“He was quite the ladies’ man when he was younger,” his father seemed to brag.
“He was, huh?” There was a false humor in her voice. “Well, a lot can change in seventeen years.” The numbers just hit her then. It was silly and stupid, but she spun to look at him, whispering, “You’re twelve years older than me.”
A perplexed expression crossed his face. “Uhh, yeah?” he said it like a question. She couldn’t blame him. She didn’t even know where she was going with that.
“You don’t think I’m too young?” Now she was feeling insecure.
Laughter had wracked his body before a dark light entered his eyes. Seizing her by the back of the neck with one hand and cupping her cheek with the other, he damn near lifted her off the ground to show just how he felt about her age with his mouth.
All she could do was hang on for the ride. Catching his forearms, she held onto him for dear life as he took her mouth in nothing more than a display of ownership.
When he finally let her go, she was in awe of the man for no other reason than he was hers. “Wow,” she whispered. The cocky bastard smirked. He seemed more in control of himself and his emotions after that little show.
“Let’s try this again, shall we?” he asked his parents. They never got a chance to say anything before he continued. “This is my home. This is my woman. A woman who, God-willing, will one day marry me, and if I’m a lucky bastard, is now carrying my baby. We live in sin, so get over it. I won’t for one second let you disrespect her for any reason, so I strongly suggest you think before you speak to her. She is one of four people who have accepted me for who and what I am. Not judged me for what I’ve done. Are we understood?”
Was it wrong that his speech left her panties wet and wanting to jump his bones right there?
“Yes, yes, of course,” his mother rushed to agree. After a moment of silence, his father nodded.
“Good. Ma, Pop, this is Evelyn, the love of my life. Ev, this is my mother Carolyn and my father, Porter.” She could tell he wanted to say more but bit his tongue.
“It’s nice to meet you both.” She wouldn’t make the mistake of trying to shake their hands again. “Would you like to come inside? I’ve just made a pot of coffee, or I can make tea if that suits you better?” She could be civil-ish.
“That would be lovely, Evelyn.” Carolyn followed her inside as Casey and his dad stood in a face-off of sorts.
“What would you like?” Ev asked her nervously.
“A tea please, dear, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Not at all.” Busying herself making the tea, Carolyn sat down at the table to wait.
To Ev, she seemed just as nervous. She also looked a lot frailer than she’d anticipated. When Case had described his parents to her, she’d picture big and boisterous. A loud woman of sorts. Someone harder. Meeting the other woman now, she seemed sad, tired.
“How long have you and Casey been together?” she asked quietly.
“A little over a month.”
“He knew right when he met you, didn’t he?” Her quizzical look had Carolyn laughing softly. “Casey was never one to mess around. When he wanted something he went for it, and nothing would stop him.” Her tone was wistful as she spoke of her son. “He was the one I never had to worry about.”
“Is that why you were so hard on him?” The question popped out without thought, shocking them both. She wouldn’t take it back, though. They made a lot of mistakes with him.
Sighing, she sounded almost defeated. “I’d like to think we weren’t too hard on him. It was never our intention. Our priorities were skewed, and Casey took the brunt of it. I’ll regret it forever.”
“I can understand that,” Ev whispered.
Carolyn studied her like a bug under a microscope until the whistling of the kettle interrupted them. Turning, she made Carolyn’s tea. Handing it to the woman, she sat at the table in silence. She had no idea what to say.
“I can see that you do. Someone has hurt you deeply, too.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah, I guess.” Uncomfortable with the direction they were headed, she tried to change the subject. “Where are your other children? Casey doesn’t talk about them much.”
“Miranda and Aiden have devoted their lives to do God’s work. They are both in Africa on a Mission. They’re helping to build a new school for small villages.” She smiled with pride.
“Oh wow, that’s amazing.” It truly was. Ev couldn’t imagine doing it, and perhaps that was selfish of her.
“How did Casey find you?”
A smile tugged at Ev’s lips with her question. Find her…he sure did. “His friend, Dominic. I know his fiancée from my nephew’s Mommy and Me class, and she got worried about me. So they came to my work one night looking to ensure I was safe.”