Page 70 of Summer Ride

She drove for the first hour, and then he took over for the rest of the drive.

“Looks like my parents are here,” he said, seeing their car parked beside his truck. He parked beside them as they came out to stand on the porch. When he and Kara stepped out of the car, his parents were there to wrap their arms around them.

“We’re so thankful the two of you are okay.” his father said, running his eyes over the bruises on his face.

“Three of you,” his mother corrected as she wiped a tear from her cheek. His mother reached up and gently touched Kara’s bruised cheek. “Are you all right?”

Kara nodded and then hugged his mother again.

“Come on inside. We have lunch waiting,” his mother said when the hug was over.

His mother led Kara inside while he and his father turned to unload the car.

“While they’re inside, why don’t you tell me what in the hell happened,” his father said the moment they were alone.

He filled his father in as quickly as he could, touching only on the important points of Kara’s past with her family, Axel, and her change in identity that led her here. He quickly described how they’d fought the man off. How he and the man had fallen into the pool. How the guy had died.

“Honestly, I don’t really know if the man drowned on his own or if he drowned because Kara beat the shit out of him. Either way, when I woke to see her sitting on top of the guy, pounding in his face”—he shook his head and felt a rush of fear, as if it was happening all over again—“something took over me.”

His father moved over and hugged him.

“You’re safe. That’s all that matters.” His dad held onto him. “We’d better get inside or they’ll wonder where we are.”

“Right.” He wiped his face and then carried in the luggage while his dad grabbed the cooler.

When they stepped inside, Kara was crying on his mother’s shoulder. Seeing the tears streaming down his mother’s face, he knew that Kara had told her everything as well.

Without saying a word, he walked over and engulfed them both in a hug. He felt his father’s arms wrap around them a few seconds later.

After lunch, his parents decided to stay for dinner as well. There were no more tears. Instead, they helped them plot out the baby’s nursery.

While the women talked paint colors, he and his father cleared the clutter from the bedroom closest to theirs.

Once that was done, he stepped outside with his dad to check up on the goats. He didn’t like that one of them was still limping, and he figured he’d have to drain her leg once more and maybe up her antibiotic dose.

“Your mother says that you’ve put your name in for one of the chihuahuas that was rescued last week?” his father said as he helped him muck out the stall in his barn for the goats.

“I have. We have. Kara’s going to call it Panda.” He smiled.

His father laughed. “We were wondering when you were going to get a few permanent animals around here.”

“I plan on keeping a few of these.” He motioned to the goats running around the barn.

His father laughed again. “Yeah, I figured. The way you’ve pampered these little ones gave it away.”

He stopped shoveling hay and glanced over at his dad. “I plan to give her your mother’s ring.”

His father smiled. “It’s about time for that, too. I’m really happy for you two.” He slapped his shoulder.

When they stepped back in the house, Carter knew instantly that something was wrong.

His mother and Kara were glued to the television set.

“What’s up?” he asked, sitting beside Kara, and taking her hand in his. Her fingers were ice cold.

“My father.” She motioned to the screen.

A frail balding man was on the TV, speaking like the boisterous preachers did on all the evangelical television stations that Carter always avoided.