Chapter 18
Thanksgiving at Gran’s was as chaotic and homey as our typical Sunday dinner, except now everyone was dressed up.
Josh had made the choice to invite Victoria because her parents were out of town and she didn’t have plans, so apparently glaring at him from across the table was better than being home alone.
Mom and Dad were happily conversing with Gran while Brett’s kids were upstairs playing with Eve, Liam and Kaley. Everything just felt right, especially when Lucy’s hand found my knee under the table and begun rubbing little circles.
Everything was great, until my phone rang. Graham’s name flashed across my screen. Lucy looked at the screen, then to me measuring my reaction. I silenced the call. Fuck him. If he couldn’t be bothered about our dad being in the hospital, then he could wait until I was ready to speak to him.
Lucy took a deep breath, nodding at my silent decision, and leaned her head on my shoulder.
Dylan clocked the movement, and I shit you not, squealed as he pointed at us, bouncing on his seat. “You guys are seeing this right? They’re touching! Like couple touching.”
He gasped and clasped his cheeks, “Are you two-”
He glanced around and whispered. “-an item?”
Lucy wadded her napkin and threw it across the table, hitting Dylan between the eyes. He feigned pain and turned to their grandma. “Do you see this? She’s turned violent!”
“Or perhaps,”
Gran answered in complete composure. “You are being a child.”
“Gran, you wound me.”
He clutched his chest, turning to stick his tongue out at Lucy.
She flipped him off in response, then stared at my parents with wide eyes. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.”
Dad laughed a full belly laugh. “This is the best family dinner I’ve had in a while. It reminds me of my brothers.”
She smiled, still leaning on my shoulder.
Mom grinned. “The boys would get into knock out, drag out brawls at most holiday events. This is nothing.”
Brett shoved Dylan’s shoulder. “Yeah, but we had hoped this ape would have evolved in his thirty-four years here on earth.”
“I have manners,”
Dylan argued, expression pained by the accusation. “I just save them for special occasions.”
“Let’s be honest, calling him an ape is an insult to primates everywhere,”
Josh teased, earning both middle fingers from Dylan.
Victoria was giving Lucy a huge smile with a subtle two thumbs up which made me chuckle. At least everyone was supportive of us.
I wrapped an arm around Lucy’s shoulder and watched my mom. She was doing really well. I’m not sure what age she thought she was today, she recognized Dad and Gran, and honestly that was enough. She was smiling and holding coherent conversations. All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving. I was glad we were invited.
We eventually made our way into the living room. Josh and Brett turned on the football game, coincidentally their teams were competing against each other and honestly, I’d never seen those two fight, but their arguments were heated. Dylan and Victoria left after the meal, Dylan to cover at the station and Victoria, well, I think there was a lot going unsaid between her and Josh.
Lucy nudged me with her elbow. “We need popcorn. This is going to be better than the game.”
She watched her brothers shout at one another from either side of the mounted TV, enjoying their animosity towards each other.
“Watch this,”
I said with a wink. “If only it were the Dolphins, then it would be a real game.”
“Oh, get the fuck out of here!”
Brett shouted.
“That’s utter blasphemy,”
Josh said with dripping disdain.
Lucy threw her head back against the couch and laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks. God, I didn’t want the day to end. I wanted to scoop her and the kids up and bring them back to the farm. Nothing had ever felt more right, and parting ways tonight was going to be the death of me.
“Hey Garrett?”
Kaley called from the top of the stairs, with Eve peering around the corner.
“Yeah Half-pint?”
Lucy smiled up at me. It felt like winning the lottery.
“Can we come back tonight to help put the horses to bed?”
She clasped her hands together and stuck out her bottom lip.
Well, shit, was there any other answer than yes?
Eve nudged her shoulder, and Kaley went wide eyed as she said, “Oh, I meant could we do that every night?”
Lucy shook her head, frowning at her daughters. “Girls, no, you can’t ask that. I’m sorry, Garrett.”
