Brooke
Despite the fact I lost one of my best friends, we’ve had a great week. Vaughn and I have made great strides in our relationship. We’ve been practically living together even though we said he wasn’t going to move in until the fall. It’s nice having dinner together each evening, and before bed we meditate and do his exercises on the floor in the spare room. It’s something that has brought us even closer as a couple
The clinic is back open, and my clients are amazing. Supporting both me and the clinic. Referrals have been coming in, and they’ve praised us on the new name. They all love the picture I put up in the clinic of Dr. Kramer. I also have a small pet urn there on a shelf with his ashes but I couldn’t bring myself to tell them that. I wanted to keep that for us. We all agreed it’s only fitting we put him to rest in a place he loved so dearly.
Today we finally get a day for fun. We’re heading to my parents’ house for the annual block party and we’re both excited. We’re even bringing Brody. Vaughn is in the kitchen packing up his things while I pull my hair back into a ponytail. It’s an extremely warm day, and we’ll be outside for most of it.
“Babe, are you almost ready?” I find Vaughn sitting with Brody, petting him.
“Yeah. I just got done taking him out. He should be set for the ride.”
“Great. Let’s get going. I promised Mama I would be there early to help her collect the food and set it up on the tables.”
We pack everything up in the trunk and get Brody into the backseat. He gets comfy on the new seat cover I installed. I found it online. One end connects to the headrest of the front seat and the other side connects to the backseat, so it almost cradles him. It certainly contains his hair and it can be washed should he have an accident.
Vaughn holds open the passenger’s side door for me. I love that even though we’ve been dating for a while now he’s still such a gentleman. Once he closes my door, he climbs in behind the wheel and we’re on our way. I turn to check on Brody and he’s fast asleep. This dog is so like a child, he’s always sleeping within five minutes of being in the car. Vaughn parks the car on the next street over, knowing we don’t want cars on our road because of the event. I climb out and grab Brody’s leash while he gets our stuff from the trunk and we walk the short distance to my parents’ house. When we arrive, Keaton, Remy, and Kenzie are already here. Dawson and his family will be here a little later. The DJ is just beginning his set up and my brothers are setting up tables.
“Awww, look who’s here,” Kenzie shouts, running over to meet Brody for the first time.
She leans in to kiss me, but Brody starts to bark. “Sorry, he’s protective. Let me introduce you first.” I pull Brody’s leash. “Brody sit.” He listens, but never takes his eyes off of Kenzie. “This is Kenzie, be a good boy.” Kenzie puts her hand out for him to sniff, and then she starts petting him. He licks her hand and just like that, they’re friends.
She leans in again and kisses me on the cheek. “Um, is he your dog or Vaughn’s?” She giggles.
“Oh, he’s protective of both of us. Ask Remy.”
At that very moment, Remy comes walking up behind her. “He’s way protective of Vaughn. When I went to his house that morning, this guy was freaking out.” Vaughn starts laughing. “Dude, it wasn’t even funny. I thought Cujo here was going to bite my balls off.”
Now Kenzie and I are laughing too. Brody is the sweetest dog ever. His bark is bigger than his bite. We all get out of the street and head into the yard to get Brody settled. We’re tying his leash to a tree in the back where he can run around a bit in the shade, but we can still do stuff and keep an eye on him. Dad has promised to install a line for him between two trees. We’ll hook him to it and he’ll have free rein of the back part of the yard while we’re over, but it’s not installed yet, and today’s not a good day for that anyway.
We’re getting Brody settled when Mama calls from the back door. “Brooke, can you and Vaughn come here for a moment?”
“Be right there, Mama.” We finish hooking the leash and Vaughn pours water into his bowl. “There. You be a good boy now, ya hear?”
Vaughn links his fingers with mine and we start toward the house. We’re approaching the patio when he tugs my hand. “I have a surprise for you.”
I smile. “You do?”
“I do.” He pulls me into the house, and when he does, my jaw drops. There are two strangers standing in my parents’ kitchen, and if Vaughn wasn’t a spitting image of his parents, I wouldn’t have clue as to who they are. I look from Vaughn to his parents, and back.
“How? When?”
“Mom, Dad, this is Brooke.” He has such pride in his voice. “Brooke, this is my mom, Adriana, and my dad, Tucker.”
I put my hand out. “Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
His mom takes my hand and pulls me into a hug. “Please call me Adriana.” When we pull apart, Mr. Anderson shakes my hand and asks me to call him by his first name as well.
