"Good, I'm glad," I said, swallowing hard. This is what I had wanted. "But, what are you doing here?" I asked again.

"You didn't think I was going to miss out on the opportunity of helping my daughter settle into college, did you?"

"I guess not," I said with a genuine smile. "Are you sure you're ready for the mayhem though?"

"Bring it on," he said, winking at me.

"Ahem," Car said behind me.

"Oh, sorry. Dad this is my friend, Carol or Car. Car, this is my dad, Rick," I said, introducing them.

"Nice to meet you, Car," Rick said, reaching out to shake her hand.

"So, what's with your boy hurting my girl here?" Carol shocked me by saying.

"Car," I hissed, kicking at her foot.

Rick raised his eyebrows at her question and started to answer it, but I interrupted him. "We don't need to talk about it," I said with steel in my voice as I gave Carol the evil eye.

She shrugged her shoulders in her typical so-sue-me kind of attitude.

Rick watched our silent exchange, looking confused about whether he should say something.

"It's fine. Car just shares my gift of diarrhea of the mouth," I said, leading him into the family room. "Did Mom know you were coming?" I asked.

"Yeah, I told her I wanted it to be a surprise. Figured you could use me for manual labor."

"Great idea, my dad is sooooooo old, he'd be more of a hindrance," Carol piped in.

"Car," I said, trying to chastise her, but wound up having to agree with her. I loved her parents dearly, but they were older than most of the parents we knew. Poor Carol had put up with jokes about them looking more like her grandparents than actual parents for years.

"They're just a little older," I explained to Rick.

"I see. Well, I'm glad I can be of service. I rented an Expedition since your mom told me you'd have to take several vehicles."

"That's awesome, though I'm sure Ms. Go Green might feel differently," Car teased.

"Go Green?" Rick asked.

"Seriously, Car, you need a gag," I said, sighing. "I'm just a little picky on environmentally-friendly vehicles," I added, grabbing the box I had set down.

"Uh-huh, I'm guessing my vehicle back home doesn't meet those standards?" he joked, grabbing the box from me.

"Um, no, not really," I admitted.

He laughed. "It's practical for the mountains, but I see your point."

Carol laughed at his words and followed him outside with her box. Conversation after that was left to short phrases as I dragged the rest of the stuff we had accumulated to the entryway. The majority of Carol's stuff was already at my house since we had been stowing our purchases in my room. Space at her house was limited at best, even with her and her two older siblings off at school.

Carol left when we were almost done so she could help her mom with dinner.

Rick and I finished loading up the back of the Expedition, which I had to admit had a ton of space once you laid all the seats down. Rick filled me in on what was happening at the camp while we worked. He was careful to skirt around mentioning Mason and I was thankful for it. I hadn't cried over Mason since my first night home, but being around Rick brought the raw feelings back to the surface.

"So, Amy's gearing up for Red Rocks," he said, closing the hatch of the vehicle as my mom pulled into the driveway.

"Where's she staying?" I asked.

"In a small apartment off campus. Her scholarship money and loans are enough to pay the bills and her classes. We're all pitching in for the rest."

Tags: Tiffany King Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net