Chapter 20
MILLER
It’s been six days since the extension of the restraining order.
Six days that Lindsey has been cooped up in this house and is going out of her mind.
Afraid she might try to escape, I set this up, but maybe I should have talked to her about it first. I’m about to let her in on it when the doorbell rings. Shit. I’m out of time.
Eli, who is also in on it, is practically vibrating next to me. “Is that them? Are they here?”
Lindsey looks between us. “Is who here?”
The bell rings again. If there’s one thing my family isn’t, it’s patient. I give an apologetic look to Lindsey. “Remember how you were talking about missing taking photos, and there’s only so many pictures you can take of the flower garden?”
She eyes me suspiciously.
“Well, get ready because everyone, including my mom and dad, are here for photos.”
She stands up. “Your parents are here? I’m meeting your parents looking like this?”
She is plucking at her T-shirt and jean shorts, and to me she looks beautiful.
But she squeals and takes off running to the stairs. Eli and I look at each other and shrug.
I walk to the front door, and sure enough, everyone showed up. Even Penn was able to make it.
They’re all dressed casually, and they slap hands or hug me as they walk in. My mom stops in front of me. “Where is he?”
I’m surprised because when I look down, I see that Eli is hiding behind me. I pull him out and go on one knee. “Hey buddy, I want you to meet some people. Eli, this is my mom and dad.”
My mom can barely contain herself. “But you can call me Gran.”
I admonish her. I don’t think we should do nicknames until we talk to Lindsey, and I’m already pretty sure I’m in trouble for springing this on her.
“Gran?” Eli asks.
My mom nods. “You can call me whatever you want.”
My dad chimes in and puts his hand out to Eli. “And I’m Pops.”
Eli shakes my dad’s hand and then immediately returns his hand to mine.
My mom practically melts watching me with Eli, and she pulls out a big purse. “Miller told us you liked baseball, so I brought some baseball cards we can open, and I brought a wiffle ball and bat in case you wanted to get a game of wiffle ball later.”
Eli eyes widen. “Yes!” he says, pumping his hand in the air.
I’m closing the door when the bell rings again.
I open it and find the caterers. I let them in and tell them to set up. I knew Lindsey would stress about feeding everyone, so I thought I’d get some BBQ and make this easy.
Leaving Eli with my mom and dad, I wait at the bottom of the stairs for Lindsey to join me. She returns in a long skirt, T-shirt, and makeup. I hold my hand out to her, and she puts her hand in mine. “You’re beautiful. Of course, you’re always beautiful.”
She smiles at me. “You know you’re in trouble, right?”
But even as she says it, her eyes are sparkling.
I grab her hand and hold it up. “Where’s the ring?”
She shrugs. “I figured you didn’t want to explain that to your family.”
I almost ask her to go back and put it back on, but I let it go. She waves to everyone in the kitchen and the dining room, but I pass them all to find my mom, dad, and Eli in the living room. “Mom, Dad, this is Lindsey. Lindsey, this is my mom and dad.”
Mom pops up from the couch. “Lindsey. Oh, I’ve heard so much about you.” She hugs her. “Welcome to the family. We’re so happy to have you and Eli as part of the Brody clan.”
Lindsey looks at me, and I nod at her. Is that guilt on her face?
She smiles at them, and Mom insists she sit down with her. My mom has a way of making people feel comfortable, so it isn’t long before they’re deep in conversation and Lindsey is wiping her tears from laughing so hard.
I’m watching from the corner of the room. My dad is with Eli and my mom is with Lindsey when Logan elbows me in the side. “She’s a good fit for the family.”
I agree with him. Now if only I can convince her of it.
Skyler comes out of the kitchen. “All right, the food is ready. Everyone eat.”
You don’t have to tell my family twice. People are in line, circling the island where all the food is set up. Everyone eats, laughs, and tells stories. Lindsey starts to relax, but it’s not until after lunch and she’s setting up her lights and props that she is most relaxed.
I walk up to her. “Can I help?”
She surprises me by walking up to me and wrapping her arms around my waist. “Thank you, Mills.”
I lean back to look at her face. “So you’re not mad at me.”
She smiles up at me. “No. A little notice would have been nice, but no, this is actually perfect. I would have been nervous about meeting your parents and—”
“Why would you be nervous? Everyone that meets you loves you. Eli too.”
Eli is hitting the wiffle ball on the other side of the yard with my dad. She looks over at him, smiling. “I wish Tammy could have been here for this. We always talked about how we wished we had a big family… She would have loved this.” Her face drops. “Eli is going to be devastated when we leave.”
I hold her possessively against me. “Maybe you don’t have to.”
Her head jerks to look up at me. “What do you mean?”
I shrug and hold her left hand finger in my hand. “I mean, maybe you and Eli can stay, and we can make this permanent.”
First there’s hope in her eyes, and then she looks away. “Miller, we’ve completely turned your life upside down.”
I stop her. “No, you haven’t. If anything, you’ve made my life full.”
“Can I go first? I need to get this done and back to the ranch,” Ozzy interrupts.
He was the one most reluctant about doing this, but he also likes Lindsey, and I think he would do anything to help put a smile on her face. Lindsey links her arm with his. “Thank you so much for doing this, Ozz. I know it’s not your thing, so it means a lot that you’re here and willing to do it.”
Ozzy hugs her. “You’re welcome. Now where do you want me?”
I watch Lindsey work, and she is truly happy behind the camera. She has a way of capturing people, and it’s obvious she enjoys what she does.
The whole family gathers for pictures, and to my surprise, no one complains—not even Ozzy.
Between shots, I step up beside Lindsey. “We’re not done with that conversation from earlier,” I murmur. “We’re going to finish it.”
She glances at me, then nods. “Okay.”
By the end, my mom works her usual magic, convincing Lindsey to hand over the camera. A few minutes later, she’s directing us instead. She gets shots of Lindsey with Eli and me, like she’s been part of us all along.