29. Trevor
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
TREVOR
W e don’t even make it to the door before Eli flings it open and leans against the frame, dark brown skin illuminated by the porch light.
He rubs a hand over his short afro, the sleeves of his blue Omaha University hoodie bunched around his elbows.
One look at Willa’s hand in mine, and he breaks out in a wide grin.
“A friend, huh? You know you’re not foolin’ anyone, right? You’re engaged or eloped or somethin’.”
I drop Willa’s hand and pull him into a hug. “Keep it up and you’ll be the one to tell Mom why I hopped back in the car.”
“You’ll be back for graduation next year anyway. She’ll live.” Eli laughs and claps me around the back. “Missed you, bro. Who’s your friend ?”
Reaching for Willa’s hand again, I tug her closer, flashing a smile when her eyes widen with nerves. “Willa, this is li’l doofus. Eli, Willa.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Willa.” He shakes her hand but hangs on as he calls over his shoulder, “Ma, Tre knocked someone up!”
Willa snatches her hand back and turns wide eyes on me. “You already told him?”
I sigh, scratching my head. “Nope. ”
Eli’s eyes dart between us as realization dawns on him. “Oh shit, Tre… You really did?”
“Will you move so we can come inside?” I say through gritted teeth, shooting a narrowed glare that makes him step back. I nudge Willa ahead of me and help her shrug off her puffy coat as she marvels at the large wagon wheel chandelier above us.
“ Tre ?” she whispers, quirking her brow.
“You’re not the only one with nicknames.
” Stepping around her, I hang her coat on the clawfoot rack in the entryway.
My wet boots squeak against the maple hardwood as I step out of them and set them in the tray by the door.
Willa follows suit, leaving hers next to mine.
The door closes behind us as Eli tuts playfully.
“E, don’t start,” I warn.
“I didn’t say any?—”
“Very funny, Elijah.” Mom’s voice reaches us before she rounds the corner. She smiles when she sees me, settling her readers on the top of her head to pull her pressed black hair out of her face. “Trevor knows better than that.”
She’s so short, I have to stoop so she can wrap her bangle-clad arms around my neck. Her long cardigan billows around our ankles, warm vanilla perfume welcoming me home like it did when I was a child. “Hey, Ma.”
She rocks us side to side. “ Oooh , I’ve missed my Trevor hugs. Once a year is not enough!” Leaning back, she pats my cheeks with a watery smile. “Now introduce me to your friend over here.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Jones,” Willa says with an outstretched hand.
“Beauty and manners? Maybe you can teach my boys a thing or two. Lord knows they don’t listen to me.” She secures Willa’s hand between hers, patting it softly.
“This is Willa. Gem, this is my mom.”
“ Oh ? A friend with a special name?” Mom pins me with a knowing look, then smiles at Willa, dropping her hand to wave us toward the kitchen. “Well, dinner’s already on the table. ”
“Uh, could I talk to everyone first?” I ask.
Looking between us, lips pursed perceptively, she calls over her shoulder, “Trevor requests a family meeting!”
Skittering footsteps fall behind us as I lead Willa into the family lounge.
This room is reserved for game nights and family meetings, two of the most intense gatherings we ever hold.
The recessed lighting in the white coffered ceiling feels like a hundred spotlights when I flip them on .
I have no reason to be nervous, but this is the biggest news I’ve ever shared.
Willa settles on the powder blue loveseat, and I perch next to her on the arm of the sofa.
She rolls her lips together, grabbing at her fingers the way she did on the plane.
Her parents didn’t take this news well at all.
I get why she thinks mine will react the same way.
They won’t. Might tease me about bringing home a surprise baby, but they’ll be excited about this.
“Hey,” I whisper in her ear. “There’s nothing to worry about. Do you want to hold my hand?” Willa stills her fingers, then quickly reaches for mine. I give a little squeeze right as Dad walks in the room.
“So what? You get back in town and think you can tell us what to do?” Dad’s wide smile as he shakes his balding head completely invalidates the sarcasm.
He strolls across the room and playfully puts me in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles into my scalp.
“Glad you’re back, son.” Turning to Willa, he sticks out a hand.
“Asa Jones. I’m sorry you have to deal with this knucklehead. ”
She laughs and drops my hand to shake his. “Nice to meet you.”
“Uncle Tre!” Harper and Hazel barrel through the room, almost knocking me over with a tackle. Their twin unison act is really coming along too. My sister Lainey files in with a not-so-little baby Holland on her hip, both wearing hooded pink dinosaur onesies.
“Uh-oh… I think you two are taller than I am by now,” I say to my nieces. “You get into the cattle feed again? ”
“Ew!” The girls shriek, making faces with their tongues out.
