Come Back for You: Boys of Alabama

by Mica Halstead

  “I’ve got all the tables set up, babe,” he says, shutting the door behind him and looking around the kitchen. “Need any help in here?”

  I slip my apron off and hang it on the back of the pantry door. Dean’s kitchen is the definition of a dream kitchen, with a walk-in pantry and big vaulted ceilings. I love it.

  “Nope. Everything is just about ready. I was gonna grab a few bottles of wine out of the wine fridge and put some glasses out back on the patio,” I say as he grabs the glasses without me having to ask and I grab a few bottles of my favorite wine for me and the girls. Dean drops a kiss on my cheek as he slides the patio door open and motions for me to go ahead of him just so he can slap my ass as I walk past. I roll my eyes at him and set the wine and glasses up before dropping down into one of the patio chairs. He grabs a chair and slides it in front of me, sitting down and motioning for my foot. I prop them up in his lap and he gets to work with his hands, kneading them and working all the knots out. I drop my head back and sigh contently.

  “Happy?” He asks as he goes about rubbing my feet.

  “Incredibly,” I answer honestly, and he hits me with his lopsided grin.

  “Me too,” he says, “glad you’re in my life, Whitley Jean.”

  My heart flip flops like it always does, tripping and stumbling all over itself. The butterflies this man still gives me are unreal. I hear a car door slam from the front of the house.

  “Showtime.” He grins at me and drops my feet just as Aria comes careening around the side of the house.

  “Uncle Dean!” She squeals and he stands, bracing himself just in time for her to fling her body at him. He swoops her up, hitching her up on his hip and dropping a kiss on her curly head and my tummy starts feeling fluttery. Dean Anderson is hot, but you throw in Dean the uncle, with the sweet little girl that has him wrapped around her finger hitched on his hip, and his hotness level skyrockets. He listens intently as she tells him about the superhero book she’s reading at home. Lex drops down in the chair next to me, pouring herself and me a glass of wine before depositing it in my hand.

  “Hey girl,” I say, turning my attention from super-hot Dean to her, “how are things?”

  I take in my sweet friend, who I’ve come to love the crud out of, looking happier than I’ve ever seen her. Her green eyes look bright and happy, a smile dancing on her lips.

  “Things are good. Really, really, good. It’s nice to not be looking over my shoulder. Thank you for checking on me, I appreciate it.” I’ve been checking on her daily, making sure she’s good. Losing your ex, even though he’s a sociopath, has to be traumatic, and I want her to know she’s not alone.

  “Of course,” I say softly, flicking my eyes towards Dean who is now in a pow wow with Ford and Jaxson.

  “How are you, Whit?” She asks, waggling her eyebrows and my cheeks heat.

  “Good. I mean,” I shrug my shoulders, “things are great between us and being with him again has been awesome.” I can’t find the words to express how amazing he’s been. I’m head over heels in love with that man and it’s bigger and better than it ever was when we were younger. Don’t get me wrong, I loved him back then. But that was a young love and young love isn’t always mature. We were oil and water most of the time, fighting and making up constantly. It’s no wonder my daddy told him to come back when he grew up a little, he knew just how volatile our relationship really was. And the time we’ve spent apart only made this time around that much sweeter. Stronger.

  Avery and the kids show up and all the kids run off to play while the adults drink and laugh. Dean and Ford are inside cutting up the turkey when his mama, Darla, shows up. It’s the first time I’ve seen her, albeit a few times when she’s been up at the bar drinking or the instances where we’ve seen each other at the store. We’ve never been in a small space, forced to talk to each other, since the day Everly was born. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I suck in a breath as she makes her way around everyone, saying hi, before finally landing on me.

  “As I live and breathe, get your ass over here, girlie,” she says, dragging me up from the chair by my hand and wrapping her arms around me. She pulls her head back and rests her hands on my cheeks as she looks back and forth between my eyes before releasing me without any words and going in to see Dean. I know what she’s trying to say, even though she won't say it.

  I missed you. I’m sorry. I love you.

