CHAPTER TWENTY

Garret

I think life is getting back to normal. Every day since that session with her therapist three weeks ago, Sadie has made improvement in her grief. I think when the truth came out about her past, she felt tied down by the loss she now had to face head on. Yes, she'd cried to me on her mom’s birthday, but I also didn’t know the whole story.

It hurt to hear how much pain was involved. Hearing about what that piece of shit did, making a decision about someone he didn’t even like, and taking away her only real chance to say goodbye gutted me. I wanted to drive straight to California and beat the holy hell out of him.

Instead, I did what I needed to—I held my girl and promised I’d never let go. And I didn’t lie. I meant every fucking word. I need her like I need air, and no matter how corny that sounds, it’s the whole and complete truth. We may not have been looking for each other, and she may have fought our attraction, but we were meant to be together. I believe that.

She’s so much stronger than she thinks she is. And I’m so damn proud of her.

As I drive down the bumpy dirt road, I glance over at the beauty in the passenger seat. Sadie looks at me with a smile and goes back to singing along with the radio, her short hair stick straight. Reaching over, I tuck it behind her ear and run my thumb down the side of her neck. She takes my hand and rests it in her lap, intertwining our fingers. We’re having dinner with my parents tonight, and she’s been looking forward to it all day.

I’ve also been working on a surprise for her, and it should be ready in a couple weeks. It’s something she needs, and I hope she loves it.

Turning into my parents’ driveway a few minutes later, I park alongside my mom’s car and hop down from my Jeep, jogging around the front to open her door. She climbs out and pulls her sweater around her. It’s mid-October, and the weather has finally cooled down.

I drape my arm around her shoulder and we make our way inside the house. The door hasn't even shut behind us before I groan out loud. My mom is cooking something that smells amazing, and I’m starving.

“That smells so good,” Sadie agrees, and I laugh.

“Hey, we’re here!” I announce, finding my parents in the living room watching some movie on television.

Mom jumps up when she hears me and comes rushing over to give us both a huge hug. This woman, I’m telling you. I couldn’t ask for a better mother. She has completely welcomed Sadie into the family, and every time we see her, she asks me when she gets to call her another daughter. It makes Sadie cry every time, and I always tell my dad to control his wife.

“You kids hungry? I made roast beef and mashed potatoes.”

“God, yes. Fucking starving,” I tell her, and she swats my head.

“Language. You may be thirty-three but I can still take you over my knee.”

“Ew. You wouldn’t dare, Momma.”

“Oh wouldn’t I?” My mom sticks her hand on her hip and gives me that “mom glare” she’s been giving me since I was ten.

I chuckle. “Dad, help your son out here.”

Dad laughs from his recliner. “Hell no, son. I don’t want to sleep with one eye open tonight.”

Momma tsks. “Oh stop it, you fool. Now, if the antics are finished, I have something I’d like to show Sadie, if you don’t mind.”

Sadie laughs and goes with my mom into the kitchen while I get settled on the couch next to my dad.

He looks over at me and points at the television. “Now I don’t have to pretend I understand what’d going on with this movie anymore. Wanna catch the last half of the football game?”

“Do fish swim?” I joke, and Dad changes the channel. Ten minutes later, we’re both shouting at the screen, cursing the damn refs for fucking that call up.

Mom and Sadie come back into the room a little bit later holding photo albums, and I know what my mom is doing. She's showing my girlfriend all my embarrassing photos, and Sadie is going to eat it all up.

Thanks a lot, Momma.

§

“No problem. I’ll talk to you later, all right?” Jace ends the call and turns back to me. We were sitting in the precinct parking lot, getting ready to head out on shift, when his brother Drew called. I have no idea what’s going on.

“What’s up?” I ask, taking a sip of coffee.

“Drew and Dad got into another fight.”

I shake my head, placing my coffee back in the cupholder. “Again? Now what?”

Drew took over the family business when their dad retired, but it sounds like he’s still trying to run the place. They’re always at each other’s throats.

“I guess Dad showed up when Drew was in the middle of an oil change. When Drew got to his office, the entire place was upended and Dad was trying to reorganize everything, said he can’t stand that Drew works in such clutter.”

“Sounds like your dad needs to take a long-ass trip to Florida and chill out. Drew’s more than capable of running the business.”

“Tell that to my dad,” Jace groans, then puts the car in gear, pulling out onto the road.

