Reckless Love

by Kelly Elliott

  Trevor rolled his eyes, “Oh baby, you just wait. You’re now stuck forever with this family and let me tell you, my momma can knock back the booze and let her hair down. You have met my sisters, right?”

  The hostess chuckled. “If y’all will follow me, I’ll show you to the room.”

  Trevor placed his hand on my lower back, making my lower stomach pull with more than desire. Lust. Want. Need. This man was driving me insane, and I wasn’t sure if it was simply because we hadn’t been around in each other in weeks or because he was purposely trying not to touch me. Either way, my libido was through the roof.

  Trevor stopped us as we drew closer to the room. He leaned down and placed his mouth to my ear. A shiver ran down my spine when I felt the rush of warm air. I held my breath as I waited for him to speak.

  “The only thing I ever want to do from this point on is make you happy.”

  I went to ask what he meant, but he guided us into the room. I was still looking up at him confused as I heard a chorus of people yell out.

  “Congratulations!”

  Jumping, my hand went to my mouth, and I let out a scream of surprise. I scanned the room and saw the entire Parker family, my folks, and my grandparents.

  A huge, handmade sign in pink and blue hung behind them that read, “Congratulations, Trevor and Scarlett.”

  Pink, yellow, and blue balloons were everywhere. Before I had a chance to let it all process, a sea of Parkers rushed me. Each one hugged and kissed me on the cheek. I tried to hold my tears back, but finally gave up when little Chloe walked up and handed me a box.

  “It’s got a surprise in there for you, Ms. Scarlett!”

  I bent down to get eye level with her while quickly wiping away the silly tears that had gotten loose. “I love surprises!”

  Her face lit up and those Parker blue eyes beamed. “Me too! I think the baby will love the little goat toy I’m giving her! I bought it with my own money!”

  Glancing at Trevor, I widened my eyes. I wasn’t sure if Chloe realized she had given the surprise away or not, but I was over the moon. He winked.

  Focusing on Chloe, I pulled her in for a hug. “I can’t wait to see it! I’ll open it before you leave.”

  She squeezed me, then pulled back. “Does this mean I get to call you Aunt Scarlett?”

  My heart jumped to my throat. Before I had a chance to reply, Trevor intervened. “Yes, pumpkin. You can call her Aunt Scarlett.”

  “Yay!”

  Chloe ran off across the large room declaring she had a new aunt and couldn’t wait to tell the kids at school. Trevor watched her do a few jumps and twists, then said, “Well, that should get the rumor mill goin’.”

  I groaned.

  “My phone should be blowing up any minute now from the prayer chain asking for folks to pray for your quickie marriage,” Waylynn stated.

  Spinning around, I stared at Waylynn. “What?”

  She laughed. “Oh, man, this relationship is going to be so much fun to watch play out.”

  Waylynn pulled me in for a hug. “Don’t wait too long to get back with him. I’ve got a bet going with Paxton, and I really, really need to win.”

  My shocked expression made Trevor frown, but Waylynn pushed me back at arm’s length and gave me a knowing smile. “Just remember what we talked about at the pool party. Being big. You get my drift, girl.”

  My cheeks felt like they could heat up the entire room.

  “I bet people will forget all about Old Lady Hopkins walking in on us having…S-E-X,” Jonathon said as he cradled a sleeping Liberty.

  “That spells sex!” Chloe called out from across the room. Jonathon closed his eyes and cursed under his breath as he and Waylynn moved to the table to sit down.

  “Dude, they teach them to spell a lot younger these days, not like when we were in school,” Trevor reminded him.

  When my grandparents walked up to me, the tears almost started to flow. My grandmother hugged me so tenderly. This was what I had wanted when everyone found out. Happiness. Not shock, not expectations of what we were going to do. Just simple happiness.

  “Some words of advice, sweetie. Suck on peppermints to help with the morning sickness.”

  “Thank you, Granny.”

  She smiled and added, “Be sure to drink lots of water. The baby needs it.”

