A sob-laugh came out as I answered him. “Yes, yes I’ll move in with you, Trevor.”
He pressed his mouth to mine. My arms wrapped around his neck and all I heard were people cheering. I didn’t even care that the entire bar was watching us. As far as I was concerned it was only the two of us.
Breaking our connection, Trevor gave me a wink before saying, “We’re leaving now.”
Not one to argue, I let him lead me off the dance floor, to the table to grab my purse, and out the door. I barely had time to say goodnight to everyone and we didn’t even get to hear Wade sing any more songs.
“What is the rush, Trevor Parker?” I asked with a giggle.
“I’m taking you home, and we’re making love all night.”
“What if I told you my body is exhausted.”
He stopped walking, concerned on his face. Even in the dark of night, I saw the fear in his eyes.
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
“What? No, not at all. I’m just tired, that’s all.”
“Then we’re going home to sleep. I don’t care what we do, as long as you’re in my arms.”
I couldn’t hide the smile on my face if I’d tried. Glancing over my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of someone coming out of Cord’s Place. It didn’t take me long to realize it was Eric.
I turned back to Trevor. This was the man I loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I could only hope that Eric had seen that tonight and finally realized I was happy. My phone buzzed in my purse and I knew it was him. Not wanting to ruin this amazing night, I decided to ignore it. I’d talk to Trevor about Eric tomorrow.
Tonight I simply wanted to be lost in his arms.
My mother stood in front of the Christmas tree in the family room, a box in her arms. It was December 9. The annual Parker family decorating day.
“Okay, everyone knows what to do. Harley, sweetheart, you’re on popcorn string duty.”
“Hey, that’s not fair! She gets to sit down the whole time!” Tripp argued.
Giving my brother a stern look, our mother cleared her throat. “Well, the minute we find out you’re six months pregnant with twins, then you can sit and string popcorn, Tripp.”
“Noted.” Kissing Harley on the cheek, Tripp grabbed the box and sat on the floor with a very curious Gage.
Scarlett peeked around the corner and smiled when she saw me. “Trevor? How long do the cookies stay in the oven?”
“Ten to twelve minutes,” I replied, heading in her direction. Scarlett was sixteen weeks pregnant and had the cutest baby bump. I loved running my hand over it when we were in bed. I couldn’t wait to feel the baby move for the first time. Her morning sickness was tapering off, but Amelia’s had kicked up. I smiled when I saw my sister in the kitchen. Amelia was closer to reaching the twenty-week mark and you could for sure see her baby bump.
“Mom said she wanted tacos, so tacos it is,” Waylynn said with a roll of her eyes. “Amelia, do you want to shred the cheese?”
My baby sister slipped off the stool, grabbed the block of cheese and got to work on shredding it.
“These look perfect!” Scarlett stated, pulling my butter pecan cookies from the oven.
“When can I eat one?” Waylynn asked, staring down at the pan of cookies, a hungry gleam in her eyes.
I rolled my eyes and pushed her out of the way. “Don’t you have a child and husband to take care of?”
The doorbell rang, and Waylynn jumped.
“That’s Liberty!”
Scarlett looked confused for a moment before it dawned on her. Liberty was the birth mother to Waylynn and Jonathon’s adopted baby girl who shared the same name as her birth mom.
Amelia gasped and then cried out, “Oh. My. God. Holy. Shit.”
Everyone looked at Chloe who held up her hands. “I wasn’t going to say anything!” Chloe declared.
“What’s wrong?” Scarlett asked Amelia, taking the cheese and grater out of her hands and guiding her to the table. Tears were forming in my sister’s eyes, and I started to have a semi-freak-out moment.
“Amelia, are you okay?” I asked, dropping down to eye level with her.
She nodded. “Can you please go get Wade?”
“I will!” Scarlett said, rushing out of the kitchen. Less than a minute later, she was back with Wade. He dropped down next to me, so I stood and backed away.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” He looked down at her hands on her stomach, nothing but fear in his eyes.