I laughed as I peered up at the Lucy clones both staring at me with expressions I held no hope of refusing. “You guys can come see the horses any time you want. They love you all.”
Lucy looked at me from my shoulder with an expression I couldn’t quite place. “Thank you, Garrett.”
“Of course. You guys have always been welcome.”
“Except for when you hid that it was still your grandpa’s place right?”
Dad teased with a wink. Asshole.
I stared at him, simply at a loss for words. Traitor, I mouthed.
Lucy patted my chest, looking at Dad. “It’s okay. I forgave him.”
Fuck’s sake. “I think it’s time we head home, Pops.”
Dad chuckled and sipped his coffee. Mom was grinning. Just then Brett jumped out of his seat cheering for his team that just scored while Josh yelled, “Fuck.”
Gran threw a skene of yarn at Josh’s chest, just as Liam gave a solid attempt at the word.
Lucy glared at her brother. “I’m going to instill a swear jar, five dollars for each curse.”
Brett scoffed. “Lucy, you cuss just as much as the rest of us.”
She gasped, sitting forward to point at Brett. “I do not!”
Brett looked at me, arms crossed, waiting. “Well, does she or does she not cuss like a sailor?”
The breathy moan of the word fuck last night replayed and my cock twitched at the memory. I looked to Lucy and winced in defeat.
“Don’t you dare side with the frat pack, Garrett.”
Her eyes danced between mirth and horror.
“You do curse quite a bit.”
She clutched her chest in betrayal. “Well, you’re no saint either!”
A chorus of, “Ooohh’s,”
sounded around us.
I shrugged, pulling her in against my side with a smirk. “I never said I was.”
That earned me an elbow to the ribs, but it was worth it.
After Brett’s team won and Josh stormed out of the house, we decided it was time to take my parents home. Dad was beginning to look weary; I didn’t want to overdo it for him on his recovery.
“Mom.”
Kaley pulled at Lucy’s arm as we walked to the car. “Please?”
Lucy sighed. “Your brother just fell asleep, Kaley. We are not going with them.”
She turned to me hoping I could change Lucy’s mind. “Please, Garrett?”
I ruffled her hair. “Sorry Half-Pint. If your mom says no, then it’s a no.”
She stomped her bare foot on the concrete drive and stormed back inside grumbling to herself.
Lucy chuckled, shaking her head. “Sorry.”
I closed Mom’s door and turned to Lucy. “You guys can come over when Liam wakes up, if you want.”
She smirked, eyes gauging mine for sincerity.
“I mean it, Daze. I want you in every capacity. I want to share life with you and that includes your kids. All of them, though I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to explicitly tell the girls no if they continue to give me those diabolical looks. I want everything you have to offer and nothing less.”
Lucy wrapped her arms around my waist, laying her head on my chest. “Careful, Sheriff. Those are some powerful words. One might get the idea that you really like us or something.”
I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and hugged her back. “Extra emphasis on the or something, Daze.”
She looked up at me, mouth gaping, speechless.
“Always.”
I kissed her forehead and stepped back. “I’ll see you tonight if you guys can make it.”
“And if we can’t?”
She pulled her coat closed as I got into the driver’s seat.
“Then, I’ll find a way to see you tomorrow.”
With that, I started the truck and took Mom and Dad back to the farm. By the time we got unloaded and settled, Mom fell fast asleep, and Dad shuffled his feet as he joined her in bed. He was doing really well, but it was clear the day had worn on him. I took the time to step outside and stare at my phone as if it would tell me whether or not to call Graham back. My thumb hovered over the green call button. My heart damn near burst out of my chest from the anxiety. If I threw my phone against the side of the barn and broke it, I wouldn’t have to worry about calling him back, but that was a short-term solution. Fuck.
Deciding to take the high road, I sighed, clutching the phone with white knuckles and pressed call. It rang. And rang. And rang, until I got voicemail. Typical.