  Granddad nodded and smiled at my grandmother. This January they were going to celebrate their fifty-fifth wedding anniversary, and I knew I wanted a love like theirs. That kind of love was very rare, a unique relationship of give and take, of love and loss. I looked around at the Parker family and knew that every couple in this room was cut from the same cloth as my grandparents. My eyes landed on Trevor and I silently hoped that he was also cut from that same cloth as his parents and siblings…someone who would fight for a love that endures every hardship. Only time would tell with me and Trevor, and we had the next seven months to figure it out.

  “Lots of water and peppermint, Granny. Got it.”

  Granddad shook Trevor’s hand. “You better take care of my granddaughter or I’ll kick your ass from Texas all the way to Canada.”

  “Yes, sir. I promise to take care of both of them.”

  “That’s what I want to hear,” Granddad said, giving Trevor a firm slap on the back that caused Trevor to stumble a few steps.

  Trevor cough-whispered, “Damn, the old man is strong. He nearly brought up a lung.”

  I covered my mouth to hide my giggle as my parents walked up to us.

  It was as I expected it would be. Formal. As was everything with them. But I wouldn’t let that diminish my happiness in this moment. I did get a hug from my mom, though, so there was that.

  “Scarlett, darling, we’re so happy. Not how we wanted this to happen per se, but we are happy nonetheless! I cannot wait to shop for baby clothes together.” I could tell my mom was truly happy in her heart, but she had that worried edge to her words.

  “Trevor, I expect you to do right by my daughter and grandchild,” my father added.

  With a nod and a firm handshake, Trevor replied, “I will indeed, sir. I promise you that.”

  When the last two people walked up to us, it finally hit me what had just happened. I got my celebration. Everyone was here to celebrate our baby news, and it was all because of Trevor. He made this happen and he did it for me. My heart felt like it was about to burst. I was so excited and appreciative for everything that he had done. I was almost on the verge of being speechless knowing what he’d pulled off in such a short period of time.

  Melanie took me in her arms and pressed her mouth to my ear. “Congratulations, sweetheart. We really are so happy for you both. I can’t wait to be a grandmother again!”

  “I can’t…wait…either,” I said between sobs. I hadn’t even broken down when my own mother hugged me, but there was something in Melanie’s voice. In her embrace. Something that told me everything was going to work out the way it should. That this wasn’t a mistake, that it was God’s plan, and everything would truly be okay with me and Trevor and our baby.

  John waited patiently until I got the tears under control, then gave me a hug and also gave one to his son, hitting him on the back just as hard as granddad did. I had a feeling there was more to those slaps than I knew or could understand.

  When we stood alone, I looked up at Trevor. He had a huge smile on his face as he scanned the room.

  “Were you surprised?” he asked, looking down at me, the smile not faltering.

  No words would form, and if they did, I knew I would start crying the moment I spoke. I nodded, covered my mouth and began to cry anyway.

  Trevor wrapped his arms around me, allowing me to bury my face in his chest while I got my stupid pregnancy emotions under control. Inhaling his woodsy cologne, I closed my eyes and got lost in the feeling of being in his arms.

  “I did it for you, Scarlett.”

  I replied in a muffled voice, “I know. Thank you. You’ll never know how much this meant t
o me.”

  Trevor stared down at me. “All I want is for those to be happy tears. Are they?”

  “Yes!” I said, wiping them from my cheek. “Thank goodness I wore waterproof mascara.”

  What Trevor did next made my heart stop. Hell, it made everything in the room stop. He leaned down and kissed my left cheek softly, then my right, and finished it with a kiss to my forehead. When he turned to walk over to everyone, I took hold of his arm and stopped him.

  On tiptoe, I placed my hand on the side of his face, letting him know I wanted him to kiss me. He looked unsure at first, almost afraid. But he lowered his face and our lips met. It was soft and tender. Like the very first kiss this man ever gave me. The one that sealed my heart to him. When I opened my mouth to his, he groaned and just barely slipped his tongue into my mouth before he bit my lower lip and pulled his mouth away.

  It hadn’t been much, but it was what he needed, and I was more than happy to give it to him.

