Reagan

“Get them, baby. Kill them!” I screamed over the railing to Carter. My pulse raced under my skin. Adrenaline pumped through me at seeing Carter in all his football glory. He was a beast on the field.

“Reagan, maybe while reporters are around, a death threat isn’t good for you to shout to your boyfriend,” Beth suggested with a warm smile. She sat in the front row with Patty on one side. My seat was on the other side of her, but I wasn’t sitting; I was standing near the fence. Dad, in his seat, was next to me, leaving Mom on the end of the row. Behind us in the other family seats were Brooke, Benjie, and the rest of Carter’s family.

“Nothing’s wrong with a little threatening, Beth.” Mom grinned down the line at Carter’s mom. Over the weeks since the barbecue, they had become fast friends. It was good to see how well both our families got along.

We were at the Super Bowl, Carter’s last game with his team. It had been just a few days since Carter arrived home. Over those days, we’d still had our normal routines, only his training went later than normal due to the championship game being so close. In fact, we hardly saw each other. Besides a few kisses, hugs, and snuggles on the couch, which involved groping, we hadn’t moved forward to home base yet. Carter had decided to stay in his room, so he wouldn’t wake me when he got in late. Though I was sure it also had something to do with my fear of us moving too fast. We were going to reevaluate the sleeping arrangements after the Super Bowl was over, something I suggested we do. He’d told me he didn’t want a quick romp between the sheets, only to rush off in the morning. While I could understand it, even though I didn’t like it, I knew one thing was for sure. Carter Anthony was moving into my bedroom tonight.

I grinned to myself, probably looking a little crazed, but I couldn’t ignore the thrill drumming inside of me about the idea.

Of course, he could be too tired to do anything. Regardless, I wanted to feel him next to me. It’d been hard knowing he was only a room away from me. If I wasn’t a deep sleeper, and so busy marking assignments with school exams coming up, I would have waited up for Carter each night or at least snuck into his room to sleep beside him.

Then again, he was right about one thing. If we had slept beside one another, then we wouldn’t have been able to keep our hands off each other.

Still, I wanted to try having him in my bed that night.

Even if they won or lost.

The game was close already with the other team ahead by two points. Only it wasn’t even halftime. It was still anyone’s game.

Come on, babe.

“Ree,” Calvin called. “Come sit down before you jump the fence and play the game for them.”

I heard State chuckle, even over the noise of the other people screaming and cheering. “We’ll grab her before she has the chance.”

“We hope,” Casper said with humor in his voice.

My hands came up to my neck, and I gasped. Carter got the ball. He dodged to the left, barely missing a tackle. He kept running, his teammates making a clear path, but then an asshole came out of nowhere and took him to the ground, hard.

“Grab her,” Patty yelled. I had one leg over when I was seized from behind and brought back into a chest.

“Is he okay? Is he all right?” I asked over and over.

“He’s fine, honey. Look, he’s getting up,” Dad said. He was right behind me; it was his fast hands that had grabbed me. Cheering sounded around us. My heart slowly crept down from my throat and slipped back into my chest. I breathed in relief to see Carter was walking about.

“Thank fuck he’s finishing up. Not sure Ree would be able to handle it,” State said. People agreed with him.

Dad’s hands on my shoulders gave a gentle shake. “You okay?”

I nodded, finally able to relax as the game went on, and since Carter was still out playing, he couldn’t be too hurt from the tackle.

“Still can’t believe I’m here in the family box,” Dad commented with wonderment clear in his voice. “Guess this means I can forgive you for telling us late that you two were dating.”

I snorted. It had been literally the day after things were finalized between Carter and me. One day and he made it sound like I’d kept our relationship from him for years. Truth be told, I’d been greedy, I had wanted the day just for us before Carter had to leave. Without Dad crying. Hence the one-day delay.

Thankfully, they hadn’t seen the video clip of us together. If that had been the case, Dad would have been even more annoyed with me.

Since I hadn’t called my parents to tell them I was coming over, I knocked on the front door. I didn’t want to walk in on anything. Mom opened it, took one look at me, and yelled, “Herb.” She grabbed my arm and dragged me in.

Dad came running in from the kitchen. “What? What is it?” he asked frantically.

“Reagan’s here and something’s wrong,” Mom announced. She ushered me over to the couch and sat me down, taking one spot next to me. Dad stalked over and sat on my other side, studying me.

“What’s wrong, Ree?” Dad asked. “Is it Carter? Is he okay?” his voice wavered a little.

“He’s fine.”

His eyes narrowed. “Did he upset you?”

“No.” I smiled.

“Do you have an STD?” Mom asked, both Dad and I swung our shocked gazes her way. Her hands came up. “What? It could happen. She’s had a dry spell. She could have hired a prostitute and then—”

“Mom. Stop. Just stop.”

“Jesus, Elaine. Where does your mind go? I’m blaming all those cop and doctor shows you watch.”

