Chapter 17 #2
Another hard knock, followed by the sound of the door opening. Lilian’s heart stopped. Dogs couldn’t open the door. Only two people would feel comfortable enough to enter her house like that.
“Shit!” she cursed, rolling off Hawk and searching for her clothes. “Get dressed.”
“What?” he asked, meeting her urgency and getting up.
“It’s my dad. Or my mom,” Lilian hissed. “I forgot it's Sunday, which means family dinner.” She’d been so caught up in the excitement of having Hawk in her space that she’d overlooked the major flaw of inviting him over.
The nosy neighbor parents.
No doubt they’d instantly noticed Hawk’s pristine truck once again in the front yard. She’d hoped this day wouldn’t come. But she’d never dreamed it would come now, after a bout of heavy petting.
She really needed to talk to her parents about personal space!
She could hear her father’s boots against the floorboards, his voice calling out to her. But still she leaned into the warmth of Hawk.
“I’ll go distract him while you get clothes on,” Lilian said, already dressed. She was about to step out the door when a hand gripped her wrist and pulled her back to Hawk’s lips.
“Sorry,” Hawk whispered when they finally broke apart, “I wanted one last kiss.”
“I don’t mind.” She swallowed hard, painfully extracting herself from his embrace. “But I need to go before my dad storms in here.”
He nodded, pulling himself upright and searching the floor for his clothes.
Her entire body was still too hot as she closed the door behind her. She patted her face and smoothed her hair, trying to hide any evidence of her debauching.
“Lilian?” her father’s voice called again.
Shit. Shit. Shit. She needed to get it together.
Taking a deep breath, she called out, “I’m here. Give me a second, I was in the shower.”
“I’m just checking in,” her father rumbled back. “Dinner is on the table. We wanted to see if you would like any.”
“Oh, uh…” Her traitorous stomach rumbled in agreement. She was hungry. Usually, she ate with them when she got back from the faire, but today… other matters had taken priority.
But she couldn’t leave Hawk.
“Uh?” her father repeated. He wasn’t going to accept an excuse, not unless she walked out there and put all those acting skills Alex had taught her to the test. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the main foyer.
Her father stood there, arms crossed and expression curious. Garrett Brody knew something was up, and he was going to use the age-old tactic of staring her down until she talked. She needed a good excuse, something that he couldn’t argue against.
“I’m not hungry.”
Nice.
Her father’s expression didn’t change. “Lilian, I’m not a dummy. We can see the truck from the front door. If you have a guest, they’re invited as well. Come have dinner with us.”
There it was. Garrett’s direct and straight no-nonsense attitude. The thing was bulletproof when the man wanted answers. But he had no idea what he was getting them into. If she and Hawk had gotten off on the wrong foot when they’d first met, he and her father would be an atomic bomb going off.
She scrambled for another excuse. “Um…”
“I’d love to join you for dinner.” Hawk’s voice appeared beside her.
She whirled, expecting him to still be half naked, but somehow, he’d pulled himself together well in a few short minutes. As always, he looked self-assured. Nothing about his posture said that he had been making Lilian scream minutes ago.
But that didn’t mean he could just accept her father’s invitation.
She nudged Hawk’s shoulder, silently urging him to let her handle this.
This was uncharted territory. Never, in the last couple years of living on her parents' property, had she brought a guy home.
Which meant there had been no meeting her family, no dinners. Nothing.
There was absolutely no way her father hadn’t noticed him coming from the same hall she had. Where there was only a bathroom and a bedroom. And she’d told him she’d just gotten out of the shower. Lilian swallowed the meep of mortification as her eyes darted back to her father.
Her father gave her an I knew it smirk. Without a word, he stepped forward and extended a hand. “Garrett Brody. Nice to meet you.”
“Hawk Carlisle.”
They clasped hands, and Lilian felt the tension in the room snap tight around the connection. The air held still. The blood in her veins went cold. Even the cows next door stopped eating to honor the gravity of the moment.
And then the two men released each other and stepped back. Her father was actually smiling a little bit. “Hawk, huh? What kind of name is that?”
“I know it’s a little theatrical. I promise, my name is more dramatic than I am.”
Her father huffed, but it… wasn’t a bad sound. There was still an assessing look in his eye as he took in Hawk’s appearance. The T-shirt was from some sports team Lilian didn’t recognize, but apparently it passed muster.
