Page 59 of Nothing At All

“I’m not sure yet.” Dan’s blue eyes settled on me in a significant look. “It depends.”

Thankfully, Daddy let that drop, and we settled at the table, the windows looking out over the backyard, filled with Mama’s raised beds and Daddy’s birdfeeders. Our lunch conversation flitted over several topics, akin to Daddy’s treasured hummingbirds sipping nectar. Daddy and Dan talked golf and movies, since both of them loved thriller and adventure films. Both avid readers, Dan and Mama shared a love for Stephen King.

Watching Mama smile at him while he chuckled over a killer Coke machine in The Tommyknockers – why did they read stuff like that? I had nightmares when I tried – warmth flushed my chest and throat. They liked him, which made perfect sense to me because he was wonderful and what wasn’t there to like?

My throat tightened. I was proud of him and to be with him. And he loved me, slanting a smile at me as he lifted his spoon to his lips. More than that. He liked me and wanted to be with me. He looked at me the way Daddy looked at Mama, like I was his one, and I stilled, the future opening up around me in a way I hadn’t experienced before.

Because I could absolutely see this being my life, ordinary moments with him that were everything.

“That was not terrible.” In the driveway, he held the truck door for me after Daddy had pressed him into scheduling golf one weekend soon and we’d waved goodbye to my parents.

I smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek before climbing into the seat. “They liked you.”

All the way home, I hugged the warm fuzziness of that to me. At my door, I clung to him after he kissed me, and he grinned against my mouth, a deep sigh rumbling in his chest.

“Baby, I’ve got to go home and get my shit together for the week. I’m doing split doubles with Josh to cover Murphy being out, remember?” He flexed his hands at my waist.

“I know.” I tiptoed up for another kiss, and he lifted his hands to cradle my jaw.

“I’ll take you out Thursday or Friday.” He brushed his lips over mine. “Promise.”

“I’m taking you up on that.” Curling my fingers into his collar, I claimed one more kiss before releasing him. “Please be careful.”

He paused, his mouth a breath away from mine, and his features softened. “I will.”

After a tight hug, he turned away and strode for his truck. Still nursing the warm glow in my chest, I watched him go before I slipped inside, locking the door behind me. Only then did I hear his truck start up.

I kicked off my shoes and carried them through to the bedroom, the small house emptier than usual without him. The empty sensation made no sense because we didn’t spend every night together.

Except I’d had a glimpse of a life with him, sitting around the table with my parents. I knew what a great partnership looked like, thanks to them, how small moments wove themselves into the most important pattern.

And we could be that.

My phone burbled with a video call, and excitement fluttered hard in my chest, subsiding with a sharp jolt when I glimpsed Samantha’s contact on the screen instead of his.

With a sigh, I settled against my pillows, rubbing my feet together, and swiped to answer. “Hey.”

“Hey, girly!” Gold patches under her eyes and a wrinkle mask on her forehead, Samantha grinned at me. “Where have you been? I tried twice earlier today.”

“I was on the road.” I’d declined both calls without a hint of remorse. Samantha knew better than most anyone that I didn’t always pick up. “Dan and I went to Mama and Daddy’s for lunch.”

Her mouth fell open. “Shut up. You took him to meet your parents?”

I sighed. “Yes.”

“That’s . . . wow.” A cheeky grin flashed Samantha’s dimples. “He must be really good in bed now.”

“Stop that.” Annoyance prickled under my skin. I slid my soles over the blanket, settling my irritation. “I love him–”

I froze.

Eyes wide, Samantha stared at me. A strangled huff of a laugh hung between us. “What?”

“I can’t talk about this with you.” A flickering panic seized my lungs, but underneath, certainty curled through me. I held on to that. I was okay. He loved me and I hadn’t planned on him, but I was safe with him.

I was everything to him, the way Mama was to Daddy. And he was everything to me.

Okay. So I just needed to . . .