Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Jake didn’t miss the way Laurel kept fidgeting with her hands on the drive to her parents’ house. He wasn’t sure why she was so nervous, but she clearly was.
Her parents lived in one of the more established, gated subdivisions in Eagle. The houses were huge, and he guessed every lot to be a minimum of one acre. They put his own sixteen-hundred square foot home to shame, but he’d never been one for appearances. His house was nice, and suited his lifestyle. Even if he could afford one of these behemoth structures, he still wouldn’t want one. Too ostentatious for him, and definitely too many rooms to clean.
“You grew up here?” he asked.
“Yep.” Laurel popped the “P.”
She didn’t elaborate or offer anything further, so he asked, “Did you like it? Seems like a nice neighborhood.”
It was, but it would’ve been stifling to grow up here. Impeccably manicured lawns surrounded every house. Grass that you’d never be able to ride your BMX bicycle through. There were no empty fields to play in where you could try to burn ant hills with a magnifying glass or dig holes, fill them with water, and make mud puddles to “accidentally” push your sister into when she told on you.
Yeah, he’d been a nightmare as a kid.
“It was fine,” Laurel answered, twisting her fingers so tightly, her knuckles showed white.
Since she was obviously stressed, he let the word choice slide. Was she nervous because he was here? It was always nerve-wracking to “meet the parents”—not that this was what that was. They weren’t even officially in a relationship. But if they had been, would she not want him to meet her folks?
He’d never cared about stuff like that before. Course, he’d never met anyone’s parents before either. But for some reason, this time it mattered to him. Laurel mattered to him.
Jake matched the address she’d provided and pulled into the driveway.
“I’ll hang here, if that’s okay,” he told her. Even though every protective instinct was pushing him to go with her, if he was reading her right, she’d prefer him to stay. His hunch was confirmed when she visibly relaxed at his statement.
“Okay. I’ll only be a sec.” Laurel grabbed a box of invitations from the back seat and hopped out of the Jeep before he could make a move to open the door for her.
She hurried down the concrete walkway with a leaf pattern stamped into it that led to the house. She rang the doorbell once she reached the door.
Maybe they keep it locked?
He always just walked into his mom or Grand’s houses without knocking. They were family, so it wasn’t expected. Only place he didn’t let himself in was at Jess and Chase’s. The last thing he needed was to walk in while they were getting it on in the living room because he sure as hell didn’t want that image burned into his retina for all eternity.
A smartly dressed, dark-haired woman opened the door and smiled at Laurel. No way she wasn’t her mom. They had the same features and small stature. Even though she looked happy to see her, the woman didn’t hug her daughter.
Shit, if Jake didn’t hug his mom whenever he saw her, he’d get smacked. It was like an unwritten law in his family.
He watched the woman crane her neck around Laurel to inspect his Jeep. Jake raised a hand, but instead of acknowledging him, she disappeared into the house with Laurel in tow.
Okay, then.
Since he was stuck waiting, he got out of the Jeep and took in the neighborhood. All the houses were painted the same bland, neutral colors. The landscaping looked like Dr. Seuss had designed it, with trees trimmed into round balls stacked on top of each other, and those droopy varieties that looked like they were either dying or being weighed down by invisible snow. The line of shrubbery separating Laurel’s parents’ yard from their next-door neighbors’ could pass a military inspection with its precise, must-have-used-an-L-square angles and perfectly straight top.
Jake let out a low whistle.
Pivoting on his heel, he happened to glance into the back of the Jeep. That’s when he saw a smaller box of invitations that had fallen onto the floor behind the passenger seat. Laurel had overlooked it, but judging from the number of texts she’d received from her mom, it would definitely be missed.
Opening the back door, he picked up the box and jogged to the front porch. He rapped his knuckles against the polished wood, choosing to forgo the brass door knocker. A man, most likely in his late fifties, opened the door.
He took one look at Jake, then shouted, “Slugger! It’s for you!” over his shoulder. The man swung the door wider and motioned Jake inside. “They’re in the sitting room.”
Sitting room? Damn, Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas anymore.
“Dad, what’re you shouting about?” Laurel rounded the corner, then abruptly stopped when she saw Jake. A soft smile briefly kissed her lips before confusion chased it away.
He held up the box and gave it a little shake. “Thought you might need these.”
“Oh, my gosh!” She closed the distance between them and took the box. “How did I miss that?”
“It was on the floor. Hard to see from the front.”
She tilted her head back to meet his gaze, big, hazel eyes sparkling with flecks of gold. “Thank you.”