In the ten years Jace has been my partner, I’ve consistently heard about drama with his dad, and I can’t imagine what that's like. Mine is the best, and he does nothing but endlessly support Brody and me.

“Sorry, man. It’s a tough spot to be in, I’m sure.”

“My dad has always been hard on us, but damn, Drew can never get a break with him. Drew didn’t even want the business, but he also didn’t want it to get taken over by some random person with the right check amount. So he busted his ass to keep it in the family, to get where he is, and Dad just can’t let him do it. I don’t want to see it come between them, and Mom has reached the end of her rope.”

“Wish I had some advice for you, but I got nothing.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jace waves his hand at me as he drives, the morning bright and clear. Traffic is minimal for once, and people seem to be on their best behavior. For now at least.

“How are you and Sadie doing?” Jace asks. Stopping at a red light, he grabs his coffee and takes a sip, looking over at me.

“We’re good. She’s starting to look into business ventures. She wants to get away from the bar, and I don’t blame her. She’s switched back to earlier shifts.”

“Good for her.”

“I’m really proud of her. That girl of mine, she’s something all right.”

“Yeah, she’s stuck with you. That poor, poor thing.”

I smack his arm, and Jace laughs. The light turns green, the car moving once more.

We’ve only been driving in silence for a few minutes when we get our first call. Jace flips the sirens and we take off, our job never quiet for long.

§

“Honey, I’m home,” Sadie jokes, and I turn from the stove where I’m cooking dinner. I got off work about an hour ago, while she stayed later to help Brody out since the closing waitress came in late.

“Hi. Damn, am I glad you’re home.” Setting the spatula down, I rush over to scoop her into my arms.

“Everything okay?” she asks, and I shake my head. “Garret?”

“Long day,” I tell her, and she runs her fingers through my hair.

Pulling away from her, I give her a gentle kiss and then turn back to finish dinner.

“What are you making?” she inquires, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind.

“Spaghetti. One of the few things I don’t burn. Sound okay to you?”

“Yeah, sounds good. So I was thinking… this weekend, could we do something?”

“Yeah, sure babe. What did you have in mind?” Turning the burner to simmer, I sit with her at the dining table.

“Well, I was thinking—and you can tell me no if you don’t want to, plus I have no idea how far it is—but I wanted to see Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.”

“You haven’t been there yet?”

“No, and I’ve been reading about it. I really want to go.”

“How about we do something even cooler?” I ask, and she smiles.

“Like what?”

“What if we go to Dollywood instead?”

“What’s that?”

My eyes go wide and my jaw drops. “You don’t know what it is? Babe, it’s the Dolly Parton theme park.”

“Just messing with you, Walker. Hell yeah, let’s go. But only if you wear a cowboy hat.”

I laugh and stand from the table to finish dinner. “I don’t have one, but you know I could rock the shit out of it.”

“Damn right you would. Your baseball hat will do just fine though.”

“Well good, because that's what I planned on wearing. Now, if your sassy mouth is finished, dinner is done. Shall we eat?”

“Yeah, I suppose so. You slaved for hours making this for us.”

Sadie is awfully feisty tonight, and her plus me plus a bed is definitely happening the second she’s done eating. I love it when she’s like this, and all it does is make my dick hard.

§

An hour later, I'm in bed with Sadie, that sinful fucking mouth wrapped around my cock. After we tumbled into bed, I made her come twice on my tongue before she flipped us over and took advantage. My eyes are heavy-lidded, and she looks up at me, nothing but lust on her face.

“Fuck,” I grunt, thrusting gently. Her nails scrape down my thighs and I shiver. She’s killing me here. “Baby, you gotta stop. I’m way too close.”

She shakes her head and keeps going, one hand twisting around the base. My eyes shut and I fall back onto the bed, completely at her mercy. “Shit. Fuck, Sades. C’mon, I’m so—"

She takes me deep into her throat and swallows, and that’s all I can take. My back arches and sweat breaks out on my skin as I come, my body shuddering through an intense-as-hell orgasm.

She releases me with a wet pop and rises to her knees. “Good?”

“Dumb thing to ask a man who's barely conscious from that.”

“Glad you enjoyed it.” Sadie crawls up the bed and lies down next to me, throwing her arm across my chest.

“Give me ten minutes. Then that pussy is fucking mine.”

Her cheeks redden, and I’m pretty sure it’s the lust that’s still running through her. Tucking her into my side, I trail my fingers up and down her bare back, scratching lightly.

Ten minutes later, I make good on that promise.

Twice.