“When did you get in?”
Mama smiles. “Vaughn called me and told me he wanted to surprise you with a visit from his parents. He arranged their flight and picked them up yesterday, and then brought them here to meet us. They’re staying upstairs in the spare room.”
“Mama, you’re the best.” I wrap my mama in the biggest hug.
“She’s very sweet, and has made us feel very welcome.”
“Thank you, Mama Bennett.” Vaughn kisses Mama on the cheek.
“How long are y’all down for?”
“Y’all bring us to the airport on Monday.” She says ‘y’all,’ trying to mimic our accent.
It makes me laugh. “Please tell me you’ll join us for dinner at my house tomorrow night.”
She rubs my arm. “We’d love to.” I look up at Vaughn, thrilled that he’s surprised me with this. He knows I’ve been concerned with having the opportunity of meeting them at some point. I only wish they were staying longer.
Remy comes walking into the house. “Hey, y’all gonna help us or what?” Remy puts his arm around Vaughn’s shoulder.
Vaughn turns to him. “You got it, man. What do you need?”
The guys head outside and us women stay in the kitchen making punch, adult tea, lemonade, and some desserts for the dessert table. Adriana has regaled me with stories of Vaughn’s childhood, and told me how he was once quite the wild child. When we get outside an hour later, I find my man hanging with my brother. I can’t help but tease him. “Hey, wild child.”
He rolls his eyes. “Clearly you’ve been talking with my mother.”
I giggle. “Isn’t that what you wanted? Me to get to know your mother?”
He shakes his head. “Of course, Angel.” He turns to my brother. “Hey, you and Kenzie up for some Cornhole?”
“Yeah, we’re going to kick your asses.”
I give him a look of shock. “Are you serious right now? You know damn well I’m the queen of Cornhole.”
We all run over to the game, grab the beanbags, and get a game going. Kenzie’s at one end with Vaughn, and I’m at the other end with Remy, and we’re playing couples. I make the first throw, sinking my shot. I’m so excited, I wiggle my brows at Remy. Remy and I each land one more bag on the board. “That puts us up by three.” I shove my brother. He grabs me in a headlock and ruffles my hair. “Rem, stop. You’re messing up my hair.”
“Then stop talking trash.” I manage to jab him in the ribs, forcing him to let go of me.
“Are we going to play or are you two going to wrestle?” Kenzie shouts, collecting the beanbags so her and Vaughn can take their turn.
Lilly and Keaton come walking over with beers for everyone. “Can Lilly and I play the winners?” Keaton asks.
“If you’re okay with playing against Vaughn and I.” I give Remy a cocky look. Vaughn takes his shot and he almost sinks it. Kenzie throws hers next, it slides off the board but knocks Vaughn’s in. Vaughn’s next bag lands on the board and I’m jumping up and down, full of excitement until Kenzie sinks her next one, leaving us with only one point. It takes us a little while, but Vaughn and I finally win the round. Remy’s pissed, but walks off to get us another round of beers while we play a round against Keaton and Lilly.
“Angel, we need to check on Brody,” Vaughn reminds me.
I gasp. “Oh my, I forgot about him, poor thing.”
“Don’t stress it. I’ll go check on him,” Kenzie offers.
“Are you sure?” Vaughn asks.
She shrugs. “Yeah, I don’t mind.” She heads in the dog’s direction.
“Hey, Kenzie. If he starts barking at you, just come get me.” She nods and runs off to the back while we start our game.
What a great day this is turning out to be. The street is filling up with people who have come to celebrate the end of summer, and the smell of food is in the air. The DJ is playing music and there’s a girl set up with a table for face painting. At the end of the street I spot Dawson walking Becky to the bounce house, which is set up in its usual spot two houses down from Mama’s. I take my shot, and go back to admiring everyone wandering the street, having a great time. Vaughn’s parents are sitting on the front lawn in chairs with Mama, relaxing. They look like they’re having a blast.
Kenzie comes back to tell us that Brody is fine. He’s relaxing in the shade. He let her pet him for a while and she told him she’d be back to check on him soon. Remy comes back and hands off the beers. We start drinking another round, and Remy tells us we need to stop to eat after this game. We’re having a blast playing, but thirty minutes later the round is over, and Keaton and Lilly won, and we’re all out of beer.
