CHAPTER TWELVE

Garret

Shoving my stuff into my duffel bag, I sling it over my shoulder and head out into the bullpen. My shift ended about twenty minutes ago, and now I’m headed to my parents' to help my dad with a few chores. I haven’t been able to get a peep out of Nacole as to what her plan is for tomorrow, but she’s really excited, so I can’t help feeling the same.

Finding Jace on my way out, I bump my fist against his.

“Have fun tomorrow night, man.”

“I’ll text you.”

Strolling out to my Jeep, I toss the duffel in the back seat and climb in. After sending a quick text to my dad letting him know I’m on my way, I head out, the local radio station cranked. As I make the short drive, my mind wanders to Nacole. I’m not sure what I’m more drawn to, those big brown eyes or her smile. Hell, it would be a lie to say her body doesn’t make me hard as stone every time I see her. She’s so beautiful that she takes my breath away, and she has no idea. Nacole is a rare beauty, and I plan on doing everything in my power to show her just how much she is.

Pulling in my parents’ driveway ten minutes later, I park alongside my mom’s Nissan and hop down, finding her in the front garden tending to the flowers she loves so much.

“Is that the prettiest lady in all of Tennessee in front of me?” I greet, shoving my hands into my front pockets.

Mom brushes her pants off and pulls off her gloves, covered in soil.

“Nope, but it is the biggest kiss ass in all of Nashville coming to visit me,” she teases, and I reach down to hug her tight, rocking her back and forth.

“Damn straight,” I tell her, pulling away to kiss her cheek.

“Your father’s already started, honey. He’s out back.”

“On my way.” Jogging around the side of the house, I find Dad standing just below the deck, loading wood along the side of the house. There are a couple axes stuck in a stump and piles of wood everywhere, just waiting to be cut and stacked.

“'Bout time you got here, son.”

“I’m ten minutes early, Dad.”

“Just busting your chops. Let’s get started. The sooner we finish, the sooner your mother can make us something to eat.”

Chuckling, I grab an axe and head over to a pile, picking up a log as I go. In one swing, I split it in half and look at my father.

“Still only doing chores so Momma will cook for you, I see?”

“Garret, if you find a woman who can cook even half as decent as that woman, then you keep a hold of her. Best thing about her is she knows the way to my heart, and she loves doing it. Probably why these pesky fifteen pounds won’t go anywhere.”

“Fifteen, huh?”

Dad laughs. “I’m carrying my own food baby, but it’s been nine months and this fucker just ain’t ready to leave.”

Roaring with laughter, I split the log again, Dad coming alongside me to grab his own axe. We take turns until we have more split wood than logs. Dripping in sweat, I swipe my forearm over my forehead and drop the axe, getting busy stacking the wood against the house.

The sun has just started to set when we finish. Mom yells to us from the deck, and I tell Dad I’ll be right in. Swinging over to my Jeep, I grab the spare T-shirt I brought and strip off my sweaty shirt, using it to wipe my face.

I’m pulling the clean shirt on when my phone starts ringing from my pocket. Yanking the shirt down, I dig my phone out and see it's Nacole calling me.

“Well, hey there, beautiful.”

“Hey. So, I know you’re busy at your parents', and I don’t wanna keep you from them, but I have just a quick favor.”

“You name it.” Heading back to the house, I take my time walking so we don’t have to end the call yet.

“What time do you think you’ll be leaving tonight?”

“Not sure. Probably in the next hour or so. Why?” She lets out a loud sigh and I begin to worry. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just getting home from work and my whole kitchen is flooded. I left the dishwasher running when I left earlier today and I don’t know what happened.”

She sounds close to tears, so I stop walking and check my watch, unsure of what I should do. I want to help her, but I also don’t want to go running out on my mom when she’s been cooking all day either.

It takes me a minute, but I have an idea. Nacole only lives a few minutes away, so it should work.

“Did you get the water shut off yet?” I ask, stepping onto my parents' porch.

“Yeah, and I’ve got towels everywhere, but I don’t know what else I can do.”

“Get changed. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“No, Garret, I don’t—"

“See you soon.”

Ending the call without letting her get another word in, I rush inside, finding both my parents in the kitchen, Mom stirring something on the stove.

“So, would you mind if I go get a guest for dinner?”

Mom spins around with a giant shit-eating grin on her face and I shake my head, rubbing a hand over the back of my neck.

“Is it the young lady you told us about, the one who works at Brody’s bar?”