I glance around the room for my older sister. “Where’s Maya?”
“I’m right here,” Maya says from behind me, closing the patio door and leaning a broom against the wall. “That damn cat got stuck in the tree again.”
Sprinkles, our mostly blind Tabby, used to be a barn cat.
But once she started going blind, mom moved her inside the house for safety.
She tries to live that outdoor cat life whenever she can slip outside, where she usually ends up stuck in a tree.
Maya peels the twins off my legs, directing them to the tiny rocking chairs Dad made for them last year.
Then she crushes me with a hug, suffocating me with her auburn curls. “Hey, T.”
“Missed you, My.” I hold her close, letting out a breath.
Now it feels like home . For as long as I can remember, Maya’s had a soothing presence.
She’s seven years older, and since we’ve been through a lot together, she’s always been a main source of comfort.
Keeping everything from her has been wearing on me.
“Maybe if you came home more often, you wouldn’t miss me so much.” She drives a soft punch into my stomach.
“Where’s Ben?” I ask.
“He got called in, so he’ll be here after his shift. Now what’s with the family meeting, and why haven’t you introduced me to the pretty woman sitting next to you?” She steps around me and smiles at Willa. “Excuse him. He was technically raised in a barn.”
“This is Willa,” I say. “That’s what the meeting’s about…” I clear my throat, and everyone takes it for the beacon it is, turning to look at me. “Willa and I are?—”
“Engaged!” Lainey calls out.
“Married!” Eli joins in with a smirk.
“Will you two shut up? Let him talk!” Maya glares at both of them. “Go on, T.”
My parents sit in their armchairs next to the fireplace, eyes twinkling as they watch us.
“Uh, we’re having a baby. ”
“Oh!” Mom squeals, jumping out of her seat. Her hands flap vigorously as she bounces across the room, tears welling in her eyes. She stops in front of us, unable to decide who she should hug first. “Trevor. Anthony. Jones. This better not be a joke!”
“See, I told you she’d do the Jazz Hands,” Maya slips in.
“This is great news,” Dad says. “But don’t get it twisted, son. Willa’s doing all the work here. All you did was wield your willy.”
“Pops…” I slap a hand over my eyes, hiding the cringe on my face as I groan my amusement.
“You grew up on a farm, Tre. I taught you about the birds and bees myself. You know what sticking your will?—”
“Dad!” Maya shifts an icy look across the room, nodding toward the girls.
“Ooh, I love birdies!” Harper’s dark brown ringlets bounce as she shakes excited fists in a little happy dance.
“Mommy, what’s a willy?” Hazel asks, her rust-colored corkscrews falling over her eyes as she stares down Maya .
“It’s a penis, Haze,” Maya answers without hesitation. Correct terms are the only way to go when you have two medical professionals as parents.
“Gramps, that’s a private part! You’re only supposed to worry about your own private parts!” Hazel wags her finger at Dad.
“You hear that, Tre?” Dad laughs. “You’re supposed to worry about your own private parts.”
“Oh, all of you hush. I’m gonna be a nana again!” Mom goes for me first, squeezing so tightly, I’m sure she’ll leave marks. Then she sits next to Willa and pulls her into a side hug. “Tell me everything.”
Willa flashes wide eyes at me, but the smile on her face is one of amusement instead of panic. “We have all week, Ma. Willa needs to eat.”
“Oh! Of course. Everyone, food’s on the table.” She pats Willa’s leg and flits to the dining room.
After everyone else files out behind her, I slip my hand back around Willa’s. “You okay? ”
“Yeah.” She nods and glances toward the sound of scraping chairs against the floor. “They’re fun.”
“They’re loud and nosy. I’m probably the quietest one.”
“That’s saying something.” She knocks into me with her shoulder and smiles. “I’m good, Trev. This is good.”
“Okay. But you tell me if it’s too much, and I’ll get you settled in the bedroom.” Standing from the sofa arm, I pull her up from the cushion, our fingers entwined.
We stand there, face-to-face, staring at each other like a crowded dinner table isn’t waiting for us.
The longer we stay like this, the more aware I am of how tall she is.
Everyone’s short when you’re 6’3”. But not her.
I don’t even need to bend my knees to reach her lips . She’s perfectly kissable .
I’ve spent the entire day on the outskirts of her force field, just wanting to dive over the border and head straight for what I want.
Maybe it’s seeing her here in my childhood home, or maybe it’s how my family embraced the news.
But my mind is jumping to what life will be like when we visit next year, and the year after that.
We’re not even close to being in a relationship, but as we share this moment, there’s no one else I can see myself bringing home. Willa’s all I can imagine.