AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You never brought home a man that you’ve been traveling to see, either. He’s just looking out for you. And before you blame your father, you should ask yourself why you haven’t told us much of anything about Colton before his visit here?”
“Sorry, Mom. It’s just so new and we’re still trying to figure things out,” I said.
“I have just one question for you. Do you love him?” Mom asked.
“That’s a very strong word, Mom. I haven’t told him I love him yet, but I…I’m falling in love with him,” I said. “He’s amazing. Just give him a chance and you’ll see what I see. He’s kind and funny and is good to me. Even his family is warm and accepting of me.”I just want you to be the same to him.
“I won’t lie. A man of his age who’s never been married concerns me. Maybe he doesn’t want marriage and children. Have you asked him that yet?”
I shook my head.
“Then maybe you need to. I know you want a family. If he’s the right one for you, then you won’t have to give up on that. You shouldn’t have to,” Mom said.
“I thought you said love is compromise,” I reminded her.
“On some things. But children shouldn’t be one of them. You always said you wanted two children. Have you changed your mind?” she asked.
“No. And you’re right. Colton and I will need to talk about the future. But right now we’re just enjoying this time dating. Why rush it?” I asked.
“Because if you fall in love with someone who can’t give you what you want, it will only hurt more later when you break it off,” she warned.
She wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t know. I had just been avoiding thinking about it. I honestly had no idea what Colton thought about marriage and children. He danced around the topic at his sister’s place. Now I was doing the same here. But we couldn’t avoid it forever. Not if we wanted a future together.
A lot of ifs, and no facts.
Could this conversation wait until we saw each other again in a couple of weeks? I had thought so, but now I was not so sure. And for all I knew, dad was outside trying to get these exact answers out of Colton.
We finished cleaning up the kitchen and Mom said, “I think it’s time we go outside and save that boyfriend of yours.”
“I think you’re right.”
When we got outside, we heard Dad and Colton laughing.
“What did we miss?” Mom asked.
“Colton just told me a story about our daughter and a mouse. Never would’ve taken you for an animal activist,” he said.
“I love animals. But you weren’t there. It was so cute and tiny and…”
“A mouse,” Dad said, and started laughing again.
If it took those two having a good laugh at my expense to bond, I didn’t mind being the butt of the joke. I was also relieved that they weren’t discussing anything more serious.
We sat on the porch for half of the afternoon, just talking. Dad told him all about the limo business, and Colton talked about the dairy farm. It was the first time I had heard in detail what he did for a living as well. It was far more interesting than I’d thought.
“I hope you come for brunch again next time you’re in town,” Dad said.
This was a really good sign, but I didn’t want to spend all our time together with family. As my mom had stressed, Colton and I needed time for us too. Time to talk. Time for serious conversations.Time to tell him I love him.
I looked at my watch, and we had stayed longer than I expected. “Colton, we should think about going if we are still stopping for ice cream before you need to be at the airport.”
“We have ice cream,” Dad said.
Mom shook her head. “I think they want some alone time.”
Colton’s phone rang and he said, “Excuse me, I have to get this.” He got up and stepped off the porch for some privacy.
“Who do you think that is?” Dad asked.
