Page 27 of Troubled Water
It was a test. I still don’t know if I passed or failed. Parker has reassured me he doesn’t give a fuck. In fact, I grin as I tip my head back and let the late summer heat still lingering wash over me, he told me so in those exact words before we boarded a plane to fly home. “I already threatened to resign if he didn’t own up to what he did.”
My jaw unhinged. “What would you do?”
He shrugged as if walking away from all his service in government wasn’t a big deal. Still devilment danced in his eyes when he replied, “I thought I’d hit Cal up for a job.”
I clasped his shoulders as I straddled his lap and said seriously, “It’d be the end of the world as we know it.”
Parker laughed before flipping me down onto the couch and loving me breathless.
Now, we’re wrapped up in each other and the kind of Texas evening that reminds me of why I love my home—where the smells of sweet flowers, earth, and the faint scent of barbecue make everything feel grounded and familiar. The only missing piece after all these years is still my mother. Reaching between us, I finger the chain with her ring around my neck and let out a longing sigh.
What would she think about the man I brought home to meet the family?I wonder.
Ellie, Abe, and Jordan are starstruck by him. Jordan has been peppering him all night about his SEAL training. Parker has answered each and every question seriously, not dismissing my sibling in any way. What he did warn him with a quick glance at my father was, “It will change you fundamentally in ways you need to be prepared for.”
But my greatest shock was when Thorn and my dad didn’t wait for me to introduce them before they were greeting oneanother, emotions thick in the air. I’d never put it together before then that Parker was part of the SEAL team that rescued my father from the hell he endured when he and my mother were kidnapped on their anniversary cruise.
When my father asked me how I could not know, I shot a furious look at my boyfriend. His response made my heart melt. “I wanted Bethany to fall in love with me, Linc. I didn’t want her to fall for a guy who happened to be in a place to carry her dad off a ship when he’d survived hell on his own.”
My father snickered. “Modest, as always, Thorn?”
“One of my best features, Linc.”
Then, to my and my siblings’ shock, the two of them clasped forearms and slapped each other on the back. Thorn murmured something in my father’s ear, causing his eyes to well up. “Okay, son.”
“Son? Did we just adopt Parker?” I nudged into their moment to take my father’s temperature, so used to doing it after the first five years after my mother died. I need to make certain he’s fine.
Parker reached for my hand and pulled me into their circle before crooning into my ear. “Oh, B. If only the rest of your life was going to be that easy.”
His words caused my heart to pound even as I laughed at the amusement dashing away the shadows from my father’s eyes.
Now, I lean back against his broad chest and peek upward at Parker, who admires the vast beauty the Texas sun is kissing as it goes to sleep. There is something profound about seeing him here that makes it feel like he has always belonged. He’s still danger disguised in dark blue jeans and a fitted shirt that barely stretches across his broad chest, but there is a softness to his expression. After all this time together, I should be used to seeing it, but each time I do, it zings my heart. It’s as if all thebarriers he keeps up against the world have dropped and he can freely demonstrate his love without reservations.
Tonight feels different though. Regardless of the surety and protection I feel within his arms, there is a tension in the air, something unspoken between us that has been building. Ever since he spoke to my father, I can feel it. No, that’s a lie. I’ve felt it every time he’s looked at me since he came back from his recruiting trip to MIT, and he uncovered the source of who sent me those photos. It’s more profound, almost tangible. Something that makes my heart beat just a little faster every time our eyes connect.
“You’re quiet,” I say, squeezing the arm wrapped around me. “What has you thinking so hard?”
He smiles down at me, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. “Do you think your father will recover from the fact we’re together?”
Flippantly, I reply, “Oh, he won’t. You’ve officially made it so Ellie can never bring a man home.”
Parker’s silver eyes catch the last bit of sunlight. There is a seriousness in his expression now, and it makes me pause. “I think he likes me though,” he says, his voice quieter, more thoughtful.
“He does. More importantly, he respects you. Trust me, if he didn’t, you’d know by now. One thing my dad doesn’t do is hide his feelings.” Lord knows he didn’t for the longest time.
Parker smiles again, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes this time. He seems… nervous. I tilt my head to the side, trying to get as much of his face in my view as I can. “What’s going on with you tonight? You’re acting weird.”
“I’ve just been thinking.”
“About?”
“About you. About us. About... the future.”
I blink, not sure what to say. I didn’t expect that, not tonight. Not here, of all places. “Parker, does this have anything to dowith what your boss tried to do? I’m sorry. I should have come to you.”
He spins me in his arms and lays a finger over my lips. “We talked about that. You did what you felt you needed to do. You confronted Libby because she was there. You were going to confront me when I got back, but then I dragged you to my boss’s office.”
I nod. It played out exactly like that, with Cal and Libby’s fury equal to my own. Parker’s boss didn’t earn himself any favorability that day. In fact, rumors are swirling on television that there may be a new director in the near future. I wonder if that might be the man in front of me. “Then what are you?—”