  “Thank you,” he whispered before guiding us both over to the large table that was set up in the room. Everyone was taking their seats and when Chloe called the seat next to me, I felt a warmth spread over me I’d never felt before.

  Love.

  A completely different type of love that was so foreign to me. And one I never wanted to let go.

  “It’s going to be fun being pregnant with you, Scarlett!” Harley said. She and Tripp were sitting directly across from us.

  “I think so, too! We can see which one of us eats more pints of ice cream or who has the craziest cravings, right?” I couldn’t contain the grin that spread from ear to ear when I looked at Harley.

  I snuck a peek at Amelia, but she was lost in a conversation with Paxton. She looked beautiful. Her smile nearly lit up the room. When my gaze caught Wade’s, he winked at me. He knew what I was thinking. I wished the whole table knew about Amelia’s pregnancy, as well.

  “I can’t believe you’re going to be a dad before me,” I heard Cord saying to Trevor.

  “I can’t help it if my sperm are better than yours. That takes STAM-IN-A, Cord. I can give you some hints if you need any on how to improve the stamina, just say the word.”

  Cord smacked Trevor upside his head and everyone within earshot started laughing.

  I stared at Trevor, my mouth gaping. “Really, Trevor? Right here you’re going to bring that up?” I whispered as he laughed.

  “Whatever, little brother. You believe what you want, Farmer Smurf.”

  Steed lost it laughing, as did Tripp.

  “Farmer Smurf?” I asked, looking at all the guys who were now in hysterics. Well, all of them except for my father and John. John, however, did have a slight smile on his face.

  “Hey, unlike the rest of you bastards, I’ll take that title proudly, thank you.”

  They all stopped laughing and stared at Trevor like something monumental had just happened. Clearly, I didn’t get it.

  “Wow. I’m not sure what to say to that, Trev,” Wade added, looking at his best friend with the same expression as his brothers.

  “What’s happening right now?” I asked, glancing around the table.

  “Don’t ask. It is some stupid thing they all have going on. There are some things better left unknown, Scarlett. Best you figure that out now,” Harley said as Waylynn nodded in agreement.

  “What’s going on?” Mitchell asked, sitting back down at the table and placing Merit in her high chair.

  “I think Trevor just accepted his Smurf name, proudly and without argument,” Jonathon stated, surprise in his voice.

  “Smurf name?” I asked, confused as all get out. I tried to heed Harley’s advice, but the way the guys were acting made me curious.

  “No shit!?” Mitchell said with laugh.

  “Uncle Mitchell swore!” Chloe yelled as Paxton covered Chloe’s mouth, clearly expecting something else to follow.

  “Boys! How many times do I have to say no swearing! There are going to be more and more children at this table who can repeat that stuff!” Melanie exclaimed.

  Suddenly, Gage busted out his rendition of Mitchell. “No…chit!”

  Steed and Paxton both gasped, while hushed snickers erupted around the table.

  “Oh! Gage, you said a bad word!” Chloe declared.

  “Lord help me,” Steed stated as he looked down at his son. “We do not say bad words, Gage.”

  The little boy stared up at his father, big blue eyes filled with happiness. A smile that would melt anyone’s heart.

  “Patches!” Gage shouted.

  “That’s just as much of a bad word,” Waylynn said softly while taking a drink of wine.

  The entire table erupted in laughter. Even I knew about Patches. Chloe, on the other hand, smiled proudly.

  “I taught Gage that word!” she stated with pride.

  The rest of dinner was filled with endless conversations happening all around the table. How Liberty and Merit slept through it all was beyond me. I guess they were used to loud crowds. With this family, I would think they would have to get used to it.

  Trevor leaned down and bumped my shoulder.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  I decided to tell him the truth and not brush it off.

  “How amazing your family is. They are loud, and crazy, and a million different conversations are happening all at once and half the kids are asleep through all of it. Chloe is adorable, Gage has stolen my heart, and oh my goodness. Liberty and Merit.”

  Looking Trevor in the eyes, I grinned. “I can’t wait for this baby. I’m so happy, Trevor.”

  My breath stalled. Trevor was looking at me with an expression I’d never seen on his face before, or at least, had never noticed it.

