“Marry me.”
“But we’ve just started dating!” I said, a small laugh slipping from my lips.
“I don’t care. I want to spend the rest of my life making love to you.”
Running my fingers through his dark hair, I smiled. “You know what we just did was pure fucking.”
“And you loved it.”
I nodded. “My God, I did! It was thrilling.”
He laughed. “It was dangerous! For me!”
“Are you being serious, Jonathon?”
Slowly pulling out of me, he reached for the tissue box on my desk. Dropping to his knees, he lifted my leg and gently began wiping me clean, and I knew this man was the only one I ever wanted to kiss me. Touch me. Make love to me.
Once he was finished, he adjusted my panties and dress before getting himself tucked back into his pants.
“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. I knew the moment I laid eyes on you that you were the woman I’ve been waiting for. The one I want to grow old with in rocking chairs on our front porch.”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I buried my face against his body.
“We don’t have to tell anyone. Let’s just go do it.”
Drawing back, I felt a tear slip from my eye. Jonathon wiped it away. “Will you do me the honor of taking my last name and spending the rest of your life being a pain in my ass?”
My teeth sank into my lip as I nodded and whispered, “Yes.”
The knock on the door startled us both.
“You better not be getting it on in there, you bastard!” Cord shouted.
Jonathon’s brows lifted, and I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. He quickly walked to the door and opened it. Cord walked in and looked around.
“I was trying to have a private dance with my girl.”
My stomach dropped.
Jonathon Turner just asked me to marry him, and I said yes!
“Well, wrap it up. Waylynn,” Cord said. “It’s almost time. Mom and Dad just showed up.”
The nerves came back. Jonathon’s little fuckfest had helped me relax for all of two minutes.
Reaching for my hand, Jonathon guided me out of the office as Cord followed. Standing in the middle of the dance floor was my entire family: my parents, Aunt Vi, and every single one of my siblings. Tears fell like a dam had been broken as I covered my mouth and sobbed.
“Told ya she would cry!” Chloe yelled.
Pointing to my niece, I shook my head. “You little stinker!”
Steed put Chloe down, and she rushed over to me. She was dressed in her dance clothes and ready to go.
“I want to be your first student!”
My heart melted. “You’ll be my favorite student.”
When her arms wrapped around my neck, I closed my eyes and held her tight.
“I love you, Aunt Waylynn, and you’re going to kick butt.”
Squeezing her tighter, I replied, “I love you the most, kiddo.”
I let go of her, and she ran over to the middle of the dance studio and started to run in circles.
“I can’t believe y’all are here. Thank you!” I said as I made my way down the line of family, kissing and hugging each one.
When I got to Trevor, I laughed. “Just so you know, this is not the place to pick up women. They’re pretty much all going to be married with kids.”
Tossing his head back, Trevor laughed. “Damn, here I thought it was new meat!”
“Trevor Parker!” our mother said, hitting him on the back of the head.
“It’s almost time! Okay, I need everyone to be in your spots.”
“Spots?” I asked.
Amelia winked. “Yep. Everyone has a station. Steed and Paxton are in the ballet room with Gage and Chloe.”
Chloe beamed. “I’m going to show them the ballet moves you’ve taught me.”
I looked from Chloe to Amelia. “Oh, that’s just brilliant.”
“I minored in marketing. I’ve got this shit.”
Laughing, I shook my head and motioned for her to keep talking.
“Mom and Dad are behind the lobby desk ready to sign people up. Cord, Mitchell, Corina, and Tripp are ready to give tours.”
“And Trevor?” I asked, waiting to hear the response.
“His job is to flirt with the women.”
I nodded. “Right. Just let him do what he does best!”
We both started laughing. “Good call.” She said.
“What do you need me to do?” Jonathon asked.
“If you can help me keep the drinks and food stocked, I think that will be it.”
“It’s time! It’s time!” my mother cried out.