As promised, we let someone else enjoy Cornhole for a while, and we go grab some food. There’s tons to choose from as always. There’s pulled pork, ribs, burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, and more sides than you can imagine. We all make a plate and head to the backyard to chill with Brody for a bit. Remy runs to the house to grab a huge blanket so we can enjoy dinner on the lawn. While we set up, Vaughn puts food in a bowl for Brody, who starts chomping down instantly. Vaughn takes a seat next to me and we all dig in. “Brooke, we should have the pictures soon. I’ll bring them by as soon as they come in.”
“Thanks, Kenzie. I can’t wait to have more pictures up in the house.”
“Speaking of pictures, lean in, Angel.” I press my back to Vaughn’s chest. He pulls out his phone and snaps a selfie of the two of us. He tells me it’s for him to send to his mom, that she wants a picture of us, but he’s instantly made it the wallpaper on his phone as well.
“I’m so glad you don’t mind taking photos, because I love pictures, and it would kill me if I had to fight you for one.” I giggle. While we finish eating, I convince him that we need a picture of him and I with Brody for my house. He thinks I’m taking the picture thing a bit far, but he’s happy to take it to please me. The two of us sit with Brody between us. Kenzie takes the picture for us with my phone. It comes out great, and I do as Vaughn did, I save it as the wallpaper to my phone. Once we’ve cleaned our mess from eating, Remy and Keaton take off with Lilly and Kenzie to play some more Cornhole, but Vaughn and I want to walk Brody. He needs to get used to being around people. I untie him from the tree and we bring him to the front of the house to meet his parents. Brody is being a bit shy. I sit on the lawn next to his parents and he takes a seat next to me. Brody lays down with his head on my lap. “It’s okay, boy. They’re Vaughn’s parents.” He whimpers and continues lying on my lap.
“What’s wrong with him?” his mama asks nervously.
“He’s just shy. He’s not used to being around all of these people. His last owner was an elderly man who passed away, and then Vaughn adopted him, and it’s usually just the three of us. The only other people he’s met before tonight was Callen and Remy.” I pet him, trying to calm him down. “Plus he’s still young.”
She smiles at me. “You really do love animals, don’t you?” I nod. “I can see it in your eyes. You light up talking about him, and you can see how much he loves you.”
“He’s very protective of Vaughn and I. He takes good care of us, doesn’t he, babe?”
He kisses me. “He sure does.”
“Yeah, well. You remember, fur babies are nice, but you, my son, are an only child, and my only chance at grandbabies. Now I’m not trying to rush you, but don’t go thinking this will replace them for me.” Vaughn’s eyes go wide with panic. We haven’t even talked about marriage yet, and she’s bringing babies into the picture. I, on the other hand, think it’s hilarious. I burst into laughter.
When I finally calm back down, I look her dead in the eye. “Ma’am, I can promise you I’m a fan of having babies someday, and yes, that was plural, because I’d like more than one.” Vaughn’s shaking his head as Remy and Kenzie come walking over.
“Hey, man, help me out here. These women are talking babies.”
Remy’s brows shoot up. “Dude, I love you like a brother, but you get my sister pregnant before you say I do, I’m gonna kick your ass.” Everyone bursts into a fit of laughter.
“Dude, I’m not rushin’ it. My mom’s the one started all the kid talk.”
Remy looks to Vaughn’s mom. “No offense, ma’am.” He tips his head to her.
“None taken. I agree. They need to marry first. I’m simply letting them know they will hear from me if they think a fur baby is going to be enough to keep me from having grandchildren.” Keaton and Lilly come over and take a seat with us. Mama introduces them, and they start discussing what they do for a living. Mama fills her in on the order of her children, and as she’s finishing, Dawson and his family join us. Now we’re all sprawled out on the lawn. Mama takes some pictures of us all sitting and hanging out. Our little family has grown and I can see how happy mama is.
It’s starting to get late and Brody is panting. I think he’s having a hard time dealing with all the people. “Babe, I think it’s time to go. We need to get him settled down.”
“Okay, Angel. I’ll gather his stuff from the back.”
“Leave it. You’re coming here tomorrow. You can get it then,” Mama tells him. “Before you two go, though. I would like to take a picture of you two with Mr. And Mrs. Anderson.” We all get up from our seats. Vaughn and I stand together, Mrs. Anderson is by me, and Mr. Anderson is by Vaughn. Mama snaps quite a few picture and we call it a night.
As we walk back to the car, I thank him for the wonderful surprise. I can’t wait for dinner with them tomorrow night.