“I felt the baby.”
Scarlett let out a breath of air at the same time I did.
“What?” Wade asked, a huge smile covering his face.
“The baby, I felt her…or him. I kept feeling something all morning and when I felt it again, I knew it was the baby. It felt like gas sort of, but different.”
I glanced over to Scarlett, and we smiled at each other.
“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Mom asked, walking into the kitchen and looking at all of us.
“Aunt Meli felt her baby!” Chloe announced.
“What!? Oh my goodness, Amelia!”
Our mother rushed over to Amelia, nearly knocking Wade out of the way to pull her up into a hug.
I reached for Scarlett’s hand and kissed the back of it. When I stepped closer, I placed my mouth at her ear. “You’re next.”
Her hand went to her stomach. She nodded then whispered, “I can’t wait.”
Harley walked into the kitchen and declared, “Well, I already ran out of popcorn. I keep eating it.” She looked around and then stopped moving.
“Here! Here! Put your hand here!” she yelled out, pointing to her belly.
The sight before me was like nothing I’d seen before. Parker women came from everywhere, each pushing and shoving to place their hand on Harley’s stomach to feel one of the twins kicking.
Chloe won. Her little hand was on Harley’s stomach and she let out a squeal when she felt one of the babies kick.
“Get out of the way, kid. It’s my turn!” Amelia said, pushing our niece out of the way. Then it was Corina, who had appeared out of thin air. Waylynn was next, along with Paxton.
“Where did you all come from?” I asked, glancing around the kitchen. My mother was laughing while putting hamburger meat into a large frying pan.
“Darn it. The baby isn’t moving anymore,” Waylynn said with a pout.
Liberty laughed, then made her way over to my mother where she took over cooking the hamburger meat.
“Thank you, Liberty, sweetheart,” my mother said, giving her a kiss on the cheek and making her way back out of the kitchen. I loved that Waylynn and Jonathon had made Liberty such a huge presence in their life. I thought it was pretty cool that they had planned on letting little Liberty know who her birth mother was once she was old enough to understand, if that was what Liberty wanted.
Scarlett made her way over to Liberty and reached her hand out. “Hey, I don’t think we’ve ever met before. I’m Scarlett Littlefield, Trevor’s girlfriend.”
Damn, I liked the sound of that. I wanted it to be fiancée, but we were still doing that damn slow thing.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Scarlett. I hear you’re pregnant, too!”
Scarlett laughed. “Yes! Something must be in the Oak Springs water.”
“Must be!” Liberty agreed. She glanced over my way and gave me a polite smile. I knew she was still trying to feel at ease with all of us, a pretty daunting task with this rowdy bunch.
Waylynn walked over to Liberty. “Liberty, you don’t have to cook. Why don’t you go see baby Liberty? She’s with Jonathon, I think, in the formal living room working on that tree.”
Her brows pulled in some. “Is there more than one tree?”
Scarlett and I looked at each other before I turned my attention to Liberty. “Don’t ask, just go with it. You may want to avoid my mother, though. Whatever room she is in, stay out of it.”
She gave me a puzzled look. “Why?�
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Corina peeked her head into the kitchen. “Scarlett, Mom told me to tell you that you must have left your reindeer ears in the other room. Here they are!”
With a pout, Scarlett took the strap-on ears from Corina, who was wearing a Santa hat that kept singing “Jingle Bells”.
Corina squeezed the tip of Scarlett’s antlers, causing everyone to jump to the sound of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
“I think I see why,” Liberty whispered as she took the spatula out of my hand and went back to cooking the hamburger meat.
“Smart girl. I like you already,” Scarlett said with a smile.
“Come on, we need help with the Disney tree,” Corina said, wrapping her arm up with Scarlett’s.
“Have fun! I’ll stay here and keep making cookies!” I called out.
Glancing over her shoulder, Scarlett shot me the evil eye.
I laughed, then started to take the cookies off the cookie sheet to put more dough on.
“I love your family,” Liberty stated.