“Yeah, it is. We’re trying to figure things out and take it slow. She called me just a minute ago. Her kitchen is all flooded and she sounded upset, so I thought maybe it would cheer her up.”

“Just like your father," my mom laughs. "Go get her, sweetheart. Dinner can wait a little bit longer, and we have more than enough to go around.”

“You’re the best.” Kissing her cheek, I turn and rush back outside, hurrying to my Jeep. In seconds I’m pulling onto the road, heading toward Nacole’s place.

When I turn into her driveway a little bit later, I don’t even bother shutting off the vehicle. Hurrying to her front door, I rap my knuckles on it and she swings the door open, dressed in a simple white T-shirt and loose jeans, her long dark hair flowing down her back.

“Let’s go,” I say, reaching for her hand.

“Wait, what?”

“You’re coming with me to dinner at my parents'.”

“No way, Garret. Are you out of your mind?”

“Not at all,” I chuckle. “Come have dinner with us, and when I drop you off, I’ll take a look at your dishwasher, okay?”

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Why not?”

Nacole runs her hands through her hair, nervously trying to straighten her appearance, but she looks perfect. “I’m not even your girlfriend, Garret. What will they think of me? I’m not….”

I take a step forward, crowding her space, but only just a little.

“Who cares what you are? So you aren’t my girlfriend, but you’re the girl I really like, all right? This isn’t some 'meet the parents’ game. I want you there. Please?”

Her teeth sink into that plump bottom lip and I step even closer, reaching out to gently cup her face, tilting it up toward mine.

“Please,” I whisper, and she closes her eyes. I wait patiently, and just when I think she’s gonna tell me to get out, her eyes open and they’re sparkling.

“Okay, Garret Walker. I’ll come to dinner at your parents’ house. Happy?”

“You have no idea.” Dropping my mouth to hers for a soft kiss, I pull away and place a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Let’s go. Mom’s been cooking all day, and you’re in for a treat.”

Stepping inside to grab her purse, she locks the door behind us and we walk hand in hand to my still-running Jeep. Helping her into the passenger side, I close the door behind her, then jog around the hood and climb in, looking over to see her buckling in.

“By the way, you look fucking beautiful,” I say, and without another word I drive us to my parents'. Halfway there, I reach out for her hand, and my heart warms when she lets me hold it the rest of the ride.

§

A couple hours later, we’re helping my mom clean up from dinner. Nacole really hit it off with them, and my mom has been beaming the entire time. While the ladies do the dishes together, my dad grabs me and pulls me into the living room.

“You did good, son,” he tells me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“Well thanks, but we aren’t even really a couple yet. Appreciate it all the same though.”

“I saw how she looked at you during dinner, Garret. She likes you, and it’s obvious you like her too. I hope it works out.”

“You and me both, Pops.”

We head back to the kitchen, and Mom grabs a dish out of the fridge and sets it on the table.

“You kids gonna stay for dessert?”

“I’d really love to, Mrs. Walker, but I need to get home so I can figure out what’s wrong with my dishwasher. I’m sure Garret can come back after he drives me home.”

Nacole looks to me, but I shake my head.

“Can we take some for the road, Momma?”

My mother gives me a knowing smile and hastily dishes apple pie into a large Tupperware container. Snapping the lid on tight, she hands it to Nacole and then pulls her in for a hug, Nacole gripping the container tightly. Mom whispers something in her ear, and I don’t miss the emotion that crosses my girl’s face.

Saying a quick goodbye to my dad, she whispers that she’ll meet me in the car. I look back to my mom with a raised eyebrow.

“She’ll be okay, honey. Take her home. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Love you,” I tell her, giving her a tight squeeze.

Shaking my dad’s hand, I head out after Nacole. She’s leaning against the side of my Jeep, the Tupperware container still clutched in her hands.

Striding over to her, I lean my hands on the hood of the vehicle and look down at her, noting a few tears on her cheeks.

“What is it?” I ask softly, brushing a tear away before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

She sniffs loudly, but looks at me with a huge smile.

“I love your mom,” she says, and I know the tears are evidence of her missing her own mother.

Smirking, I press a chaste kiss to her forehead and then motion to the Jeep.

“Shall we?” I ask, and she nods, going around to hop in. Settling myself behind the wheel, I turn to her before starting the engine. “Thank you for joining us tonight.”

“I’m glad I came. Thank you, Garret.”

