by Jill Sanders
Her eyes ran over him. “You’re okay?” she asked, taking in the fresh bandages on his arms.
“Yeah.” He sat down in the chair next to her. “Just some cuts and bruises. I’ve had…”
“Worse,” she finished for him, causing him to smile.
“Right.”
“Did you find your brother?” she asked.
He nodded. “He’s outside.”
She waited. “Are you going to keep me from him?”
“Your dad’s talking to him now.”
“Interviewing him, you mean.” She would have crossed her arms over her chest, if she could have.
“He’s… feeling things out.” He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips. “It’s spooky how much we have in common. I think the kid looks more like me, than our old man.”
She smiled. “I can’t wait to meet him. Why did you go without me?”
His smile fell away. “I had to make sure things were… safe.”
She wanted to ask more but just then the door opened, and her father and her brother stepped in. The kid followed behind them more slowly.
Instantly, her heart went out to the boy. He was too skinny, tall for his age, and looked like an insecure younger version of Parker.
She tried to shift up into a sitting position, and Parker helped her by pushing the button on the mechanical bed.
“Thanks,” she said softly. “Hi.” She tried to put on her best smile for the kid.
“Hey,” he said in a voice that had already most likely gone through the change to a lower octave.
“I’m Sara.” She waved him closer.
“Yeah, Parker, my brother, told me what happened,” Palmer said as he moved further into the room. “Everything…” Sadness filled the kid’s eyes and Sara knew instantly that the boy wasn’t dangerous.
“We’re going to head down and grab some food.” Her father took Suzie by her hand. Her eyes were glued to the scene in front of her as if she were enjoying her latest soap opera.
Her family quickly made their retreat while Palmer looked on, appearing a little uncomfortable.
“Why don’t you sit down? I’d really like to get to know you some more,” she said, motioning to the chair beside her bed.
“You aren’t tired or hurting?” Palmer asked, his eyes running over her leg.
“No, I’m fine for now. The pain medicine they have me on numbs it all.”
The kid sat down across from his brother. For a moment, she let her eyes slide between the pair.
“So, how long were you at Covenant Home?” Sara asked.
Palmer shrugged and looked at his hands. “A little over a year.”
“And before that?” she asked.
“My aunt, our father’s sister. She had two other kids my age,” Palmer answered.
Sara looked at Parker, who nodded and looked like he wanted more information himself.
“How long with them?”
Palmer’s eyes moved up to hers. “I can’t remember a time I didn’t live with Josie.”
Sara’s chin rose. “What about your parents?”
He shrugged. “They’d come and go. Mostly show up drunk or high and crash on the sofa for the night. The next day they were always gone.”
“Did they ever mention you having a brother?”
Parker squeezed her hand and when she glanced in his direction, she saw the hurt behind his eyes.
“No, I didn’t know until they called Jerry’s this morning.” He shook his head. “It’s what we call the home. It was named after the guy that started it.” He shrugged.
“Do you want to live with your brother?” Sara finally asked. She was feeling tired and didn’t have time to beat around the bush.
Palmer’s eyes moved to Parker’s. “He seems okay. As long as he’s nothing like our old man… Sure, why not.”
Sara smiled. “Palmer, I give you my word, your brother is nothing like your father.”
The kid shrugged and went back to looking down at his hands.
Just hearing those words from Sara caused Parker to relax for the first time in twenty-four hours.
Matt had driven them like a bat out of hell to Portland in his BMW. They had made it up there before noon. Meeting his brother for the first time was like seeing for the first time.
He knew he was a stranger to the kid, but on the drive back to Pride, he’d tried to ask and answer as many questions as he could while Matt drove.
He’d been thankful Sara’s brother had volunteered to drive him up there and back, since his knee was sore and had started to swell underneath the bandages. Besides, he’d been able to take a quick catnap on the drive up there.
He knew he could have put the trip off for a few days, but after last night, he wanted closure on that part of his life.
Knowing his grandmother had known about Palmer convinced him that whatever happened now, he had to make sure the kid was taken care of.
“I’m sorry, I’m feeling groggy,” Sara said, her words slurring.
Parker stood, and Palmer followed his lead.
“We’re going to go get the kid settled in my guest room. Then I’ll be back.”
“No.” She reached for his hand. “Get some rest. I’ll be fine. My mother is going to stay tonight. Go, order some pizza and get to know your brother.” She smiled up at him.
His eyes moved over to Palmer’s and he could tell she’d struck a chord with the pizza offer.
Bending down, he laid a soft kiss on her lips.