I took in a deep breath and slowly blew it out. Jonathon pulled me into his arms.
“It’s going to be great. Please, don’t stress. When you stress, I stress. And if you break out into tears again, I’m afraid my man card will be stripped from me by your brothers ‘cause I’m goin’ to bawl, too.”
Laughing, I buried my face into his chest before looking into his grey eyes.
“You’ve got this.”
With another deep breath, I blew it out and replied, “I’ve got this. Even if we have five people sign up today, I’ll be happy!”
He gave me another kiss and stepped out of my way.
“Okay, y’all! This is it!”
I raised the shades and was stunned at what I saw before me.
“Holy. Shit,” Amelia and I said at the same time. There was a line of people standing outside the dance studio.
“Is that old lady Hopkins standing next to Mrs. Johnson?” I asked.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Johnson won’t let her cause any trouble,” Amelia added.
“Open the door, sweetheart!” my mother called out.
With shaking hands, I unlocked the door, forced a steady voice and welcomed everyone in.
I greeted them before Amelia and Jonathon took off and started telling them where to go, where the bathrooms were, and to help themselves to drinks and snacks.
My heart was racing as more and more families came in.
Old lady Hopkins stopped in front of me and gave me an indifferent look before she finally spoke. “I’m going to check this place from top to bottom!”
I motioned for her to come in. “You go right on ahead, old…I mean, Mrs. Hopkins.”
Everything was going amazingly. Mom and Dad were busy the entire four hours of the open house. More people had signed up than I could have imagined. I was going to have to hire two more instructors before we officially opened in January.
Tripp walked into the lobby with a mom and her daughter. I had noticed he was with them earlier, giving a tour of the facility. I knew I had seen the mother before but couldn’t put my finger on it. When Tripp’s eyes caught mine, he smiled. I waved and watched him walk over to Mom and Dad as she signed her daughter up.
Amelia stood next to me and sighed. “Well, that was a very successful open house. Nearly everyone is gone, except for this mom and her daughter, and some friends of Steed and Paxton’s. Their daughter goes to school with Chloe. They’re in the ballet room talking.”
I nodded. “Do you know who is with Tripp?”
“Yeah, she’s new in town. She owns the boutique store that opened across the square.”
“Oh, right. It opened right before Thanksgiving. We were in there on our girls’ shopping trip. That’s where I’ve seen her.”
“She’s been here for nearly two hours. Let me add that Tripp has been the only one to show her around. They were in the ballet room for the longest time talking while her daughter played with Chloe. She’s a couple years younger than Chloe, from what Paxton told me.”
My interest was piqued. “Huh, is she single?”
With a chuckle, Amelia replied, “Of course she is. Why else do you think our brother has been on her tail since the moment she walked in? I think he’s smitten.”
Turning to Amelia, I said, “Harley stopped by t
he house on decoration day. That’s who was at the door. She wanted to talk to Tripp, have coffee with him after the holidays.”
My sister’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“I told Tripp not to be stupid and let her walk back into his life. I suggested he go on some dates.”
We turned back to look at Tripp and the mom. “Well, let’s hope he isn’t using this lady as a means to make Harley jealous.”
I shook my head. “Tripp isn’t that way. He wouldn’t do that. Look at how he stares at her. I think he’s actually into this girl, and by into her, I mean more than just a one-night stand.”
Crossing our arms over our chests at the same time, we both said, “This should be interesting.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jonathon
Waylynn rushed into the living room and shoved a fork in my face. “Taste this!”
Pulling back, I looked at the strange food on the end of it. “What is it?”
“It’s lasagna!”
“It is?”
“Well, meatless lasagna.”
My eyes lifted to look at her. “Why would you make meatless lasagna? That’s gross.”
“Because we’re going to Mick and Wanda’s house later today and Angie doesn’t eat meat.”
Mick and Wanda were Wade’s aunt and uncle. Wade and Amelia tried to go often to visit them and the kids.
