Parker chuckled and shook her head, taking another bite of her meal.“Let’s see if you still think that at two in the morning, when she complains about stomach cramps and nausea.”
Travis smiled and kissed Parker’s cheek.“I’ll stay up with her.You can get some rest if it comes to that.”
Parker nodded, loving that she not only had a man in her bed now, but one that insisted that she rest up while he dealt with any issues that came up.Luckily, Kit slept like a log, but there had been a leaky pipe that Travis woke up in the middle of the night to fix because it was driving her nuts and once where Boots meowed at the window until they opened it up and let her in.Apparently, when Travis moved into the apartment not long after their talk about the future, Boots figured out where her meal ticket had gone and made it known that she was none too happy about Parker’s closed window policy.
After Kit insisted that it was cruel to leave Boots outside when it was no longer warm out, even if she had an entire barn to herself, Parker finally gave up the ghost and allowed her daughter to make the cat their official pet.Kit had been overjoyed and begged her and Travis for a trip to the pet store to get Boots everything she needed.Instead of agreeing to that, Travis brought out the box of things he’s kept in his own room for the animal.Toys, water bowls, and treats were all in abundance with the only thing missing being a scratching post and a litter box.Once again, the tough as nails exterior had given way to his marshmallow center.
As they finished up the meal, Kit’s mouth covered in the evidence of their chili dinner and ensuring that another application of her costume makeup would be needed, Parker smiled at the thought of having many more holidays on the farm.
Smiling up at the man she loved, she chuckled lightly.“I guess Lottie was right.She predicted you and I would be together by Thanksgiving.”
“Could have predicted that myself,” he said.Travis leaned over and nuzzled her hair.“What other predictions did Lottie make?”
Parker smiled and gazed at the curious faces around the table.“Well, after she predicted that you and I would be together—”
“Which we very much are,” Travis growled, his hand on her thigh.
Parker tried not to melt into his touch and went on, her voice slightly shakier than before.“After that she predicted Willa was pregnant, which she is.Oh, she also thought Aiden would ask his mom to handle the catering for his and Nicole’s wedding since he doesn’t trust anyone else with food.”
Cora gasped as Nolan barked a laugh and clapped his hands loudly.“Aiden talked to her about the possibility of doing that yesterday.”He smiled as his wife’s eyes widened.“What else did Lottie say?”
Parker smiled.“Her last one was that Felix and Autumn would elope sometime in the next few months.”
Cora leaned back into her chair.“They wouldn’t dare.”Beckett’s face sobered as he and Travis shared a look.“Beckett James Kemp you tell me what you know right now.”
Beckett’s throat bobbed with fear even while he looked to be stifling a laugh.“Well, he and Autumn planned a trip to Vegas for the week after Thanksgiving.”
Cora looked absolutely horrified.“No they did not,” she boomed.Throwing her napkin onto the table, she pushed back her chair and pulled out her phone, stomping angrily into the house.
Nolan chuckled and rose to start clearing up the dishes.“That boy better have good running shoes at the ready because she is not going to let this lie.”Beckett chuckled and kissed Willa’s temple before joining his dad in the cleaning up.
Travis joined in as well as Parker rose and held her hand out for Kit.“Come on, little lady.Let’s replace that chili mustache with some more makeup.”Nodding, Kit joined her as they made their way to the apartment, Parker laughing as they passed by the open window when she overheard Cora giving her youngest son hell.
Later that night as she and Travis walked along with Kit, her friends, and their parents through the neighborhoods of Applewood, Parker couldn’t help thinking back on Felix’s possible elopement and Aiden and Nicole’s upcoming near celebrity-level wedding.Glancing over at Travis, she couldn’t help wondering what type of wedding he would want, if any.
“You ever think about getting married?”she blurted out.
For his part, Travis looked completely unfazed as a slow smile came over his face.“Might’ve done.You asking for my hand, darlin’?”Parker sputtered and ducked her head, but Travis lifted her gaze back up to his.“Just teasing, and yes.Thought about it plenty.Last few months especially.”
Parker nodded.“What kind of wedding would you want?”
His shoulder bobbed.“Didn’t really consider the how, only that I wanted it to happen eventually.”He peeked over at her as Kit and her friends sped up to the front door of another house.“What about you?”
Parker’s reaction was remarkably similar to his.“I never really thought about it either.”She huffed.“Marriage seemed like just another luxury I couldn’t afford, but I did sometimes wish I would wake up one day with a ring on my finger, someone next to me in bed.It would be nice to skip the hard part and just wake up married.”
Travis nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face.Before he could comment on what she’d said, Kit came rushing toward them, shaking a giant milky way bar above her head triumphantly like she’d just come from the sacking of Rome.“Look!I got another big one,” she squealed, adding it to her already gargantuan haul.“I’m going to have candy for days.”
“Weeks is more like it,” Parker muttered, following the group down the sidewalk.Travis chuckled and held out his hand for her.Any more talk of marriage would have to wait for another time which was fine by her.The three of them were happy just as things were now, and that was enough.
****
The sun peeking inthrough the curtains of her and Travis’s bedroom woke Parker earlier than she would have liked.Halloween had actually fallen on a Saturday night this year, so there was no work to get to or rushing to get Kit ready for school necessary that morning.Wanting to eke out just a little more rest, Parker turned onto her side, grumbling when something sharp brushed against her finger.
“What the—?”
Pulling her hand up from underneath the sheet, Parker stared at her left hand like it was some foreign entity, something totally alien to her body when she could easily recognize old scars and a mole just under the joint of her thumb.The only noticeable difference that she could discern was the diamond solitaire ring that sat on her fourth finger.She twisted her hand this way and that, wondering if she was still dreaming somehow when the diamond caught the light, a beam glinting straight into her eye.She turned to Travis to see what on Earth was going on, finding that his bright green eyes were already on her.
The smile on his face was soft and sweet, but there was also a hint of nervousness in his expression.“Good morning.”His voice was rough with sleep and it did things, naughty, shivery things to her body just as it always did, but she wanted answers and willed her body to hold off for at least another few minutes.
“Morning,” she said dumbly.Her eyes pinged between the ring on her finger and the man lying next to her, making a concerted effort not to get distracted by the sight of the freckles covering his deliciously bare chest.“You wouldn’t know anything about this would you?”She held her hand out to him, another shiver wracking her body when his fingers ran over her skin as he inspected the ring.
Travis smiled at the ring before looking back at her, his eyes slightly guarded.“Might.”When he didn’t elaborate, Parker elbowed him in the side, causing him to wince.“Said you wished you could wake up married.Couldn’t give you that exactly, so I thought waking up engaged would be the next best thing.”He wiped his face and collapsed back onto the bed.“Should have asked first, but I wanted to give that to you.Was going to propose at Christmas anyway and—”
“You were?”Travis looked at her with a sad smile, nodding.Parker smiled and pressed a kiss to his lips.“Thank you.That’s really sweet.”She looked back at the ring on her finger and smiled at it before beaming that smile back at Travis.“I’m good with this if you are.”
Travis scoffed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest.“Are you kidding?”He kissed her deeply as he rolled himself on top of her.“More than okay with this.”And for the next hour, he showed her exactly what he meant, giving her another one of those glimpses into a different kind of life, only this time it was one she would get to live happily with him for the rest of their lives.
The End
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