  “I am too, Scarlett. I can’t wait to add to the crazy.”

  He kissed the back of my hand before turning to Jonathon who asked him something about a tractor that needed fixing. He didn’t let go of my hand, placing them both on the table between us. I also didn’t make an attempt to pull back. When I glanced around the table, I took everyone in.

  Harley and Tripp. The ultimate second-chance love story. I didn’t know the complete history, but I did know by looking at the two of them that they were meant to be together.

  Moving my gaze to Jonathon and Waylynn, I couldn’t help a smile as I watched Waylynn stare down at her sleeping daughter. Liberty was seven months old and a precious little thing.

  Melanie and John were at the end of the table with my parents and grandparents. Chloe had been sitting next to me at first but moved next to her mother because Gage needed help and that was what big sisters were for—according to Chloe. My grandmother was currently sitting to my right. Past Trevor was Cord and Maebh. Maebh was talking to Paxton across the table while Gage sat in Paxton’s lap. He was attempting to use the entire red crayon on the coloring sheet Paxton had placed in front of him. He was a little over a year and such a handsome little boy. He stole my heart the first time I ever met him.

  Next to Paxton was Steed, looking at Paxton like she hung the moon. My stomach dropped at the sight. It was beautiful to watch a man look at the woman he loved like that.

  Next to them, Wade and Amelia exchanged secret words. The smile on both of their faces almost screamed We have exciting news too. I couldn’t wait until they shared it.

  The last couple was Mitchell and Corina. Baby Merit had crashed in Mitchell’s arms. She was only about four months old, and my goodness did she have the bluest of blue eyes. I wanted to walk over and ask Mitchell if I could hold her, but Daddy was not about to let his little one out of his arms. Corina caught me staring and smiled.

  “Want to hold her?” she called out across the table. I jumped up, taking the invitation without hesitation.

  “Do you mind, Mitchell?”

  He laughed. “Not at all. She may be little, but she gets heavy after a while.”

  Mitchell stood and placed Merit in my arms. She didn’t wake up. Corina and I walked off to the side as I s
tared down at the baby in my arms.

  “Are you nervous?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Yes. A bit scared, really. I mean, they’re adorable when they’re other people’s!”

  She chuckled.

  “Thank you for letting me come work for you at the bed and breakfast after the baby is born. It’s going to help out so much.”

  Her smile was genuine. “Of course! It will be fun having you there, plus it frees up more time for me. My mom helps a ton, but it will be nice for her to be able to take a day off, as well.”

  I rocked back and forth while staring at Merit. She was so precious. Everything about her was perfect.

  Glancing up at Corina, I asked, “Do you know what the guys were talking about with the Smurf thing?”

  She grinned. “Cord started it, I think, with Steed or Mitchell. I’m not sure. He said once the guys fell in love they walked around with this goofy, happy expression. Cord said they had been Smurfed.”

  “Why Smurfs?” I asked with a little giggle.

  “Smurfs are happy little people. Cord’s given each of them a name. So when he called Trevor Farmer Smurf and Trevor didn’t argue with it, they were all surprised. He was basically saying he’s happy and in love, according to the guys’ secret language.”

  My eyes snapped over to Trevor. He was talking to Wade and Steed off to the side of the table. I watched him nod at something Wade was saying. He was so handsome he took my breath away. Lowering my gaze, I sighed internally at the way the man filled his jeans. It honestly made my mouth salivate knowing he didn’t have anything on but the jeans. Moving my gaze up to his button-up shirt, I could see his muscles move underneath the fabric.

  Damn. The man was hot as hell.

  “He loves you, Scarlett. I know he hasn’t always showed it, but we’ve all seen him struggle since last spring with his emotions about you.”

  The sting at the back of my eyes was becoming familiar, but I pushed it away.

  Focusing on Corina, I smiled. “It’s…complicated.”

  “Why?” she asked her voice so sincere. But it was a question I wasn’t even sure I could honestly answer.

  “I don’t know. I mean, he pushed me away for so many months, yet at the same time I felt like he didn’t want to push me away…if that makes sense.”