“A veggie eater, huh?”
She nodded. “Hence the veggie lasagna. Now, taste it and tell me if it’s good.”
Grimacing, I closed my eyes and opened my mouth. After a couple of bites, I lifted my brows and stared at Waylynn.
“Well?”
“It’s actually really good.”
She fist pumped. “Thank goodness. I’ve made two lasagnas since it will be fourteen of us.”
“Fourteen!”
With a chuckle, she headed into the kitchen and I followed. “Remember all the Christmas presents we bought for the kids they foster?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t realize they had that many kids. So, they have eight?”
She nodded. “When Amelia met them, they had twelve kids, but four were adopted. Wade said his aunt was heartbroken, but they went to amazing families.”
“Wow, it’s so amazing that they do that.”
“I know.”
I picked up a tomato that was in a giant salad and popped it into my mouth. “Do they have kids of their own?”
“I think two of them are theirs. A girl and a boy.”
“That’s pretty awesome.”
She looked over her shoulder at me and grinned. “I think so too. To open their home and hearts like that to these kids…it warms my heart.”
The doorbell rang and Waylynn motioned for me to answer it. “It’s Amelia and Wade, I’m sure.”
Opening the door, I smiled. “Hey, y’all. Come on in.”
Wade shook my hand as he walked in. “Thanks so much for coming along with us to drop off all these gifts.”
Waylynn had offered to help Amelia Christmas shop for the kids, and I don’t think I’d ever had so much fun in a damn toy store.
“No problem at all. Waylynn and I had fun shopping for the kids.”
Wade laughed. “Hell, don’t get me started. Amelia spent a small fortune even after Wanda told her not to go crazy. I guess Amelia split the list with Waylynn.”
“That was only for half the kids?” I asked.
“Yes! I’m not looking forward to the day we have children. My wife is going to spoil them.”
Leading Wade into the living room, I pointed to the bar. “Want a drink?”
He shook his head as he sat on the sofa.
“Speaking of children, when are you Amelia going to pop out a baby or two?”
“I don’t know. We talked about waiting another year, but we’re open to changing our minds. It’s hard to be around Chloe and Gage and not want one of your own.”
“Tell me about it. Steed makes being a dad look damn easy too, and I know it’s not.”
“It should be fun to see Mitchell become a dad.”
Laughing, I leaned forward. “Dude, Cord and Trevor? I can’t wait until the day some woman knocks those two on their asses.”
Wade agreed. “Hell, that is going to be fun.”
“What’s going to be fun?” Amelia asked, walking in and carrying a tote bag.
“When the love bug finally hits Cord and Trevor.”
Amelia grinned. “Yes! That will be amazing.”
Standing, Wade took the tote from Amelia. “Any more things to carry?”
“Two more bags. Waylynn said you already took the presents out to your truck?”
“Yeah, the back seat is piled high so I’m afraid we’re going to have to take two vehicles.”
Wade let out a gruff laugh. “Dude, you can’t fit anything else into the backseat of my truck. This stuff is going to have to go on the floor.”
Waylynn called out, “Okay! I’ve got everything packed up! Let’s go! I’ll lock up,” she added over her shoulder as she grabbed her purse and another bag.
We were soon on the road and headed to San Antonio. I jumped when a crackling sound came from next to Waylynn.
“Testing. Testing one, two, three.”
Waylynn giggled and grabbed a walkie-talkie from her purse.
“This is My Little Pony. I hear you coming in strong Princess Jasmine.”
What in the fuck?
“My Little Pony?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s our code names. Yours is Flynn Rider, and Wade’s is Kristoff. You know, from Tangled and Frozen.”
“Oh, now wait a minute! Flynn Rider? Are you kiddi—”
I was interrupted by a loud scream. “Stop the truck!”
I didn’t even think twice as I put the brakes on and pulled over.