  I missed her, too. She was always this powerful force in my life, gently loving me but also gently telling me when I was being an idiot or silently cheering me on through the last two years of high school, even after Dean had graduated. She fully supported our relationship and our pregnancy. Did she find it ideal? No. But she knew Dean and I were going to be great parents and she was over the moon to be a grandma. I didn’t just lose Everly that day, I lost the relationship I formed with Darla over those four years and that was hard.

  Avery and I are deep in conversation with the back door slides open and Dean comes out with some of the food, Darla and Ford right behind him. We get dinner set up and everyone settles in when mama insists that everyone go around the table and say one thing they are thankful for. She starts with the kids table, starting with Genevieve and Blake before finally landing on Aria who clears her throat.

  “Dear God,” she starts, and we all chuckle a little. “I am thankful for Daddy and Zane. And gramma and Uncle Z. And my Uncle Dean who isn’t really my uncle,” she goes on, making us laugh some more, “but mostly I’m thankful because even though you took my first mommy,” she starts.

  “Shit,” Ford murmurs.

  “Daddy be quiet,” she scolds before going on, “even though you took mommy Zoe, you gave me and daddy and Zane mommy Lexi and even though she’s not really my mommy, I really love her and I’m very thankful she is here. Amen,” she finishes like a prayer and Lex is out of her seat and pulling her into a hug, tears streaming down her face. She positions herself in Aria’s chair and pulls her onto her lap as we finish goin’ around the table.

  Mama talks about how she’s thankful for Wes and for me, while Ford says he’s thankful for Lex and the kids. It’s finally Dean’s turn. He’s seated beside me at the table, and he squeezes my knee before talking.

  “This is my first family Thanksgiving in the twelve years I’ve been gone. I spent many Thanksgiving’s alone at Waffle House or in some seedy motel room. To be here, with everyone I love, is amazing and I’m sorry I didn’t come home sooner.” He points the last part of his statement to me and I give him a sad smile, because I’m sorry he didn’t come home sooner, too. We lost so much time together. He continues. “But this year I’m thankful that I was able to convince this beautiful woman to give me a second chance. I love you,” he says, pressing a kiss to my cheek and scooting his chair out.

  “Thankful that a kiss under those bleachers all those years ago led to this big, beautiful life with you.” He slides out of his chair and onto one knee in front of me. I gasp, hands covering my mouth. “Whitley Jean, will you be my wife?” I nod my head yes without even hesitating, tears streaming down my face as I slide from my chair and into his arms, our friends cheering. He slips my mama’s engagement ring from daddy on my finger.

  “How...” My eyes shoot to mama. “Mama, I can’t. This means so much to you.”

  “‘Course it does, sugar. But I don’t need it. Not anymore, and your daddy would have wanted you to have it.” Wesley slides his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close. Dean drags my attention back to him by running his hand behind my neck and pulling me in for a long, slow kiss.

  “I can’t wait to be your husband,” he whispers against my lips.

  Whitley

  “Whit! Can you come down here?” Dean hollers up the stairs at me, where I’ve been tucked away most of the day, wrapping Christmas presents. We’re about halfway through December and there’s still so much left to do. I’m almost done wrapping all the kids’ gifts and I’m completely done wrapping Deans. All that’
s left is mama and Darla, and I can do those later. The girls and I also have a cookie exchange set up on Saturday. We’re going to bake and drink until we can’t stand up any longer.

  I finish the gift I’m wrapping and close the bedroom door, so Ranger stays out. I made the mistake of leaving some gifts out the other day and he ate the wrapping paper off a few of them. I bound down the stairs just as Dean comes out of the restroom that’s tucked away under the steps.

  “Get it all wrapped, babe?” He asks, tugging me to him and stealing my lips in a kiss.

  “Mmmm, almost. Just mama and your mom left and then I’ll be all done,” I say, trying to deepen the kiss but he pulls away. I stick my bottom lip out in a pout and he chuckles.

  “That lip thing doesn’t work on me and you know it,” he says, and I huff out a breath. I do know it but doesn’t mean I won’t still try. “Come here, there’s something I want to show you.”