“Anytime.” Grabbing her hand, I kiss the back of it and start the engine.

The drive to her house is quiet but for the soft strains of the radio. When we pull up at her house, she undoes her buckle and turns to me.

“I know it’s getting late, so you don’t have to look at my kitchen if you don’t want.”

“I don’t mind,” I tell her. "I’m off shift tomorrow anyway. We can get it taken care of so my surprise doesn’t get ruined for tomorrow, right?”

“We can’t have that, mister.”

We walk into her house and I find towels strewn all over her kitchen, the cabinets under her sink still wide open.

“Let’s see what we got here,” I say and crouch in front of the pipes with a flashlight so I can see better. It looks like one of the pipes was overdue to be replaced and cracked, hence the water everywhere.

Looking over my shoulder, I go to ask her for help, but she's nowhere to be found. Shrugging, I set about detaching the pipe. In my head, I do the math and know I’ll have just enough time to get to the local hardware store before it closes.

“Hey, Nacole, can you come here a second?”

She pads into the kitchen in a pair of sweatpants and a loose-fitting T-shirt, her long hair pulled up on top of her head.

“What’s up?”

“The hardware store closes at nine, so I’m gonna run over there really quick to grab what I need to fix this. You wanna come?”

“No, I’m just gonna hang out here, if that’s okay? I wanted to catch up on my favorite show.”

“No worries. I should be back in about an hour, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll be here.”

“Back in a bit.” Kissing her cheek, I head out, taking my keys from my pocket as I go.

Pulling into the hardware store parking lot twenty minutes later, I jog inside and look at my watch, seeing I have thirty minutes. After grabbing what I need, I check out.

About thirty minutes later, I’m walking up to Nacole’s front door, knocking softly before I enter. She’s curled up on the couch under a navy blanket, completely immersed in her show with a small plate on the coffee table containing remnants of my mom’s apple pie.

She hits Pause when I walk in. “How’d you do?” she asks, yawning loudly as she gestures to the bags.

“I should be able to get this fixed no problem. Just holler if you need me.”

She nods at me and as I’m crossing into the kitchen, I hear her show turn back on.

Sorry, but nothing about dating twenty girls at once sounds at all appealing to me.

I’ll stick to just one, thank you.

§

An hour and a half later, I’m putting my tools back into the bag I brought in not long ago. Making sure to turn her water back on, I’m closing the cabinets when I hear the soft sounds of Nacole’s voice. Leaving my tool bag on the floor, I cross the kitchen and poke my head into the living room. Sound asleep on the couch, her small body is moving around, tears staining her cheeks.

My heart racing, I hurry over to her and drop to my knees in front of where she lies. She's still asleep, her head thrashing around on the pillow, I reach out to run my thumb down her cheek, soothing her soft skin in circles.

“No, please don’t,” she whispers, pain etched in her words. My skin prickles and I lean down so my cheek rests against hers, cupping her other one.

“Nacole, wake up, sweetheart. You’re okay. I’m right here,” I whisper, gently shaking her.

A few moments later, she stops moving around. Slowly, her eyes open and they focus on me. “Garret.”

“You okay?” I ask, my thumb still tracing the side of her face.

“Bad dream,” she murmurs.

“I figured as much. Anything I can do?”

“I need to just go to bed. I’m exhausted.”

She stands up and tosses the blanket onto the couch. I steer her into her bedroom and sit on the edge of the bed, watching her climb in. I stand to go clean up the kitchen when she reaches out for me.

“Will you stay with me?” she asks, her voice quiet in the dark room.

“I need to clean up your kitchen, and then I was gonna leave.”

“Please?”

Standing, I move to where she’s sitting and reach for the hand she has resting on top of her blanket. Bringing it my lips so I can try and soothe her, I look into her eyes.

“What are you asking me, Nacole?”

She clears her throat and looks up at me through tired eyes. “I’m asking you to stay the night, and I know we’re taking it slow, but I want you to stay.”

“I don’t think—”

“Please, Garret. I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

Staring down at this beautiful woman, I let out a sigh and smile at her, brushing her hair off her forehead. Kicking my shoes off, I go around to the other side of her bed and climb in, ignoring the discomfort of my jeans. Moving behind her, I rest my hand on her hip. She snuggles back against me, and I bury my face in the crook of her neck.

“Thank you,” she whispers, and I kiss her neck.

“You’re welcome. Sleep. I’ll be here all night, sweetheart.”