Then he headed downstairs.
I did as Thatch said and took a long, hot shower, and it did wonders to help clear my head. By the time I’d gotten dressed and started downstairs, I felt a little more prepared to handle the day ahead—or so I thought.
When I stepped into the kitchen, I found both my parents sitting at the kitchen counter drinking coffee with Thatch. Cat was wedged between them, listening to every word spoken as she devoured a stack of pancakes. As soon as my mother spotted me coming towards them, she smiled and, in her most chipper voice, said, “Good morning.”
“You gotta be kidding me.” I huffed. “Everyone is just dropping by today.”
Ignoring my aggravated tone, Mom smiled and announced, “We’re just having a little coffee and getting to know your friend, Thatch.”
“Yeah, I see.” I continued over to them. “I’m sure he’s thrilled about that.”
“It’s been fine,” Thatch assured me.
“Yes, we haven’t tormented him too much.”
“Well, thank goodness for that.” I poured myself a cup of coffee. “I didn’t realize you two were coming by this morning.”
“Oh, and why not?” Dad replied. “You’re the one who told us to come.”
“What?” I thought for a moment, then groaned, “Oh, shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. I forgot all about the party.”
“Well, that’s understandable.” Mom’s eyes were filled with worry as she said, “Cat told us about what happened with Joyce.”
“I’m not exactly surprised.” I went over and kissed Cat on top of the head. “It was pretty bad.”
Mom leaned towards me as she whispered, “She didn’t tell us everything, but it sounded just awful.”
“Oh, it was.” Cat had already heard everything that happened, so I didn’t bother whispering as I told Mom, “She just kept going on and on about Trevor. I get that she was hurt over losing him, I really do, but she had to know that coming here wasn’t the right thing to do ... especially knowing Cat would be here.”
“The woman has always been delusional,” Mom continued to whisper. “Thank God Thatch was here, so you didn’t have to deal with her alone.”
“They shouldn’t have had to deal with her at all.” My father sounded both troubled and irate as he shook his head and grumbled, “I don’t care what happened with Trevor. That woman had no business walking into the house like that.”
“No, she didn’t.” I glanced over at Thatch. “But I’m getting the locks taken care of today, so at least that won’t be an issue again.”
“Thank goodness for that,” my dad grumbled.
The room fell quiet for a moment, and Thatch used it as his opportunity to say, “As much as I’ve enjoyed getting to meet you both, I’ve really gotta be going.”
“So soon?” my mother pouted.
“Afraid so. I have a few things I need to tend to, but I look forward to seeing you both again sometime soon.”
“That would be wonderful.” Unable to stop herself, Mom pushed, “Maybe you and Becca could bring Cat over for dinner sometime?”
“Yeah, I’m sure we could work something out.” He walked over and kissed me on the cheek, then whispered, “I’ll call you later.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
After he grabbed his cut from the coat rack, I followed him out the kitchen door and down the back steps to his motorcycle. As he reached for his helmet, he told me, “Enjoyed meeting your folks.”
“You’re sweet to say that.” I smiled. “I wish I’d had more time to prepare you.”
“No need for all that.” He chuckled. “They honestly were great.”
“I’m glad you think so.” I stepped closer as I slipped my hands around his waist. “Any idea when I’ll get to see you again?”
“When do you want to see me?”
“Soon.”
“You know, you could see me any time you want if you’d move in with me.”
“Mm-hmm. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a heart-throbbing, possessive kiss; then, he gave me one of his sexy smirks. “Try to stay out of trouble until I get back.”
“I’ll try, but I can’t make you any promises.”
He put on his helmet, then slowly backed out of my driveway and sped off down the street. I knew chaos would ensue the second I stepped back inside that house, so I stood there for a moment, relishing the feeling of the sun against my face and the quiet whisper of the wind as it whipped through the trees.
After my crazy morning, I needed a second to compose myself before going inside to face my parents. When I finally walked in, my mother was smiling from ear to ear as she said, “I like him.”
“Oh, really?”
I was shocked that she not only liked him, but she actually admitted so.
She nodded, then turned to my father. “Didn’t he seem like a nice man, George?”
“Yeah, he seemed all right.” Dad motioned his head over at Cat as he said, “Little Bit likes him, so as far as I’m concerned, that’s good enough for me.”