Chapter Twenty-nine
W ren got up early the next morning while Sam was still sleeping and drove up to her dad’s place. She’d spent most of last night after Sam fell asleep thinking about the future. What would it look like now that they were in love?
Wren made a left onto her dad’s driveway. There was a good bit of snow now on either side of the road, although his gravel driveway was mostly plowed. Her Rogue managed to push through until she reached the front of his house, spotting the smoke escaping the chimney.
Even if she hadn’t seen the smoke, Wren would have known he was awake. Robert Little had woken up at six in the morning every day of his adult life, even on his days off.
Wren got out of the car and headed up the steps to knock on the front door. Her dad opened it with a cup of coffee in one hand and a confused look on his face.
“Wren, what are you doing here? I thought I wasn’t going to see you until later on today.”
“You are, but I was hoping you had something for me,” Wren said.
“What would that be?” he asked.
“The letter from Sam,” she said gravely, watching his face flush at the reminder of the contention between them. “Did you keep it?”
Her dad stepped back, making room for her to pass by. He nodded slowly. “I have it. Come on in.”
She followed him inside, stopping to sit down on his couch.
“Do you want some coffee?” he asked.
“No, thank you,” she said, clasping her hands in her lap. “I’m going to make some for Sam and me when I get home.”
“Alright, let me go grab it then.” He disappeared into his study, leaving her alone for several moments. When he came back with a box that she recognized, her heart thumped in her chest. It was the box she’d thrown away that had all her pictures of Sam in it. Not just pictures, but keepsakes, like every movie ticket stub. The flower from her prom corsage was in there. So many memories she’d tossed aside in a fit of anger.
“How did you get this? I threw this away when you weren’t home.”
“I took out the trash later that night, and when I saw it, I pulled it out just in case.” Her dad shrugged, setting the box in her lap and taking the seat next to her. “After reading his letter to you—”
Wren groaned. “I can’t believe you would read it!”
“I told you, I was worried you were planning on running away.” Her dad stroked his beard, a nervous habit when he was uncomfortable. “What I realized after reading it, though, was that his feelings were real. Even though you seemed to have moved on, I thought if the two of you worked out eventually, you would regret not having the stuff.”
Although Wren wasn’t happy about his duplicity, she had never been a parent to a sixteen-year-old girl. If she’d been thrown into his shoes, Wren had no idea what she would have done.
“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it.” Wren gave him a hug, which he returned with a few hearty back slaps.
“I am assuming because you’re asking about that letter that you and him have worked things out?” he asked.
“You would assume correctly.”
“So, are we going to see him today for family lunch, then?”
Wren stilled, surprised by her dad’s casual inquiry. “Do you want me to bring him to family lunch?”
“Well, if he’s going to end up being a part of my family anyway, you might as well start bringing him around now so we can get used to him. Especially if the two of you are trying to expand.”
Wren bent over with laughter. “Really, Dad? ‘Expand,’ like I’m a hot air balloon?”
“I’m just saying, I don’t know what the heck is going on between the two of you, but what I do know is that a week ago you were talking about being impregnated and going at it alone. Now, you’re back together with your high school boyfriend, and God knows what plans the two of you have for the future, but I am staying out of it. I am going to stay in my lane and mind my business.”
“So, you wanna be surprised by our plans?” she asked, wondering how painful it was for him to say he didn’t need to know.
“I figured when there’s something to tell, someone will tell me.”
“Then I guess if I’m bringing him to lunch today, I better go home and tell him so he can dress accordingly.”
“Dress accordingly? We don’t get all fancy for Sunday lunch.”
“I know, Dad, I’m joking.” Wren patted his shoulder and climbed to her feet. On impulse, Wren leaned over and hugged him. “Thank you very much.”
“No thanks needed. I love you, kiddo. I’m sorry things got so messed up between us.”
“It’s okay,” she said, releasing him to stand back up. “That’s what life’s all about, right? Second chances and forgiveness?”
“Whatever you say.”
Wren headed for the door but stopped when her dad called her name.
“I just want you to know that I will... try to like Sam.”
Wren laughed. “That’s all I can ask.”
Sam woke up to kisses on his chest, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Wren hovering, smiling down at him.
“Good morning,” she said.
Sam checked the clock and saw that it was after nine. He wondered why his alarm hadn’t gone off, then remembered it was Sunday.
“Good morning,” he murmured. “Come back to bed.”