“We’ll have that talk, soon. I love you.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said softly.
They ran into her family in the hallway as they were heading out of the building. Parker was a little shocked how much Sara’s sister, Suzie, looked like her. Then again, Palmer was a smaller look-alike of himself. That would take some getting used to.
Megan assured him that she would stay with Sara and message him if anything changed.
He reached in his back pocket for his phone and cursed under his breath.
“Oh.” Todd snapped his fingers. “Robert dropped this off earlier.” He pulled Parker’s cell phone from his back pocket. “The screen is cracked but it still works.”
He smiled. “Thanks.” He looked over at the kid. “Do you have a phone?”
“No.” Palmer looked depressed about it.
“Looks like we’ll have to pick us up some new ones this weekend.” The kid’s eyes grew big and Parker could see the excitement behind them.
Since his truck was at his house, Matt offered to lend them his car for the night.
“You sure?” he asked when Sara’s brother tossed him the keys to the BMW.
“You can walk if you want.” Matt jokingly reached for the keys. Parker snapped them away and shoved them deep in his jean pockets.
He turned to his brother. “We’re good, right?”
The kid surprised him by laughing. “Hell, yeah.”
Parker chuckled all the way out to the parking lot.
“Can I drive?” Palmer asked as they stood at the hood of the car they’d ridden in all day.
Parker glanced down at him. “Hell no. You’re only…” He turned and narrowed his eyes at the kid. “Thirteen, right?”
“Fourteen next month,” Palmer supplied.
“I bet you can’t even reach the pedals yet,” he joked, unlocking the car.
Palmer quietly got in the passenger side.
“What’s your house like?” Palmer asked as Parker pulled out of the parking lot.
“A good deal better than the place you were staying, I’d wager,” he said as he stopped at the light. Edgeview was a bigger town than Pride and at this time of night, there were still a lot of cars on the road. He bet in Pride, everyone was already tucked in their homes.
Glancing at the clock on the dash, he calculated they had time for a stop before heading to his house.
“How about a quick stop before we grab some pizza and you meet the mutt I call Toby
.” He’d told his brother about the dog, making sure the kid wasn’t allergic or something.
“Sure.” Palmer sat back and looked relaxed in the seat. “Where?”
He glanced at him sideways. “I thought you’d like to meet your grandmother.”
He punched the number on his broken screen and made a call.
Half an hour later, they walked through the door of the retirement home. It had taken him a little sweet-talking of the head nurse on duty, but he’d finally convinced her to allow them five minutes when they arrived.
When Parker opened his grandmother’s door, he stepped in and allowed Palmer to follow him. His grandmother’s state hadn’t changed.
He hobbled over to the side of the bed and reached for the old lady’s hand as Palmer took up residence on the other side. They both looked down at her, Parker with love and Palmer with interest.
“This is our mother’s mother?” he asked.
“Yes. She’s the only person in my life that’s ever loved me unconditionally. Until Sara,” he added. His eyes moved up to his brother’s and his heart broke when he noticed the younger boy’s eyes grow red.
“I wish…” A strange sound escaped the kid, and he rushed from the room.
Parker looked down at his grandmother and laid a kiss on her paper-thin cheek.
“I’ll take care of him, I promise you that. He’s family now. He’ll know how wonderful of a parent you were. I’ll show him the love you showed me.” He kissed her again, then went to find his brother.
Epilogue
Three weeks later….
Sara stood leaning against Parker as her uncle cut the ribbon on the newly remodeled Golden Oar. The building’s transformation was nothing short of a miracle.
Gone was the old shingled siding. It had been replaced with strong wood that gleamed in the daylight. The metal roof had been powerwashed until it gleamed. The only thing that remained outside was her great-grandfather’s handmade sign, which had been fitted with a new light to make it glow at night.
“Do you think he’ll like his birthday present?” Parker asked, wrapping his arms around her.
Iian and Allison had returned from their trip early, after hearing what had happened to them. Her uncle had promised her that once she was back on both feet, she’d have the new manager job full time, allowing him to finally cut his hours back to part-time.
Palmer was standing next to her uncle, helping him cut the ribbon. Sara and Parker had been surprised when the kid had wanted to work side by side with his big brother. If it wasn’t for the extra help, Parker swears it would have taken them an extra week to get the place done.
It had taken some doing, but Palmer was enrolled in classes in Pride for the fall. So far, the boy had fit into the town as easily as his brother had. It was fun living with the pair of them, and they were all getting to know each other. It just sucked that she was slowed down by her leg and the boot she had to wear everywhere.