“CODE GREEN!” Waylynn screamed into the walkie-talkie. “I repeat. Code green!”
She was out the door before I put the damn truck in park. Waylynn took off down the street, waving her hands for the other cars to watch out.
“What in the hell is she doing?” Wade asked, his face drained of all color. “You slammed on the brakes and then Waylynn’s voice was screaming in my truck.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t hit him, Wade!” Waylynn yelled.
Poor Wade. He looked lost. “You mean to tell me you haven’t been on a turtle rescue mission with Waylynn yet?”
He stared at me like I was the one who had gone mad.
“Oh my God! He’s peeing!” Amelia shouted.
Wade watched as Waylynn crossed the street with the turtle while her sister held up her hands to the car that had pulled to stop.
Amelia pointed to the cowboy sitting behind the wheel of the Ford truck. “That’s right, mister. We are on a turtle lifesaving mission here.”
“Are they fucking crazy?” Wade asked.
“They’re Parker women. They give crazy a new meaning.”
Waylynn set the turtle down, gave Amelia the thumbs up, and shouted, “All clear!” Waving the truck on, Amelia stepped out of the way. As Waylynn came walking back to us, she high-fived her sister.
“This is my sixth experience with this. After the second, I learned to put hand sanitizer in my truck.”
Wade looked at me. “Good move.”
I held the bottle of sanitizer up, and he laughed.
“You almost hit him, Wade!” Waylynn scolded as she walked up and took the hand sanitizer and then handed it to Amelia.
“Yuck, I forgot he peed.”
“I nearly ran into the back of Jonathon!”
Waylynn shrugged and slapped Wade on the side of the arm. “Don’t tailgate, buddy.”
And just like that, she headed back to my truck.
“I’m taking the lead now!” Wade stated as he climbed into his truck. Amelia wore a huge grin as she looked at me.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.”
She rounded the front of the truck and got in. Sha
king my head, I ran my hand through my hair and mumbled, “Parker women.”
* * *
Five hours later we were sitting on the back porch of Mick and Wanda’s house. A few of the kids had gotten ready for bed and were in their rooms. The older ones were in the living room playing video games.
“Are all the kids living here now adopted by y’all?” I asked.
Wanda’s face lit up. “Yes. The last adoption was finalized a few weeks ago.”
“It must be rewarding to be able to give these kids a loving home.”
“It’s one of the greatest gifts God has given us, besides our own two children. We don’t look at them any different. They are all so loved.”
A warmth filled my chest. “It’s obvious.”
Wanda scrunched her nose up. “I’m glad.” She clapped her hands as if giving the signal it was time to change the subject. “So, Waylynn, Amelia tells me you own your own dance studio and that you used to be a professional dancer.”
I took Waylynn’s hand and smiled. I was so proud and happy for her.
“I’ve danced since I was about two years old. Went off to college in New York and ended up with the New York City Ballet. It was an amazing experience. I knew deep down I wanted to open my own studio some day, and when I moved back to Oak Springs it seemed like the perfect time.”
“And how is it going?” Mick asked.
“We had an open house a couple weeks back and had about seventy students sign up, which is amazing for a small town like Oak Springs. I’ll teach ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop along with three other teachers I’ve hired. I’m trying to talk a friend I went to college with in New York to move to small town Texas and teach acro-gymnastics floor work for me.”
“How exciting!” Wanda said.
Waylynn nodded. “It is.”
“What does the Parker family do on Christmas Eve?” Mick asked.
Amelia and Waylynn glanced at each other and grinned.
“Christmas in our house is sort of a huge affair. On Christmas Eve we open one gift from our parents and then have the big traditional meal. Christmas day is all about the breakfast.”
Wade laughed. “What is it with you southern folks and your breakfast?”
Glancing at me and laughing, Waylynn asked, “What does your family do?”
“Not breakfast!” I laughed. “It’s usually wake up and do presents and then a big lunch and football games after that.”