She rolled her eyes. “Then what is it? I know when something’s happening with my baby girl. You don’t just pop in without calling first. Is it about yesterday with Carter? Something that happened at school? Did Tom fire you? I’ll let your dad beat him up if he did. Or is it a gambling problem? Are you on the run from your bookie?”

I shook my head. “I don’t gamble, Tom didn’t fire me, nothing happened at school. Well, except… actually, don’t worry about it. And yes, it has got something to do with Carter—”

“Are you pregnant?” Dad asked, hope filling his voice.

“No!” Sheesh. My parents were crazy. If anyone had to question my sanity, then all they had to do was look at my parents, and they’d understand where I got my outbursts. “If you just let me talk—”

“But something is wrong, right?” Mom asked.

“Actually, nothing is wrong. I’m not even sure where you got that from.”

Mom huffed. “Your smile was a little crazy, I thought you were about to crack.”

I snorted. “Okay, so here it is. Carter and I are dating.”

They blinked, looked at each other and blinked again. Dad’s eyes teared. Mom sniffed.

“Are you two okay?” I asked.

“Yep,” Dad choked out, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

“Of course.” Mom cleared her throat. “I knew he’d step up.”

Dad nodded. “You did, Elaine. You called it.”

“What are you talking about?”

Mom took my hand in hers. “The day you brought him here, I watched him. I’m good at just knowing things about people—”

“Tell that to Mr. Milton when you accused him of taking your carrots from your garden. You’d always said he was a shady character, but it ended up being the rabbits.”

She huffed. “He was still shady.”

“Mom. He moved to get away from you watching him all the time.”

“I was keeping an eye on him for the community. Anyway…” She waved her hand in the air flippantly. “As I was saying, I watched Carter that day and could already see the feelings he had for you. Every time you talked or laughed his eyes shone.”

I raised my brows. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. That’s why I asked him to move in here. I knew you’d overreact then offer up your place, and I knew he would accept.”

“You two played me? Your own daughter?”

Mom smiled. Dad grinned, and said, “We’d do it again if we saw the possibility of something great for you. Don’t worry. I’ve already warned him that if he hurts you, I’d hurt him.”

“You did?” I gushed. “Did it pain you to do it?”

He nodded. “It really did.”

“So… he worked his charm and finally admitted his feelings yesterday?” Mom asked. I nodded. “I’m so glad he called us to help him out.”

“Meaning how you got me the day off so he could come home to see me.”

“Yes.” Her smile widened.

“Are you saying this happened yesterday and you didn’t think to call us to inform us he was your boyfriend?”

My eyes narrowed. “I’m here now telling you.”

Dad stood and threw his hands in the air. “I could have had at least eleven more hours of torturing Tom about this.” He glared down at me. “You should have called last night.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah sure, of course my life revolves around yours and Tom’s stupid mind games of bragging.”

“Glad you see it my way. I’m going to call. I’ll let you know when I can forgive you for your tardiness.” He started to walk off when he abruptly turned and came back to me, pulling me up and into a hug. “Good job on snagging Carter Anthony.”

“Hey,” Brooke said from beside me, pulling me from my thoughts. I glanced to see Dad was now sitting beside Patty while Mom and Beth talked quietly. Benjie was playing with Crispin and Caitlyn.

“I’m so glad you could come tonight,” I told Brooke.

“Couldn’t miss the entertainment. I think I’ve lost count of the times your dad has side hugged Carter’s whole family.”

I laughed. “Probably way too many and he’s moved into the uncomfortable stage.”

“True.” She grinned.

I bumped her hip with mine. “Dustin still annoying you?” I questioned.

She bit her bottom lip to hide her smile, but I knew Brooke too well. She was enjoying Dustin making an effort for her.

She nodded. “Guess who was at Nana Bev’s when I went to dinner Friday night?”

My jaw dropped, my eyes widening. “No,” I gasped.

“Yes.” She nodded. “Apparently, he got her number off my phone when I left it at his house ‘accidentally’. Since I always talk about her, he rang her up and they had a good old chat.”

My hand fluttered up to my neck. I choked back my giggle, and asked, “What happened?”

“Of course he charmed Nana. When I got there, she gave me a lecture about being silly and not giving Dustin a chance. Which got my back up.” She shrugged. “Still, I couldn’t keep up my aggression when the idiot’s around for a long time. I ended up enjoying the night. When I left, Dustin walked me out and….”

“What?”

“The bastard kissed me again. My brain shuts down when he does that. He begged me, actually got down on his knees and begged me for a chance.”

“Are you going to give him one?”

She smiled. “Yes. Just one. But we’re not going to tell Benjie anything until we know if we’re okay with dating each other.”

I couldn’t help it. I grabbed her in a hug. “I hope things work out,” I whispered.

“I hope so as well, but we’ll see.”