God, she’s beautiful.
He could get lost in those eyes.
Laurel’s dad cleared his throat.
She flushed and turned around to face him. “Um, Dad… this is Jake. Jake, meet my father.”
“Bert,” he supplied.
Jake shook his outstretched hand. “Good to meet you.”
“Laurel, are you coming back, or—” Laurel’s mom halted mid-stride. “I didn’t know we had company.” Her eyes flicked to her daughter. “Laurel, aren’t you going to introduce me to your… friend?”
“Of course.” Laurel’s tight smile was pinned to her face. “Patricia…” She gestured to her mom. “This is?—”
“Jake Lockwood,” he supplied, extending his hand.
Laurel’s mom took his hand with her fingertips, but let it drop without shaking.
Wow, talk about an ice queen.
Her gaze traveled down Jake’s body, then back up, but not in a sexual way. No, this was strictly a does-he-measure-up perusal. Her expression was unreadable, so he wasn’t sure of the answer.
Laurel broke the uncomfortable silence by pushing the box of envelopes into her mother’s hands. “Here are the rest of the invitations. Guess we’ll be going.”
“Nonsense,” Patricia asserted. “You’ll both come and sit down for a while.”
Jake noticed it was neither an invitation, nor a request.
Laurel looked up at him, worried. “Um…”
He put his arm around her, and her mom immediately lasered in on his hand at Laurel’s waist.
“We can spare a few minutes,” he said. With the way Patricia was scrutinizing him, he knew the odds of getting out of there otherwise were worse than Logan being elected President.
He gave Laurel a little squeeze… a silent I’ve-got-you.
“Lead the way, Slugger,” Laurel’s dad told her.
That was the second time he’d called her “Slugger.” There had to be a story behind that. Jake made a mental note to ask her about it later.
Once they were settled on a couch that probably cost more than his Jeep, the interrogation began.
“Jake, tell us a little about yourself, since Laurel’s failed to mention anything at all.” Patricia shot her daughter a pointed look before asking him, “What do you do?”
“I’m a firefighter.”
“I used to want to be a fireman when I was young,” Bert confessed.
“Until he realized he wanted to do something to help others,” Patricia added with a saccharine smile. “Like teaching.”
Too bad I don’t help people by putting out fires and saving lives.
“Mom…”
“Isn’t that right, Robert?”
“Bert” must be a nickname. Strange his wife didn’t use it.
“We both teach at the college,” she continued. “He’s the head of the business department, and I teach advanced physics.”
“Better you than me,” Jake teased. “Math was never my strong suit.”
“Hmm.” Patricia’s eyes never wavered from his.
“Mine either,” Bert confessed. “Hated it.”
Jake was trying to give Patricia the benefit of the doubt, he really was. She was Laurel’s mom, and to be fair, she hadn’t expected him to be there. Maybe she was one of those people who didn’t like surprises. So far, though, Bert seemed okay.
“Laurel is excellent at math,” Patricia told him.
“Doesn’t surprise me.” Jake laced his fingers through Laurel’s, a fact her mother didn’t miss. “I haven’t found anything she’s not good at yet. Well, except cooking.”
“Hey!” Laurel tried to pull her hand away, but he tightened his grip and winked.
Bert chuckled. “He’s got your number, Slugger.”
“Laurel was an exceptional student,” Patricia continued, ignoring the cooking comment. “She could have been a tenured professor at the college by now, if she hadn’t settled for teaching grade school.”
“Mom, I didn’t settle,” Laurel corrected softly.
“It’s never too late to switch,” Patricia said.
“I like teaching first grade.”
“I could talk to the Dean,” Patricia continued, totally disregarding what her daughter had just said. “I’m sure he’d be willing to interview you.”
“Mom, we’ve been over this. I don’t want to teach college. I chose to teach first grade.” Laurel said the words as if she’d uttered them a hundred times before.
Judging from this conversation, and the way Laurel was unconsciously squeezing his hand, Jake was certain she had.
“I’m not settling, and I’m not interviewing at the college.”
“Now you’re being stubborn,” Patricia said. “You need to think rationally. Teaching grade school,” she said the word like it was distasteful, “will never allow you to reach your full potential. And you’ll never make any money in primary education.”
Jake was having a hell of a time holding back. He didn’t care if Patricia was Laurel’s mother. She was upsetting his girl, and his protective side was screaming to take care of her.
“I don’t care about money,” Laurel said.
How was she related to this woman? Laurel was the most down to earth person he knew, and her mom, frankly, was a piece of work.