“I would, but every Sunday I have lunch with my family. And this time, you are invited to join us.”
Sam sat up in bed, giving her wide eyes. “Did your father have a stroke?”
Wren laughed. “No. I think he’s actually gotten softer in his old age.”
Sam snorted. “I highly doubt that.”
Wren’s smile slipped a bit. “You won’t come with me?”
“Hey, hey,” Sam said, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m happy to go with you, but that means going home and getting cleaned up and changed. I don’t think showing up to lunch with my night-before clothes on is going to cut it.”
Wren’s lips twitched. “He might definitely have something to say about that.”
Sam gave her a kiss and got up out of bed. He headed for the bathroom to clean up and thought about how things had changed in the course of the last few weeks.
Wren loved him. They were together now.
It was a crazy miracle he didn’t want to take for granted.
When Sam emerged from the bathroom with his tuxedo pants on, Wren was nowhere to be seen. He finished dressing, and with Duke by his side, went exploring the rest of the house to find her.
“Wren?” he called.
“I’m here.” She was standing outside the spare room with the door open, looking at it.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Trying to imagine what the room will look like when I finally get furniture.”
“How many rooms do you have?” he asked.
“I have a three-bedroom and a finished basement with a bathroom, but I think the previous owners used it as a hangout.”
“Do you wanna show me?” he asked.
“Sure, come with me.” She opened the other bathroom, pointing to the large barnwood-framed mirror and pedestal sink. “They’d done some updates before I bought it, but I honestly hate the sink. There is no linen closet or other storage in here, and that drives me nuts.
“I could help you fix that,” he said, stepping inside the bathroom. He pointed to the open space in front of the toilet. “We could install shelves here for storage. Take out the pedestal and replace it with a vanity with drawers.”
Wren grinned at him from the open doorway. “All good ideas. Wait until you see this.”
Sam followed her to the end of the hallway past the primary bedroom to an open doorway. Through the door were stairs that took them down into a great open room with egress windows and a bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet.
“I figured they must’ve had teenagers, and this was their hangout area.”
“We would have killed for a place like this,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.
Wren laughed. “Yes, but the difference is my dad would’ve never had something like this for us, especially not a place where we could invite members of the opposite sex.”
“Touché.” Sam walked the entire area, whistling. “You know, you could add two more bedrooms down here and still keep most of the space.”
“Why would I need two more bedrooms?” she asked.
“Well, your brother likes to hang out over here a lot. It would be nice for him to have his own room tucked away downstairs rather than a few doors down from yours.”
“Fine, you aren’t wrong about that, but I feel like there was something else on your mind when you suggested it.”
Sam was afraid of saying too much and scaring her off, but he cleared his throat, going for broke. “You said that you wanted to be a mom. If it ends up being something you love doing, why stop at one?”
Wren watched him for several moments before she approached him, placing her hands on his chest. “You’re getting a little ahead of yourself, don’t you think? I’m not even pregnant yet, and you’re thinking about more?”
“I’m only looking at the space and ways to better utilize it. A second child was just the first thing to pop into my head.”
“Aha,” Wren said, heading toward the stairs.
“I didn’t spook you, did I?” Sam asked.
“No, you didn’t,” she said, stopping to turn his way. “I’m just surprised you’d think about having more.”
“Technically, I didn’t even know if I’d be able to be involved with this one, since we agreed you’d be doing it on your own. We haven’t had a chance to discuss what changes for us now.”
“Changes, huh?” she asked, coming back up the stairs slowly, looking up at him with interest. “What changes are you wanting to see?”
“Well, since ‘I love yous’ have been exchanged, I was thinking we could try out boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“Wow,” Wren said, her mouth twitching. “One ‘I love you’ and you wanna label it, huh?”
“Heck yeah I do,” Sam said, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I want to lock this down before you change your mind.”
Wren laughed. “I could be down with boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“What about having a child that we share?”
“I still want one, and whenever it happens, it happens,” Wren said, holding him around the waist. “I already burned the contract. As long as I’m with you, I am not in a big hurry. I want to enjoy this.”
“In that case,” Sam said, lifting her into his arms, “now that we’ve got that sorted, I figure you can move in with me next week.”
“Moving all the steps up, are you?” Wren stroked his cheek with her hand. “If we’re moving in together, you would be moving in with me. I own my place.”