  He tugs me to the front door, a giddy smile spread across his face.

  “Okay, what’s goin’ on?” I prop my hands on my hips and arch an eyebrow. He moves behind me and puts his hands over my eyes.

  “I want it to be a surprise,” he says, guiding me closer to the front door. I hear the door open and he walks me out to the porch, his hands still over my eyes. “Now, I know it’s not Christmas, but I wanted you to have your gift early.”

  He removes his hands from my eyes, and I blink a few times, shocked at what’s in front of me. It’s the Chevy Tahoe we looked at when we were at the dealership.

  “I don’t understand,” I say, my eyes volleying between the SUV and Dean. “You bought this for me?” He grins and nods his head.

  “I know how much you loved it, but I also know much you deserved it. Whitley, you’re the most selfless person I know. You’d go weeks, hell even months, without something you needed or wanted, knowing there’s someone else out there who has less than you. I mean, fuck. Just last week you volunteered at the soup kitchen just because you wanted to.”

  I shrug my shoulders.

  “They needed extra hands,” I say, and he tugs me into a hug.

  “You’re incredible and you deserve this and so much more. Merry Christmas, baby.” He presses a kiss to my temple and spins me back to face the car, slapping my ass before gently pushing me down the stairs and to the beautiful SUV in front of me. I’m still in shock. I see the truck in the driveway, but the mustang is gone.

  “Dean...” I start but he cuts me off.

  “Now before you get all up in arms, I did sell the mustang.”

  “Dean!” I snap, upset because I know how much it meant to him since it was Jim’s.

  “But I didn’t use that money to pay for your Tahoe.” Confusion mars my face, but he keeps talkin’, his cheeks turning red. “I thought to myself, what would Whitley do? So, I sold the ‘stang and used the money from that to pay Avery’s rent for the year.”

  I gasp, tears springing to my eyes and my hands automatically going to my mouth. This fucking man. But he’s not done talking.

  “That still didn’t even make a dent in what I got for the car, so I went to the bank and deposited the rest of the money in Avery’s account.” I burst into tears. He must have heard her and I talking at Friendsgiving, she was going into detail about how stressed she was trying to make ends meet and how she wasn’t even sure she’d be able to afford groceries this month let alone Christmas for Genevieve and Blake. I had already delivered groceries to her front door one night last week, leaving before she saw me, and I planned on buying presents for the kids, too. I launch myself at Dean, wrapping my legs around his waist when he catches me and peppering kisses all over his face.

  “You’re the most incredible man I know,” I say, sobbing and pressing my lips to his. He grips my ass and walks me towards my new SUV.

  “Glad you think so, now let’s break in your new car,” he says, opening the door and depositing me in the backseat before climbing in on top of me. And we do break in my new car. Twice.

  ****

  “Let’s get this party started, bitcheees!” Clarissa hollers as she makes her way into Dean’s kitchen, her arms loaded with bags of stuff from the store. I take a few bags and start sorting through them. There’s cookie dough, beer, and liquor. I shake my head.

  “Do you plan on helping at all? Or are you just plannin’ on drinkin’ until you pass out?” I ask her and she grins at me.

  “I can multitask,” she says, and I snort out a laugh. There’s a knock on the door.

  “Come in!” I holler and Ranger lets out a loud woof, skittering to the front door to see who is here. Dean is out with the guys and the girls are all on their way to bake cookies.

  “Girl, is that your new car?” Lex asks from the hallway and I smile. I called her the other day and told her all about it, except the part about Avery. If that’s something she wants people to know, she’ll tell us when she’s ready.

  “Isn’t it pretty?” I say, unbagging another bottle of liquor. “Jesus, Clarissa,” I remark. She just shrugs her shoulders.

  The door opens again and this time it’s Avery and Lainey, who rode together. Lainey is starting to get more comfortable around us girls, which is hard because we’re a rowdy bunch.

  “Oh my god, someone pour me a drink,” Lainey exclaims, seating herself at the island and exhaling. “My kids are on some other shit this week.”