“Well, that’s just?—”
Laurel’s voice cracked when she interrupted her mother. “I love my job.”
“We know you do, Slugger.” Her dad sounded like he was trying to placate her. “Your mother and I only want what’s best for you.”
“Teaching children is what’s best for me!” Laurel shouted, finally letting them have it.
Good girl! You tell ’em.
“You just can’t accept that!” Her stricken expression cut Jake to the bone.
“Laurel,” Patricia scolded. “Don’t raise your voice at your father.”
“Excuse me,” Laurel stammered, standing abruptly.
Jake followed suit, ready to get her out of there.
“Jake, I’ll be right back,” she told him. “I just need a minute.”
“Okay.” He didn’t miss the way her eyes were glistening. He hated how defeated she looked, and it pissed him off to no end that her parents were the cause. They, of all people, were supposed to support her. “I’ll be right here waiting for you.”
Lip quivering, she nodded once before turning and leaving the room. Everything in him told him to follow and make sure she was all right, but there was something he needed to do first.
Laurel had to get out of there before she totally lost it and broke down in front of Jake. Maybe splashing some cold water on her face would help her calm down. Her parents were never going to approve of her teaching first grade. It was useless to keep thinking they’d change because they’d always look down on her choice. She’d never be good enough for them. That was a cold, hard fact, and she needed to accept it.
As soon as she’d left the sitting room and rounded the corner, she heard Jake addressing her parents.
“I hope you’re proud of yourselves,” he said sharply.
Laurel froze.
“You should be ashamed of the way you spoke to her.”
“I beg your pardon,” her mom huffed.
“You heard me.”
“Now, wait a?—”
Jake cut her dad off mid-sentence. “No, you wait.”
The harsh tone of his voice shocked Laurel. She leaned against the wall for support, afraid of how her parents were going to react. Surprisingly, they remained silent.
“Do you have any idea what an amazing woman your daughter is?” Jake asked. “She’s the sweetest, most dedicated woman I know, and you don’t see it .” He let out an aggravated growl. “God, how can you not see it?”
“Don’t stand there and tell us we don’t love our daughter,” her father warned.
“I never said you don’t love her. I’m saying you don’t listen to her. Can you even tell me what she just said? Teaching grade school makes her happy. Happy! Why are you trying to make her miserable?”
“We are not trying to make Laurel miserable,” Patricia snapped. “We are trying to get her to live up to her potential. She’s capable of so much more.”
“ Jesus! Do you even hear yourself? She is capable! She’s so far beyond capable, it’s ridiculous. She’s amazing with those kids. They worship her. Have you ever even gone to her classroom? Seen what she does? Watched how she interacts with them?”
Neither of her parents said a word.
Laurel had invited them to come to her classroom. She’d asked so many times, she’d lost count, but they’d always had an excuse. They were too busy at the college, or planning an event, or… fill in the blank.
She’d finally stopped asking. She’d gotten tired of ripping the scab off. She just wanted to heal.
Jake let out a frustrated sigh. “You may not see how incredible your daughter is, but I do. And I’m gonna do my damnedest to show her that as often as I can because she deserves to know.”
Laurel hadn’t even realized she was crying until she noticed tears landing on her T-shirt. No one had ever stood up for her the way Jake just had.
She hurried to the bathroom before she broke down in the hall. Pulling a washcloth out of the cupboard next to the sink, she wet it and held the damp cloth against her cheeks. Staring at her reflection, she waited for her pulse to stop playing hopscotch.
“You may not see how incredible your daughter is, but I do. And I’m gonna do my damnedest to show her that as often as I can.”
Jake’s words kept running in a loop through her head.
“Teaching grade school makes her happy. Happy!”
He saw her. Really saw her.
Tears threatened again, so she bit her lip, the pain oddly calming. She took a few deep breaths and blew them out.
When she had control of her emotions again, she returned to the sitting room.
No one was talking. Jake was standing in the far corner, looking at family photos arranged on the wall. Her father was making a drink at the antique serving cart her mom had found at an estate sale, and her mom was still sitting in the same chair she’d been in when Laurel had left the room.
She stood when she saw her and walked over to wrap Laurel in a big hug.
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.”
“Mom…” She was caught off guard. She honestly didn’t know what to say. Her parents weren’t huggers, even though she’d always wished they were. When her mom didn’t let go, she timidly returned the embrace.
Jake turned around and met Laurel’s gaze. His eyes held nothing but affection. He dipped his head—a barely perceptible nod—and her heart squeezed. She couldn’t have looked away if she’d tried.