“That’s fair,” he said, kissing her. “Playtime is over. I better go get cleaned up and changed. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“See you then,” she said.
Once Sam made it home, it didn’t take him long to get showered and changed. It did give him time to think, especially about how fast life could change. One minute he was a single guy, taking things day by day, and now his girlfriend was picking him up, and they were taking a ride up a mountain to her father’s house. The same father who had threatened him with jail time years ago.
Sam was still dwelling on this when they took the left onto Wren’s dad’s driveway, the trees on either side growing denser the higher they went.
“Have I mentioned that I’m a little nervous?” Sam said.
“What are you nervous about?” Wren asked.
“We are going to your dad’s home in the woods, and history shows he doesn’t like me. Yet here we are, trusting that I’m going to make it out of this alive and that your dad and brothers aren’t planning to murder me.”
“It’s going to be fine,” she said, putting her hand on his knee. “My brothers don’t have an issue with you. There will be lots of witnesses, and you forget that I am a trained police officer. I’ll keep you safe.”
“Are you sure none of your brothers takes issue with me?” he asked.
“I don’t know for sure, but I think Pete likes you. Except for that whole thing about stealing his place to sleep.”
“Great. I’m going to get murdered because you didn’t want your brother sleeping on the couch.”
“Will you relax?” she said, squeezing his thigh. “Trust me, everything is going to be fine.”
They pulled up to the house and got out of the car in unison. Sam took Wren’s hand the minute he rounded the hood, and they headed up the steps. She didn’t bother to knock, simply opened the door and led the way inside.
“We’re here,” she said.
“Who is ‘we’?” Luke asked, glancing away from the television.
“Her boyfriend,” Wren’s dad said, pointing at Sam. “Sam Griffin.”
Everyone swung around to look first at Sam and then at Robert.
“And we’re okay with this?” Garrett said.
“She’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions.” Robert scowled at each of his sons, growling, “Why do you have to be all up in everyone’s business?”
Although it was subtle, Sam saw Wren’s dad catch her gaze and wink.
Pete blinked. “Have we been replaced with pod people?”
“Where is Elizabeth?” Wren asked, trying to take the attention off them.
“In the back, watching something with Lukas,” Luke said, barely glancing away from the TV. “She has a headache, and he was restless, so they went to lie down.”
“And you didn’t think to take charge of your son in order to give your wife a break?” Wren scolded, dropping Sam’s hand and marching toward the back of the house without another word.
Luke looked at his dad and his brothers. “Am I the asshole in the situation?”
“Yes,” all of them chorused, including Sam.
Luke climbed to his feet and followed after Wren.
Robert got out of his chair. “Time to get some more firewood.” He motioned for Sam to come with him. “Let’s go.”
“Wouldn’t you rather take one of your sons who are related to you and whom you love very much to do this chore that requires the splintering of wood with an axe?”
“Stop being a candy-ass and get out here,” Robert said, opening the door and holding it for him. “If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it when you walked through the door.”
Sam looked at the other two men in the room, who raised their hands. Pete mouthed, Good luck.
Resigned to his fate, he followed Robert out onto the porch and down the steps. They crossed the yard to a large shed where wood had been stacked neatly inside.
“Hold out your arms,” Robert said.
Sam did what he asked, and Robert started stacking wood in his arms.
“Now I need to say a few things to you, and then I don’t ever wanna talk about it again. You understand?”
“Alright,” Sam said.
“I realize that my actions when you were just a kid were not right, and I am sorry that I misjudged you. I was scared that you were going to ruin my daughter’s life, and I acted out of that fear. I took your letter and hid it from her. I am sorry for that as well.”
Sam stared at the top of the other man’s head as Robert continued to load Sam’s arms as if he wasn’t telling him that he had derailed his entire life. He said it in such a matter-of-fact and casual way, like it hadn’t altered the course of their lives. This rankled Sam, but it wouldn’t do any good to hash it out more.
What else could Sam do? This was Wren’s dad, and she loved him, warts and all.
“Thank you for saying that.”
“So, we’re good?” Robert asked, wiping his hands on his pants.
“Actually, I have a few things to say.”
Robert looked to the sky. “Oh brother, let’s go.”
“I love your daughter, and I want to make a life with her, and that means I have to forgive you. So I do.”
“That’s it?” Robert asked.
“That’s it.”
“Alright, then let’s go back inside. Start up the fire and make some sandwiches.”
“Let’s do it.”