I couldn’t stop the growl that passed through my chest as I tossed my phone onto the porch swing and made my way to the barn. Without much thought, I saddled Herman and led him into the pasture. Quickly, I mounted and urged him into a trot.
I hated that I couldn’t save Graham. I couldn’t make him take sobriety seriously. Our family wasn’t enough of a reason. What was I supposed to do? I’d checked him into every rehab imaginable. I had given him countless chances. Why wasn’t it enough? Why weren’t we enough?
I rode Herman until the air stung my face and my lungs burned. The sky was clear, stars shining bright as I ushered Herman into the barn. Just then, Lucy pulled into the drive. It was as if the weight on my chest evaporated as her eyes met mine and she smiled, dimples popping on both cheeks.
The girls came barreling out of the car, pushing and shoving one another to get to Brenda first. I watched in shock, still disbelieving that she preferred kids to adults, or me.
“We are only staying to help put the horses to bed,”
Lucy called after them.
I frowned as I put Herman in his stall. “You don’t want another sleep over?”
“I want a sleep over!”
Kaley shouted.
Lucy chuckled and shook her head. “Liam is with Gran. We can all come back tomorrow while I’m working.”
Her arms wrapped around my waist and any leftover tension quickly dissipated. “Are you sure you don’t mind watching Mom tomorrow?”
“The kids and I will bring Christmas crafts and make a day out of it. No worries.”
She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “Are you okay? Did Graham leave a message?”
I sighed and held her tight against me, watching the girls offer the horses extra treats with huge smiles. “No, he didn’t. I called back when I got home, but it went to voicemail.”
“I’m sorry.”
She rested her head on my chest.
“I just have to accept that this is who he is. I can’t change him.”
She pressed a kiss to my neck.
I peered down at her with a devilish wink. “Any way I could convince you to stay the night?”
She smirked but shook her head. “Not tonight, Sheriff.”
“I could make it worth your while,”
I teased as I grabbed her ass.
“Garrett Michael,”
She scolded half-heartedly as she swatted my chest.
I raised my hands in surrender. “All right, I can take a hint.”
Lucy rolled her beautiful eyes, and it took all of my restraint not to throw her over my shoulders like the cave man my brain suddenly decided I was and show her how much I needed her.
“You should enroll Brenda in equine therapy training. She is fantastic with the kids.”
Lucy commented as she watched Kaley and Eve both pet and hug the temperamental mare.
“I’ve be weighing the idea of creating a program out here, but life has been…busy lately.”
“Well, if you ever decide to move forward with the idea, I’d love to discuss incorporating children’s physical therapy programs into it.”
She pet Herman’s cheek, earning a nuzzle on her shoulder. “Sorry, I’m just inserting myself into your plans, I’ve just always dreamed of running an equine therapy program. Feel free to tell me to back off.”
I pulled her to me. “There is no one I would rather partner with, Daze. We should look into it.”
Her eyes lit with excitement as she threw her arms around my neck, kissing me with a passion that jump-started my heart and brought my dick to full attention.
“I can’t wait,”
she beamed.
Neither could I, both for the therapy program and the next time I got to have her in my bed.
“Mom, I’m cold.”
Eve shivered as she came up to us, wrapping her arms around herself.
Lucy nodded. “Alright, Kaley. Say goodbye to the horses. We’ll be back in the morning.”
“Bye Brenda,”
Kaley said as she kissed the horse’s snout. “Bye Garrett!”
She ran to the car, clearly also feeling the chill of the night air.
Lucy looked up at me happily. “I’ll see you in the morning, Sheriff.”
I kissed her, playfully running my tongue over her bottom lip, eliciting a moan from her. “I’ll see you, Daze. Sweet dreams.”
She leaned into me and hummed. “You, too.”
Her lips found me once more, pulling away right after biting my bottom lip. With a teasing wave, Lucy headed to her car. Her ass rose and fell with each step, her leggings hugging every curve of her legs, giving me a truly stunning view as she left.
I sighed as I watched my vixen leave, knowing I was about to become well acquainted with my right hand in the shower tonight.