Right now, her crutches were leaning against her new Jeep, and she was solely depending on Parker to keep her upright.
Palmer had helped them pick out her new Jeep. He enjoyed riding in it so much, he talked about getting his own Jeep someday.
The kid was great with helping out around the house and with Toby. The boy and dog had quickly become inseparable. Toby even took to sleeping in Palmer’s room each night. Sara was pretty sure it was because he was afraid of her boot. Toby growled at it when she took it off to shower.
“I know he’s going to love it.” She touched Parker’s hand. “Your grandmother would be proud of you.”
Sadness flooded Parker’s eyes. His grandmother had died the night after their accident. Parker and Palmer had gone to visit her and by the next morning, they had received a call from the nursing home that she had passed peacefully in her sleep.
Parker waved the kid over to them as everyone else started filing in to see the inside of the restaurant.
“Hey,” Palmer said after jogging across the parking lot. “Aren’t you going to go in?”
“Later,” Parker said, smiling at his brother. “We have something for you, an early birthday present.” Parker made sure to hold her up as he leaned into the Jeep’s window and pulled out the envelope.
“What’s this?” Palmer asked, looking down at it.
“You won’t know unless you open it,” Parker joked.
Palmer ripped it open quickly and started reading the document. “What is this?” Palmer shook his head.
“Well, it’s the legal paperwork saying that I know own your butt.” Parker reached over and ruffled his brother’s hair. “And that I’ve set up a trust fund in your name.”
“But…” Palmer frowned at him.
“Once you turn eighteen, you have access to your share. Our grandparents’ money was split in two equal parts.”
Sara grabbed her crutches from the Jeep with tears in her eyes as Palmer threw himself into his brother’s arms.
“Thank you,” Palmer said into Parker’s chest.
“Don’t thank me. Our grandmother would have wanted—” Parker started.
“Not for the money, stupid,” Palmer interrupted. “For keeping me, for giving me a home for the first time in my life.” The kid turned towards her and hugged her gently. “For both of you. A newly engaged couple taking on a teenager is just plan crazy.” Palmer wiped the tears from his eyes and glanced around to make sure no one had noticed them. “You didn’t have to, but—”
“Course we did,” Sara broke in. “You’re family.” She hugged the kid back, then laughed when Parker had to catch her from toppling over.
“I don’t know what to say.” Palmer took a couple deep breaths.
“Don’t say anything.” Parker smiled. “Let’s go in and enjoy our hard work. Besides, I heard Sara say that she was going to buy us a shake.”
As they helped Sara into the restaurant, she couldn’t stop thinking about thankful she was for her new family and for the future that awaited them. Together.
Also by Jill Sanders
The Pride Series
Finding Pride
Discovering Pride
Returning Pride
Lasting Pride
Serving Pride
Red Hot Christmas
My Sweet Valentine
Return To Me
Rescue Me
The Secret Series
Secret Seduction
Secret Pleasure
Secret Guardian
Secret Passions
Secret Identity
Secret Sauce
The West Series
Loving Lauren
Taming Alex
Holding Haley
Missy’s Moment
Breaking Travis
Roping Ryan
Wild Bride
Corey’s Catch
Tessa’s Turn
The Grayton Series
Last Resort
Someday Beach
Rip Current
In Too Deep
Swept Away
High Tide
Lucky Series
Unlucky In Love
Sweet Resolve
Best of Luck
A Little Luck
Silver Cove Series
Silver Lining
French Kiss
Happy Accident
Hidden Charm
A Silver Cove Christmas
Entangled Series – Paranormal Romance
The Awakening
The Beckoning
The Ascension
St. Helena Vineyard Kindle Worlds
Where I Belong
Haven, Montana Series
Closer to You
Never Let Go
Pride Oregon Series
A Dash of Love
For a complete list of books: http://JillSanders.com
About the Author
Jill Sanders is The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Pride Series, Secret Series, West Series, Grayton Series,
Lucky Series, and Silver Cove romance novels. She continues to lure new readers with her sweet and sexy stories. Her books are available in every English-speaking country and in audiobooks and have been translated into several languages.
Born as an identical twin to a large family, she was raised in the Pacific Northwest and later relocated to Colorado for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent as a writer. She now makes her home along the Emerald Coast in Florida where she enjoys the beach, hiking, swimming, wine tasting and, of course, writing.
Website: http://JillSanders.com
Connect with Jill
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Twitter: @JillMSanders
Website: http://JillSanders.com