  “I hear you on that,” Lex says, uncorking a bottle of wine and pouring three glasses. “I forgot to move that damn elf last night and you should have heard Aria this morning.”

  “Elf?” I ask and Lex rolls her eyes.

  “Someone somewhere decided it would be a good idea to create an elf, that ‘magically’ travels to the North Pole every night to report to Santa, and then when it arrives back home, it has to be in a different spot than it was when it left.” Lainey explains, downing her glass of wine and sliding it back to Lex for a refill.

  “I don’t get it,” Clarissa says.

  “Me either, honestly. But you would have thought I killed the cat by how dramatic Aria was this morning when she found Sprinkles, yes that is his real name, still in the same spot he was yesterday. I had to make up some lie about how Santa was sick and didn’t want any of the elves near him last night.”

  I laugh and turn the oven on to preheat it, pulling out a stack of recipe cards I stole from mama’s last week. I’ve got her recipes for sugar cookies, spiced shortbread, gingerbread cookies, thumbprint, and a lot more. Avery drags her Bluetooth speaker out and turns on some Christmas music before makin’ her way over to me.

  “Whitley,” she starts, and I cut her off.

  “We don’t have to do this,” I say, making myself busy pulling eggs and butter out of the fridge. She places her hand on my arm to stop me and I meet her eyes for the first time. They’re full of unshed tears. She pulls me into a hug and bursts into tears. I sigh and rub her back.

  “Really honey, it’s not a big deal.” I say and she pushes back, punching me in the arm. “Ouch! What the hell?”

  “What’s happening?” Lex asks, her brow furrowed.

  “What’s happening is, Dean sold his car and paid my rent for a year,” Avery says over her tears. Lainey gasps.

  “Oh my gosh. Seriously?” Clarissa asks and I nod my head.

  “Yes, but I swear, I had no idea he was doing it.” I can’t tell if Avery is mad or happy that he did what he did, so I’m trying to tread lightly.

  “Jesus,” Lainey says. “That couldn’t have been cheap.”

  “He sold his mustang,” I whisper, and Clarissa’s jaw drops open.

  “Damn,” she whistles, “that had to bring in a pretty penny.”

  “He must have overheard us talking at Friendsgiving and he decided he wanted to help.” My comment has Lex’s face covered in confusion.

  “What conversation?” She asks, her eyes on Avery, who is swiping tears from her face.

  “I was telling Whitley that I’m having a really hard time right no
w and I wasn’t sure that I would be able to buy the kids anything for Christmas.”

  “What the hell, Avery?” Clarissa snaps. “You know we would have helped you if you asked.” Avery shakes her head.

  “I could never ask anyone for a handout. Genevieve and Blake are my responsibility.”

  “They’re not, they’re your piece of shit mom’s responsibility,” Clarissa says, anger lacing her voice.

  “Riss,” Lex murmurs.

  “No, it’s okay,” Avery says, walking over and wrapping her arms around Clarissa. “You’re right, they should be her responsibility and I’m pissed at her every day for making them mine. But I’m trying to make the best of our crappy situation. Seriously though, Whitley. I’ll never be able to repay him.”

  I shake my head, “he doesn’t want you to repay him, Avery. He did that as a gift to you and your kids. He’d never ask for you to repay it. He’d also want you to use some of that money he put in your bank account on yourself.”

  “What?” She whispers. Fuck.

  “Sonofabitch. You didn’t know that was him, did you?” She shakes her head.

  “No,” she whispers, pulling herself up onto one of the barstools and snatching the bottle of scotch out of Clarissa’s hand.

  “Hey!” Clarissa snaps and Avery hisses at her. She holds her hands up in surrender. “Keep it, I brought more.”

  “Oh my god,” Avery groans, dropping her head into her hands. “I’m going to have to apologize to Jaxson.”

  “What? Why? What did he do?” Lainey asks and I’m just as confused as she is.

  “I accused him of putting that money in my account! I thought he did it as some sort of Christmas bonus and I lost my shit. I told him I didn’t need his charity and stormed out of the office the other day. I haven’t spoken to him since.”