“Yeah, they’re a good bunch. Have you spoken to your folks at all?”
Her smile faded as she shook her head. “Mike and Wanda feel more like my folks these days. They’re amazing and have helped me so much. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”
“Yeah, they’re good people. They were there for Wade when he lost his family.”
Liberty nodded, then smiled. It was clear she was fixin’ to change the subject.
“So, let’s see. Harley is pregnant with twins and due in March?”
“Yep.”
“Amelia is due in April and Scarlett is due when?”
I grinned. “May 25.”
“You must be excited.”
“Very.”
She turned to face me with a serious look. When she glanced over my shoulder, I couldn’t help but wonder what was on her mind.
“May I ask you something, Trevor?”
“Of course.”
She swallowed hard and glanced at the floor before catching my gaze with hers. “How is Waylynn handling the pregnancies?”
My chest constricted. I was a fucking shit brother for not even thinking about that. I hadn’t once thought about how Waylynn might be handling all of this.
“I, um, I’m not sure. Christ, I hadn’t even thought of it.” My hand ran over my head and I cursed under my breath again.
“Don’t beat yourself up about it. She is such a strong woman, and I know she doesn’t show her emotions all the time. I was just wondering if you had an idea of how she was dealing with it all.”
“I don’t. I’m sorry. If I get a chance to talk to Jonathon today I will.”
She nodded. “Me too. Wanda was asking, as well.”
I slipped the cookies into the oven, then shut it and leaned against the island.
“Liberty, I wanted to tell you that I think you’re very brave.”
She stopped what she was doing and faced me with a confused expression.
“Why?”
I shrugged. “I can’t imagine giving up a baby, but I know why you did it, and I think that was a very brave thing to do.”
“Thank you, Trevor. It was hard, but I knew it was the right decision and I think baby Liberty is going to have the best life possible.”
“Waylynn and Jonathon love her.”
She grinned. “I know they do.”
“What about you? How are you doing?”
Her grin grew to a wide, full-blown smile. “I’m doing great. I’ve sort of met someone. I haven’t told anyone yet. I was going to tell Waylynn and Jonathon soon. It’s been crazy.”
My brow lifted. “Crazy good?”
The way Liberty’s face lit up, I already knew the answer.
“So crazy good. He’s such a nice guy, I was honestly beginning to wonder if there were any left. He knows about baby Liberty and he didn’t judge me at all. That was important to me. He supports my dreams and encourages me all the time.”
“Sound like a good guy.”
“Who’s a good guy?” Waylynn asked. The giant Christmas tree hat on her head was blinking its lights off and on. Liberty busted out laughing the moment she saw it.
Waylynn rolled her eyes. “Laugh all you want but wait until my mother gets to you. Now, who are we talking about and why are you standing in the kitchen gossiping with my baby brother?”
I pushed off the counter and kissed Waylynn on the forehead. “Can we talk out back for a second? Just the two of us?”
She looked confused. “Okay.”
I motioned for her to lead the way and followed. We walked over to the rocking chairs and each took a seat.
“Is everything okay, Trevor?” she asked, her voice void of its normal humor and feistiness.
I reached for her hand. “Waylynn, are you doing okay with all of this?”
She snarled. “Do any of us do okay with mom’s crazy behavior at Christmas time?”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “No. Harley, Amelia, and Scarlett…all being pregnant.”
Her eyes softened, and she squeezed my hand. “I love you for being concerned, Trevor. It was hard at first when I found out about Harley and Scarlett, but I quickly got over it every time I looked at Liberty. I will admit I felt a bit of jealousy when I found out that Amelia was pregnant. I think her being our sister made it all hit home a bit more. I’ve been talking to a counselor and that’s helped. I think I’ve come to terms with it, but there will always be a piece of me that feels empty.”
“I’m sorry, Waylynn.”
“Please don’t be, Trevor. I really am happy, and I believe there is a reason for everything. Jonathon and I are talking about maybe adopting another baby.”
