38. Chapter 38
Chapter thirty-eight
Laiken
Featherlight kisses trickle down my neck, causing me to squirm against a solid body as I wake up from the deepest sleep I’ve ever been in. Parker grins against my skin, his arms tightening around me when I try to break away. The sun is up, and my bladder is screaming.
“Where are you going?” he murmurs.
“To pee.” I squirm again. “And I need to check my phone in case Ivy called.”
“Fine,” he grumbles.
I roll out of bed, glancing back over my shoulder.
He slides his arms up under the pillow, his bare back on clear display.
A smile spreads across my face. He was always the initiator.
Always the one to haul me away at any moment during those summers just to have a minute alone with me.
Didn’t matter where. Then here I was last night.
The one asking. The one initiating. And he shut me down.
Which only made me love him more. The thought warms me all the way to my toes.
I love him. I never stopped. And as soon as everything settles, I’ll tell him.
After a quick trip to the bathroom, I tiptoe back to the bedroom to find it empty. I frown but hear the faint sound of Parker’s voice coming from the living room.
I follow the sound, stopping just outside the threshold as he hangs up his phone. He sighs, running his hand through his wayward hair.
“Hey.” I cross the room, curling my hands into the sleeves of my hoodie.
“Hey.” He opens his arms, and I go right to him. “Sorry about that. Ryder called. Had an update from Memphis.”
“That was fast.”
“Yeah. Apparently, Memphis is on his shit. Especially when it involves harm to a woman.” He runs a hand up and down my back. “Hungry?”
I nod. “Yes, but I want to go get Trace first. Then maybe donuts?”
“Whatever you want, Firefly. Let me change.”
“Me too.” I tug away, but he catches the hem of his hoodie between his fingers.
“Don’t you dare.” His eyes trail down my body. “You look good in my clothes.”
I can’t keep from blushing, even if I tried.
I’m exhausted. The afternoon at the clinic was busy for a Friday. Especially since we had a patient fall out in the parking lot after one of Matthew’s sessions and we had to call 911. The EMTs showed up, so I got to see Brady in action. I was so proud of him.
I’m finally pulling into my driveway, exhausted but relieved.
Parker texted this afternoon, saying he was bringing Trace home from the ranch.
Maddox has been a lifesaver these last couple of weeks with Mom gone.
He or Ivy have picked up Trace from school and let him piddle around the ranch until I was done with work.
The house is quiet when I step inside, but then the shrill of a power drill echoes down the hallway. Uh-oh.
“Hello?” I call out when the sound dies, placing my purse on the dining table.
“In here, Mama!” Trace shouts.
I amble down the hall to my bedroom where the racket is coming from. Parker and Trace sit on the floor, surrounded by plastic wrap and wooden beams.
“What’s going on?” I perch my hands on my hips.
“Hey, Firefly.” Parker glances up, his biceps flexing when he picks up a flat board. “We’re putting your bed together.”
“I didn’t buy a bed,” I volley back.
“I know.” He grins. “I did. I’m not having my girl sleeping with just a mattress on the floor.”
My stomach flutters. My girl.
“I have a bed. You need one too, Mama. You’re the queen of the house.” Trace inches closer to Parker on his knees, his attention focused on the instructions he attempts to read.
“Here, buddy. Can you hold this while I get more screws?” Parker hands Trace the piece before he climbs to his feet.
I leave my room, leading us out to the kitchen for some privacy. I lean against the counter and face him.
“Just add it to my tab,” I tease. “Thank you for doing that. You didn’t have to.”
He chuckles before he tugs off his cap. That cap.
“You still have it.” I stare down at the faded ball cap.
He rotates it, showcasing the bill with the barely legible black ink.
“Wear it every day,” he says, running his fingers over the words I wrote all those years ago.
Every Single Second.
Emotion builds in my chest as we stand in the empty kitchen.
“I kept my promise,” he says quietly. “To hold on. To not let go.”
I lift my head and he casually reaches out to run his thumb along my jaw.
“But I wasn’t holding onto the rope. I was holding onto you.
To those memories. That’s all I allowed myself over the years.
Those eight seconds to drown in you. To remember how you felt in my arms. It’s all I deserved.
I really didn’t even deserve those seconds. ”
Not allowing him to live in regret, I step forward and cup his face. “No more regrets. I’m here. You’re here. We are here now. Together.”
He leans his forehead to mine.
“I love you,” I whisper, the confession bursting from deep within my soul. “I’ve loved you since I was seventeen.”
He inhales a sharp breath, his head snapping up to meet my eyes. “Can you say that again, baby? I think I blacked out.”
I lean my head back and laugh. “I love you, Parker Stillwater.”
“Fuck, I love you too. So much.” He buries his face in my hair, wrapping his arms around me.
When we pull apart, my hands search for his face again, tugging him down to my lips. I capture them with mine, whimpering when he nips at my bottom lip with his teeth. A deep groan escapes him.
“We need that bed together as soon as possible,” he rumbles before he presses a chaste kiss to my lips.
“Why is that?” I ask.
He smirks and my panties practically melt. “You still want to feel me, Firefly?”
I nod, licking my lips.
“Good. Because after tonight, you’ll be feeling me for days.”
My jaw drops when he winks and saunters back down the hall.