you.”

“Hey. I’m running a few minutes behind. Why don’t you go ahead and just meet me over at Beth’s in, um, fifteen minutes?”

“Okay, see you then.”

“See ya gorgeous.”
Click.

I swear that anything related to Parker made time go by so damn slow. I debated just going over to Beth’s now, but the oven timer had just beeped and giving the pie fifteen minutes to cool down was probably a good idea. I grabbed my e-reader and sat on the couch to get in another few chapters.

Twenty-seven

I put the pie on a small baking sheet and walked next door. I saw Parker’s Mustang in the driveway and another car, Kate and Charlie’s I guessed. Parker wasn’t too late. I didn’t realize he had beaten me here. I knocked on the door and Beth answered.

“Hey! Happy Thanksgiving. Here, let me take that.” She grabbed the pie from me and walked back towards the kitchen.

“Happy Thanksgiving to you, too. Thanks again for having me over.”

Parker walked around the corner and hugged me tight as he kissed me on the cheek. He was showered and was dressed in jeans and a navy blue polo. He at least had time to change. “Hey baby. Are you ready? My parents are already here.”

I took a deep breath and straightened my shirt. “Sure, let’s do it.” I smiled, but I suddenly wasn’t so sure. Parker grabbed me by the hand and walked me into the living room. When I made eye contact with who I assumed was his mom, they both stood up.

“Sadie, this is my mom Kate and my dad Charlie.” Charlie reached out his hand and I shook it, and his mom skipped the handshake. She stepped in front of me and gave me a hug.

“We’re a huggin family. I hope you don’t mind.” She pulled away and smiled. “It’s so nice to meet you! My Parker can’t stop talking about you.”

I started to blush. “It’s so nice to meet you too, Mrs. Stevens.”

“Oh please, honey. Call me Kate. Mrs. Stevens is my mother-in-law.” She laughed and I felt a little more at ease. Charlie was looking past me at ESPN playing on the TV, but I didn’t hold that against him. I loved Thanksgiving football, too.

“Hey, there’s someone else you need to see.” Parker grabbed me by the hand and pulled me towards the kitchen. As I got close to walking around the corner, I smelled lavender.

My mom and dad!

“Hey sweet pea! Told you we’d see ya soon.” My mom and dad both walked up and hugged me simultaneously. I looked past them to Parker who was standing behind them in my line of vision. What I could see of him anyway, my eyes were filled with tears.

“Mom, dad, how…when?” Parker smiled and I knew this was his doing.

“Parker called us last week, Honey. Told us you were homesick. He flew us out here so we could be here for Thanksgiving.” My mom was teary eyed too.

When my parents let go of me, I just stood there with my hands on my cheeks, so completely overwhelmed. I walked up to Parker and put my hands on his sides.

“You did this, for me?” I started to cry.

He reached up and wiped my tears with his thumbs. “Of course. I’d do anything for you. Happy Thanksgiving, baby.” He kissed me gently enough that it wasn’t awkward in front of my parents.

“How did you…when did you plan all of this?” As much as I felt thankful, I was very confused.

“I called them last week. I sort of went through yours to get their number last week when you were taking a shower.” The mischievous look on his face right now was so damn cute.

I squeezed him around the waist and put my head against his chest. “That was very sneaky. I love it. Thank you, so much.”

When I let go, I realized his parents, plus Matt and Beth were standing in the kitchen watching the whole thing. I’m sure my makeup looked like a mess, but I didn’t care. I held onto Parker’s waist while standing to the side of him. Thank goodness for his arm around me. For some reason I felt like I needed the support, so I didn’t fall over.

“You all knew about this?” Everyone just nodded. I let out a deep sigh with a smile on my face. I couldn’t even describe how I was feeling right now besides pure joy.

“Thank you. All of you.” There just were no other words.

“Alright, no more crying Sadie Marie. Let’s get to work on some food and football, okay darlin?” Leave it to my dad to be the sensible one.

“Alright Daddy.” I laughed. My parents walked out of the kitchen with Parker’s parents and they continued talking into the living room.

When the only other person left in the kitchen was Beth, I turned around and stood on my tiptoes and threw my arms around Parker’s neck. Between that and the kiss I laid on him, I almost knocked him right over.

“Wow, what was that for?” He smiled mischievously again.

“Oh please, like you don’t know. Thank you Parker. From the bottom of my heart.” I hugged him again.

“Then you better get used to it because there is plenty more where that came from.”

We let go of each other and walked over to the island where Beth was checking on the turkey.

“Do you need any help with anything?” I asked. She turned around and looked the counter over.

“No, I’m fine in here. Go hang out with your mom and dad. There are plenty of people who can help me.”

“Alright, but call me if you need anything.” Beth smiled at me and Parker and I walked out to the living room.

My mom and dad were sitting on the loveseat, so I walked over and sat right between them and put a hand on their knees that were closest to me. “I missed you guys so much. I still can’t believe you’re here.” I put my arm around my mom’s shoulder and squeezed.

“Me either, honey. Parker called us last week, and ended up talking to your dad for probably a half hour. Those two hit it off big time.”

I looked over at Parker sitting on the other side of the room. He kept glancing at me, but I was pretty sure he couldn’t hear me. “What do you think of him, Mom?”

“Oh, I think you did good with this one, honey. He must really care about you to spend all that money to fly us here just because you were homesick.”

I smiled, knowing she was right. “He does. I’m crazy about him, Mom.”

“Then that’s good enough for me.” My mom thought the world of Brent at the beginning, but she was questioning me about him more and more as time went on. Part of me wondered if she thought there was something going on that I never told her. The fact that Parker called and talked to them, and convinced them to fly here, they both must’ve really liked him already.

About thirty minutes later, Beth yelled that dinner was ready. We all walked into the kitchen and sat at the table. It was a tight squeeze with all nine of us, but we made it work. I sat as close to Parker as possible with my mom on the other side.

Matt stood up, and explained that part of their family tradition was, before everyone ate, each person had to say one thing that they were thankful for. I watched as everyone at the table one by one said what they were thankful for, and my heart swelled.

Parker was next and he turned his head to look me in the eye before he spoke.

“Today I’m thankful for love. The love of our parents, the love of our family members, and the love of those who come into our life when we least expect it. I’m especially thankful for this woman right here. She brings something out of me that’s been missing for a very long time, and I don’t ever want that or her to be missing from my life. Thank you, Sadie, for reminding me of how much love one person can hold in their heart for someone else.”

He kissed my hand as the tears fell from my eyes. I knew it was my turn, but there was no way I could speak after that without being a blubbering mess. I waved my hand in front of my face and pointed to my mom to the left of me. They understood my signal and moved on to her.

Parker wiped my tears away with his thumb. His eyes had a sparkle and I swear they could speak to me. He leaned over and rested his cheek on mine, with his lips to my ears.

“I love you,” he whispered. My breath caught, but he didn’t move an inch. I just closed my eyes. “Don’t say anything. Just take what I said and let it set in. I love you, Sadie Montgomery. I’m so thankful that you picked me.”

Another tear fell from under my lashes. How could I possibly say anything after that? That sort of thing belonged in a greeting card.

He loves me.

I was shocked I didn’t stand up and scream it back to him. I opened my eyes and smiled at him. I was going to lose it if I tried talking right now. We both turned our attention back to the table, where both of us had been oblivious that everyone had already started eating. We spent the entire meal with our hands held under the table between us. It was a good thing I’m left-handed.