“She said she had it covered.”
I dropped my mouth to her shoulder and began trailing kisses along her collarbone but stopped when she gave me a nudge. “Jared, we can’t be fooling around when she’s out there cooking for us.”
“Okay, okay.” I eased off her and grumbled, “You win.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you later tonight.”
When she got up from the bed and started adjusting her clothes, I asked, “So, what do you think of Kiersten?”
“She seems sweet, but there’s something about her.” Parker shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Doesn’t sound like nothing.”
“Well, she is Billy’s daughter after all.”
“You’ve got a point there.”
She leaned down and gave me a quick kiss. “I better go give her a hand.”
“Okay, I’ll be out in a minute.” We both looked down at my throbbing erection, then I said, “Maybe two.”
“I guess I’ll have to make it up to the two of you then.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that.”
“I certainly hope so.”
Parker was smiling from ear to ear as she walked out of the bedroom and closed the door. Seeing her happy did something to me—made me feel things I’d never thought I would. I never thought I’d be one of those guys who fell in deep over a woman. Parker had me thinking I might’ve been wrong.
Parker
“Investigators have been working diligently to determine the identity of the remains from Thursday night’s car accident, and with the help of Michael Lowery, a California district attorney, and medical records, authorities have been able to determine that they belong to a young woman by the name of Parker Weston.” I was watching the news with bated breath, anxiously waiting to see which photo they would show during the report of the accident. Relief washed over me when an old picture from my high school yearbook appeared on the screen. Back then, I was a brunette with acne and braces, so it was unlikely that I would be recognized—especially since I was so far away from California. Jared came over and sat down on the sofa next to me, listening quietly as the reporter continued, “Ms. Weston was a key witness in the Lorenzo Rossi trial, which involved the murder of both her parents and her sister. Mr. Rossi’s appeal will begin in a few weeks, and Lowery is pushing for Weston’s previous testimony to be used in court, but it will be up to the judge to decide whether or not the testimony will be permissible.”
“Do you think the judge will allow it?”
“I can’t imagine why not,” Jared answered, sounding unsure. “He’d be a fool not to.”
“I was thinking the same.” I thought back to the reporter’s comments about the remains and became curious about what she was referring to. “What remains?”
“What?”
“The reporter mentioned remains and how they used medical records to determine it was me. How is that possible?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to, Parker.” He gave me a stern look and continued, “And trust me, you don’t want the answer to that. Just know that you’re one step closer to getting your life back.”
I wanted to push for a real response, but I could tell from Jared’s tone that I would just be wasting my breath. Besides, what was done was done. I could do nothing to change any of it, so I swept the questions to the back of my mind and tried to focus on the positive. “So, does this mean we can go home?”
“Home? Already?” Kiersten asked from behind us. “I didn’t realize you guys would be heading back so soon.”
“We’ve stayed longer than either of us planned.” Jared stood as he said, “And I’m sure Billy’s ready to get us out of his hair.”
“Actually, I think he’s enjoyed having you both here.”
“I don’t know about that,” I replied as I stood and walked over to her. “But I do know he’s enjoyed having you home for a few days.”
“It’s been good to be here, but like you, it’s time for me to be heading back.”
“What? You’re leaving?” Billy asked, sounding heartbroken.
“Yeah, Dad. I told you about the project I had to finish up. I’ve gotta be getting back if I want to get it done on time, and it looks like that second one is a real possibility. I won’t know for sure until I get back and check things out.”
“I understand. I was just hoping you’d be able to stay till the end of the week.”
“I wish I could, but at least you’ll have the house back to yourself.” Kiersten motioned her hand over to Jared as she announced, “They’re heading out too.”
“I expected as much.” Billy turned to us as he said, “I’m guessing you saw the news this morning.”
“We did,” Jared answered. “We both want to thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”