Page 145 of Trust Me

Chapter 38

Oliver

“Careful, Dad,” Dean scolded as Lee bumped his wheelchair over the threshold into the house.

“Get your feet out of the way before I run them over.”

I stifled a laugh. Watching them together was the highlight of my week. Even though Dean looked a hell of a lot like his dad, he acted just like his mom. He was a worrier. A helicopter, if you will. He wanted to control everything, thinking of all the terrible directions things could go in.

When his dad got out of the car, Dean practically summoned that wheelchair out of nothing before Lee could take a step. He tried to push him in it, but that hadn’t gone well. Lee had spun around and tried to ram him in the ankles.

“Dean,” I said. He met my eyes with his lips pursed. “I think he’s fine.”

“Listen to Oli,” Lee called as he rolled into the living room. Once he was there, he stood and transferred himself into what I would call a ‘dad chair.’ I needed one immediately.

Lee could walk just fine, but with his brain injury, he got sudden bouts of dizziness. If his migraines hit, he could lose his balance or be hit with a severe aura. It was safer for him to use the chair to move around, even though he clearly despised the thing.

“I heard Dean’s going to cook for you,” I noted as I sat on the couch. “He makes a mean jerk chicken, you know.”

“Does it taste better to insult the chicken?” He laughed at his own joke, which just made it funnier to me.

“Can’t be worse than cutting off its breasts.”

“Ain’t that the truth. You’re a good sport, Oli. My kids are too serious sometimes.”

“Where’d they get that from?”

He leaned forward, dropping his voice conspiratorially. “Father-in-law. He was a grumpy old fart.”

“I heard that,” Teresa called from another room.

“You’ve said the same thing.”

“But he was my dad. I’m allowed.”

“And he made me help him move an entire trailer-full of bricks into his backyard before he’d agree to let me marry you. He would’ve dragged it out more if I didn’t tell him he was a bit of a bastard.”

Teresa laughed as she joined us. Her chair was close enough to his that they held hands between them. It brought a smile to my face as I watched them go back and forth, trading verbal blows that had no power behind them.

Dean sat next to me, and I immediately reached for him. Before I got far, I remembered that we hadn’t discussed our relationship with his family. Casually, I went for my phone instead. Crossing my legs, I started scrolling on social media, even though I hated everything about it.

The doorbell rang, but when Teresa started to get up, I jumped to my feet. “Please, relax. I’ve got it.”

“You’re too sweet. Dean, where’d you find him?”

I smiled as I heard him tell her about Mr. Pritchard’s class. He sounded so relaxed while he talked about me. It was a far cry from his standoffish weirdness when we first started interacting.

When I opened the door, I found a small guy with a beret. That was interesting.

“Delivery for a Lee Kennedy,” he announced. The dude had some NPC energy, like the mailman in Zelda.

“Do I need to sign?” I asked.

He just passed it to me and shook his head. Without another word, he jogged down the sidewalk toward a little van. There were no windows in the back, and I could imagine there being some people tied up in there.

Shuddering, I returned to the living room. I examined the fancy box, wondering what was inside. It wasn’t sturdy or heavy, and it was tied up with orange and blue ribbon.

“Delivery,” I said when I rounded the corner.