I smiled. “You are? That’s amazing, Waylynn.”
She nodded her head. “Just talking right now. We’ll see. I love you for caring.”
The heat on my cheeks had to have been obvious to her. “Honestly, it was Liberty who asked. She wanted to make sure you were okay, and I felt like a complete asshole because I hadn’t even thought of asking you myself.”
Waylynn laughed. “God, I love that girl. That was sweet of her to be concerned.”
“She loves you too, Waylynn.”
“I know she does. Now come on. Let’s get back in there. You probably have to save Scarlett from Mom.”
Groaning, I opened the back door for my sister. When Liberty caught my eye, I nodded. She looked relieved.
Clearing my throat, I said, “So, Liberty met someone. Now get to girl talking. I’m going to find Scarlett and save her.”
Waylynn gasped, then turned to Liberty. “Oh my God! Tell me everything!”
With that, I made my way out of the kitchen and through the house. Each room had some sort of action going on. My father was at the bar in the family room pouring himself a shot. I couldn’t help but laugh. He acted like he hated this day, but we all knew he loved it. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t for my mother.
Walking up to Corina, I tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, do you know where Scarlett is?”
“She’s one of the lucky ones. She snuck out before your mom started the craft area. I believe she is hiding out on the swing on the front porch.”
I frowned. “Craft area?”
With a low groan, Corina held up a hand-decorated ornament. “Chloe’s idea a few weeks back. Melanie jumped all over it, and there is now a designated area in the dining room for everyone to make an ornament.”
My mother walked into the room, and I ducked behind Corina. “I need a distraction, Corina, or she’ll suck me in!”
Corina pointed a finger. “You owe me, Trevor Parker. You owe me big.”
As she walked away, I dove behind the sofa out of sight from my mother.
“Melanie, can you show me how you made that angel?”
I could hear my mother squeal in delight. “Yes! Oh, I could kiss Chloe for coming up with this idea!”
They walked out of the room and I jumped up, only to
find Chloe standing in front of me.
Letting out what my brothers would call “a girly scream,” I placed my hand over my chest. “Chloe! Jesus, you scared me. What are you, a ninja? You’re everywhere.”
“You need to come make an ornament, Uncle Trevor.”
Panic hit me. The last thing I wanted to do was craft. I needed to think of something and fast. Chloe was staring at me like she was about to call out for my mother any moment.
“I will, pumpkin, as soon as I find Scarlett. She’ll want to make one for the baby.”
Chloe smiled big, and I felt a little guilty. Just a little.
Reaching for my hand, Chloe tried to pull me into the dragon’s lair, but I stood firm.
“I need to find Scarlett, so she knows the plan.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes like she knew I was lying. The moment her hand went to her hip, I was screwed. What was it about these Parker women? They were bred to sniff out a lie.
“Um, well, I better go find Scarlett.”
“Want me to come?”
“No! I mean, no, pumpkin, you go and have fun. It won’t take me long to find her at all. She’ll be excited. She loves to craft and shi…um…stuff.”
That seemed to be what she wanted to hear.
“Okay!” Spinning on the heels of her bright pink cowboy boots, Chloe called out, “Grammy, Uncle Trevor and Aunt Scarlett are gonna make the baby an ornament.”
That was my one and only chance to escape. And escape I did.
I sat on the porch swing with my eyes closed, taking in the sounds of nature. It was so quiet and relaxing…unlike the crazy that was unfolding inside the Parker house. From behind, a noise made me turn around. Trevor came around the corner of the house as fast as he could.
“Trevor? What are you doing?”
“I had to sneak out while Corina distracted my mother. I almost got pulled into the dining room to make a handmade craft by Mom and then Chloe. I narrowly escaped Chloe. We need to leave. Now.”
My hand went to my mouth as I attempted to hide a laugh and failed.
“You laugh now, but Chloe already told my mother we want to make an ornament for the baby.”
Dropping my hand to my stomach, I smiled. “That might be fun.”
Reckless Love Page 17