Page 47 of Nixon’s Promise

Three times.

That was the third time I’d made him laugh tonight.

Yes, I was counting.

He had a really great laugh and I vowed right then and there to make him laugh every time we were together. Nixon Swagger needed a little amusement in his life. And I didn’t care if he was laughing at me and how geeky I was, as long as he was laughing.

“Thanks for telling me about the offer.”

The humor died, but his eyes did this beautiful thing. They got soft and melty.

Holy sweet Mother of God.

“Will you tell me about your mom?” Nixon’s voice was as gentle as his gaze.

I hadn’t talked about my mom in so long I wasn’t sure what to say.

“She was beautiful and kind. My dad used to say she had the patience of a saint. I remember that about her and her wicked humor. She always had time for me—went to every school function, every parent-teacher conference, and she never missed a class party. Everyone loved her.”

“How old were you when she passed?” he asked.

“Ten. She had appendicitis and was scheduled that day for an appendectomy but her appendix ruptured. The infection spread fast and she developed septic shock. She was gone four days later.”

“Shit, McKenna. I’m so sorry.” I knew he meant those words. He knew what it was like to lose a parent. “You know if you ever need to talk about them, I’ll listen. Your dad and Carla, that wound is still fresh and open. You’re gonna have to—”

“I don’t have time to mourn them,” I rudely cut him off. “I need to get Zack and Mandy to a place where they can deal with the loss. They’re what’s important now.”

“They’re dealing, babe. You need to take some time for yourself.”

I took a moment to think about what he’d said. Maybe they were ‘dealing’ but I wasn’t doing a good enough job helping them heal.

“Did Zack tell you my dad was flying the plane that crashed?”

“He did.”

“When he told me he was going to get his pilot’s license I was excited for him. It was something he always wanted to do. I encouraged him. And when he was done and had all of his hours, I was proud of his accomplishment. Maybe if I’d—”

“No. No ‘maybes’. No second-guessing. There was nothing, I mean, not a Goddamn thing you could’ve said or done that would’ve prevented the accident. It was unfortunate. It was tragic. What it wasn’t was in anyway your fault.”

“I miss them so much it hurts. My dad was the best. And Carla never made me feel like I wasn’t her own. From the second my dad started dating her, she included me in everything. In a strange way she was dating both of us. She’d take me out to the mall and lunch just the two of us. She used to say that she was the luckiest woman in the world finding the man of her dreams and even luckier because he came with a daughter she adored. After Mandy was born, like right after, Mandy was only days old and she left her home with my dad and took me out. I was thirteen, we went and got pedicures and she told me that no matter how many more children were added to our family I was still her first daughter. Her number one. That was Carla. Considerate to her core.”

“Your dad was a lucky man, McKenna. First with your mom, then with Carla. Some men don’t find that kinda love in their lifetime. He hit treasure twice.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

“You don’t need to thank me, just telling you the truth.”

I looked away, unable to take the intensity of his gaze and looked out over the neat rows of planted corn beyond his grass. Soon it would be tall and you’d lose sight of the tree line marking the end of his property and the beginning of mine. I was so focused on this, I hadn’t noticed Nixon had moved his arm. He settled it around my shoulders and pulled me close.

I’d needed that. Just talking about my parents—all of them—made me feel a little better. I wished Mandy and Zack would talk to me about them. I didn’t want Dad and Carla to be forgotten. I wanted my siblings to remember how lucky we all were to have them. To have each other.

For a long time we sat in silence. I soaked up the warmth of his body and burrowed closer. He smelled good, looked good, and felt good. I was wondering how in the hell I’d gotten so lucky to be the one sitting next to Nix. It was crazy. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I’d be spending time with the Nixon Swagger. He was a local celebrity.

I felt Nix’s body go solid right before I heard the crunching of tires.

He told me not to move and he was gone in a flash. I’d barely had time to appreciate his ass in his Levi’s before he disappeared around the house. I heard two car doors slam, then voices.

“Yo, Nix.” That was Zack.