“Well,” Garrett said, rubbing the back of his sunburned neck. It was the first sign of embarrassment he’d shown at walking in on them. “Why don’t the two of you get yourselves sorted and come in for dinner.”
“We will, Dad, thanks!” Lilian said, urging him toward the door before she melted into the floor.
As soon as the door closed behind him, she turned to Hawk. “Really?”
In all the time she’d known Hawk, she’d never seen such a broad grin on his face. He was… amused?
“What?” His hands went into the pockets of his shorts in a casual shrug.
“You want to have dinner with my parents?”
“You know my parents. I want to get to know your family as well.”
“I barely know your parents,” she pointed out. “I see them more than talk to them. I’ve talked to your mom for maybe ten minutes and your dad even less.”
It was just a flash, but she could have sworn his grin fell at the mention of his dad. It only lasted a moment before he shook it off. “Come on.” The ease was back in his voice as he came up and stroked her arms. “I'd like to meet the owner of the bookstore I've been building back up.”
Her spine went rigid.
She’d been so concerned about her father, she hadn’t even stopped to think about the other parent in the equation.
It wasn’t that she was ashamed of her mom. There was nothing to be ashamed of. When she’d first avoided telling Hawk the truth, she’d never imagined they would be here. On the verge of having… something together. A few weeks ago, he hadn’t needed to know what was happening with her family.
But now he did, right?
“Hey.” A warm hand caressed her cheek, offering reassurance. She naturally leaned into the touch. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s something I didn’t tell you,” she whispered.
He held her gaze, and whatever anxiety or concern he might have felt at the moment, she couldn’t pick it up. He was a stoic but reassuring presence. “All right, what is it?”
“My mom. She was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year.”
There was a slight widening of his eyes, and his lips parted in quiet shock. Whatever he’d been thinking it hadn’t been that. “Lilian…”
“Only Margo really knows. But that's why I’ve been working so hard in the bookstore. She’s been undergoing treatment, and I’ve been helping take care of her and the shop.”
“How bad is it?”
Her lip quivered at the question. It had been so long since she’d talked about this with someone outside her family. And it was still difficult to get the words out. “It’s not as bad as other people.”
“That’s not an answer.”
She wiped at her eyes where a familiar prickle burned. “Stage 2. She underwent surgery, a lumpectomy. Now we’re doing chemo so we can make sure we get everything. The doctor is hopeful, though. It’s been… hard.”
“Lilian.” She saw him move forward, but she hadn’t realized what he meant to do until his arms wrapped around her. A hug. Hawk was hugging her. Somehow that was more intimate than anything they had done in her bedroom.
When her parents had first told her the diagnosis, she’d been too shocked to do anything.
She remembered coming up with a plan with her dad on how they could support her mom’s recovery.
In the blink of an eye, she quit her job and committed herself to her family.
But that night she had cried herself to sleep, overwhelmed by everything.
No one had hugged her.
It didn’t feel right. Her mom was the one who needed support.
But now, the strong arms wrapped around her offered refuge. A place where she could finally let the walls down and be comforted.
The tears were falling before she knew what was happening. On instinct she said, “I’m okay. I promise.”
“No, you’re not.”
Her face was buried in his chest, but the laugh that came out was broken.
Hysterical. She could partially agree with that statement.
Watching someone you love struggle sucked.
She’d felt suffocated by her own inability to help.
But dwelling on it didn’t do her any good either. So she shoved it all down.
Now, the dam was broken, and she was sobbing into the chest of a man who had only recently become something more to her. Right before she’d brought him home to meet her parents.
Life could be a real bitch sometimes.
This should have been embarrassing. But somehow, she was grateful Hawk wasn’t saying anything. That he was letting her cry it out. Without trying to fix it. Without making it smaller.
Never in a million years would she have thought Hawk would be a comforting presence. But here he was.
Slowly, she composed herself.
Her parents were waiting for them, and if they waited too long, her dad might come back in—guns blazing.
Still sniffling, she forced herself to extract from the protective cover of his chest. “Really, I’m okay now. I’m sorry to dump that on you.”
“Don’t be,” he said. “I thought something might be going on with you, but I wasn’t sure. There were… some things about the shop that didn’t make sense. I’m sorry you’ve been going through this alone.”