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“You play dirty.”
“You taught me,” she rolls her eyes and storms past him and back out the sliding glass door. He stares in awe after her.
“You’ll be fine, dad,” I say, snickering. He’s pissed because Vie’s boyfriend just showed up and him and Jax still aren’t on speaking terms.
“I still think we should slash her tires tonight,” he grumbles under his breath and I whack him with the dish towel in my hand.
“We will do no such thing, Jax!” I snap and he wraps his arms around me.
“I can’t believe we agreed to let her take a year off.”
I can’t believe we did either. Genevieve got a full ride to University of California for cheerleading, but she didn’t want to go. She sat the both of us down and begged us to let her take a year off to do something other than cheerleading and school. There were a lot of tears shed but eventually, we agreed. She worked with her admissions counselor and they’re going to allow her to start next year and still honor her scholarship. Our girl will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning for parts unknown.
This has led to a month-long feud between Jax and her boyfriend, Nolan. They’ve dated for the last year and Jaxson adores him, but the thought of Vie leaving is breaking his heart and he’s taking it out on Nolan.
“It’s not Nolan’s fault,” I say, pointing my finger at him before turning my attention to the backyard. It’s overflowing with all the people we love, from Jaxson’s mom to all our friends. Zander is laying on the ground while our twins crawl all over him. They are eighteen-months old, Mira and Mason, and terrible twos are in full swing. Blake and Lainey’s boy, Rowan, are throwing the football with Ford and Zane, his son. Whitley and Dean are here with their son, River. Of course, Jaxson’s mom is here with her new boyfriend, and we won’t even talk about how not well my husband is taking that. Yes, my husband. Mrs. Callaway. We tied the knot two months ago, Jaxson finally making an honest woman out of me.
“I know it’s not his fault. I’m just sad our girl is leaving.” He adopted Blake and Genevieve a year ago, giving them his last name. That was a resounding yes from the both of them. They love their dad.
“Me too. But let’s just try to enjoy tonight, okay?” I press up on my tippy toes and press a kiss to his cheek, snagging him by his hand and dragging him along with me out the back door. He steers me towards our gaggle of friends that are hanging around the firepit, dusk now settling in around us on this steamy Alabama night. Mira climbs up me once I’m seated, settling herself in my lap and sticking her thumb in her mouth. It’s almost bedtime and my girl is sleepy.
Genevieve didn’t want a graduation party, but Lex and Clarissa wouldn’t hear of it. They insisted we shower our girl with love, and I couldn’t argue with that. Vie drops down in the chair beside me, Mason snuggled into her front.
“Are you ready for your big trip?” I ask and she gives me a sad smile.
“So ready. But also, so scared.” My heart breaks a little at her comment and I nod my head.
“I’m scared, too. But I also think that this will be good for you,” I reach out and squeeze her knee as a tear slides down her cheek. “Why are you crying, honey?”
“I’m just gonna miss you guys so much,” she says, choking out a sob and startling Mason. He bursts into tears and Jaxson, sensing our moment, pulls him from Genevieve’s arm and then jostles Mira out of my arms to hold her, too. I swear, he’s freaking super-dad. I stand and pull Vie into my arms and press a kiss to her temple, whispering in her ear.
“Just remember, sweet girl. You can always come home.”
The end
