Page 22 of The Pucking Girl Next Door

I wrap my arms around Annabelle once more and pull her into my chest. "Move to Dallas."

"I already did," she says.

Epilogue

Smith

One year later

Pulling up to my dad's house has butterflies filling up my stomach. It's been over a year since I've been back here, only talking with him through phone and video chat. Sometimes it makes me feel like an ass because I now have a new brother and haven't met him but between hockey and my relationship with Annabelle, I haven't had time.

Well, actually that's not completely true. I could've probably figured out a way to come out here and visit but I didn't want to. Coming back to this house, to Rose Valley, brings back old memories of my mom. Some were good, some were bad. But mostly all I can see when I come here is images of my mom fighting for her life. A lot of those images include mydad. Disheveled while he sits with my mom, looking worried. Memories of him fighting with the doctors as he makes sure that she gets the help she needs, but in the long run none of that mattered. Once my mom died I became so angry with him. Why wasn't he the one who got sick? After a lot of fighting, I just drowned myself in hockey and avoided my dad as much as possible. Then when he got together with Kimberly it triggered even more heartache, forcing me to keep my distance more.

Now that I'm with Annabelle she has showed me that this is not a way to live. And somehow convinced me to start therapy. Which is how we got here, me driving down the long driveway that leads to my childhood home.

I glance over at the beautiful woman who has been by my side this past year, and she's grinning while she looks out the window, taking in the views. I turn back toward the road when she mumbles, "I've missed this place."

I can't help myself when I ask, "Really?"

"Yeah. Mostly I miss the memories that come with Rose Valley." She turns toward me and swats my chest, "You know an older boy telling me to scram. Torturing me and telling the other kids not to play with me."

I don't say anything, I just give her a huge shit eating grin.

When we reach the end of the driveway, I put the car in park and stare up at the house for a moment. Reaching for the key's I ask Annabelle, "Are you ready for this? We can always go find a hotel and disappear for the holidays."

She looks back at me smiling, leaning over and squeezing my hand, before answering, "As much as I would love for us to just disappear you need to do this. Everything is going to be fine. You have me here now, big boy. I've got your back."

Letting go of my hand she turns toward the car door and begins to open it when I murmur, "Yeah, I do."

Taking a deep breath, I get out of the car and meet Annabelle at the front. She gets up on her tip toes, giving me a chaste kiss. She always seems to know exactly what I need. The need to drown myself in her is overwhelming, but before I can take it any further, I hear the front door open.

"There you are!" I hear my dad's deep voice from behind, and it has Annabelle and I pulling away from each other. He comes over to where we are standing and wraps his arm around my shoulder giving me a sideways hug. "I'm so glad you guys could make it."

"Thanks for having us, Dad. You've met her on video chat but officially meet my girlfriend, Annabelle."

He lets go of me and turns his attention to Annabelle, giving her the same sideways hug. "I told you I remember Annabelle. Come on let's go in," my dad says as he heads back into the house. Placing our bags down in the hallway, we follow my dad down the hall and into the kitchen.

When we enter the large kitchen, it looks similar to Annabelle's parents' house, except darker in color. I see that Kimberly has out done herself. She has a huge arrangement of snacks spread out along the main island, including my favorite sweet snack "muddy buddies".

I know it’s a kid’s snack but I love it. The combination of salty and sweet is the best, especially if you use crunchy peanut butter to make it. Kimberly must've noticed me staring at the delicious snacks because she hands me a plate. "Feel free to grab anything. Then we can settle down and you guys can tell us about how things are going."

Neither Annabelle nor I complain we just grab the plates and start packing them full of snacks. We had a long day of traveling and neither of us seem to eat good on these kinds of days, so I'm thankful that Kimberly and my dad thought ahead.

"Should we eat on the patio? I've really enjoyed the views of the forests since we've gotten here," Annabelle suggests.

"That sounds great," Kimberly adds as she makes her way out the patio doors leaving them open for us all to follow.

"Would any of you like a glass of wine?" my dad asks before sitting down. Why are they both serving us like this? Don't get me wrong I'm glad they thought to have snacks but usually my dad would just tell me to tell the chef what I want to eat. This is weird. I then really look at my dad. He looks as if he's sweating and can’t stop fidgeting with his hands. It dawns on me, he's nervous. Just like me.

"No. We're good, Dad. Just sit," I say to him. Even though we've been a little estranged due to the memories of my mom, I don't want things to get worse. I learned in therapy that I really want to have a better relationship with my dad, which means as Nina would say, "you have to have the hard conversations and do the hard steps."

"Thanks for the snacks, guys. They're great," I say hoping it will cut through the awkwardness. It doesn't. All four of us just sit in silence for a few moments until Kimberly breaks it first.

"How are things in Texas? Did you find a job, Annabelle?"

"Things are great. We just moved into a new house on the outskirts of Dallas," Annabelle explains as I sit and listen to the conversation.

"Is that the fixer upper?" Kimberly replies.

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