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Then I realized how rude I had been. “Sorry for getting lost in my head there for a few,” I told him, sliding my hand under his, which rested on his muscled thigh and interlacing our fingers with one another.
Gyth glanced over as he stopped singing and gave me a tender smile. “Don’t sweat it, Sunshine. You looked like you needed to think and I was happy to let you have the time to do it. You okay?” he asked, giving my hand a little squeeze and turning his eyes back to the road.
“Yeah, I’m good. Please don’t stop the car karaoke on my account. Sing-on, Big Guy.” I told him.
Gyth chuckled and began to belt out another song, filling the truck and my heart with happiness.
Contentment filled me the rest of the ride, with his music and the love pouring from his body, a feeling so strong the intensity of it was insane. It was hard to imagine sometimes that this was my life, that I found a man like Gyth, and that I could be this blissfully happy.
Before I knew it we had arrived and Gyth was helping me out of the vehicle, then walking me into the country club, where I checked my coat and purse at the door.
Wrapping my arm around Gyth’s we walked into the ballroom and eyes descended upon us immediately. But it was my parents' laser vision taking us in that caught me like a deer in headlights and froze.
A foreboding feeling took hold of me and I knew then that the peace and happiness I had experienced a short time ago with Gyth in the truck was over, because in its wake were my parents.
And nothing good happened when they were involved. At least not for me.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Summer
Didwe have time to run?
After slipping my arm from Gyth’s, I slid my hand down and grasped his palm like a lifeline, once again entwining my fingers with his, gaining as much comfort as I could, as my body trembled with my mother drawing near, my father following right behind.
I felt hunted with each step she took, making me feel like I needed to find a place to hide. I did my best to not cower or show her any fear. Unease washed through my body at the disapproving and disappointed look on her face. Something that I’d seen so many times throughout my life.
“Breathe, Sunshine, I got you,” Gyth whispered next to me.
“You don’t understand,” I softly replied, trying to convey in my tone what was coming, but it was too late. My parents had descended upon us before I could say any more.
“Summer,” was all my mother said, all haughty-like, as she looked us up and down with disdain.
Feeling like we were under a microscope, her eyes taking in every inch of us, felt unpleasant. Gyth stood tall, unyielding, and powerful next to me. But the hatred that radiated off of him enough for me to feel to my bones, worried me. My guy was protective of me and those he cared about. His vigilant eyes wouldn’t miss a thing. And there was a whole lot of the evening left.
“Hi, Mother,” I responded as sweetly as my voice would allow, getting a stern look for not calling her by her first name. Something she had been insisting on since I was little, but sometimes I failed to do, just like everything else in her eyes. I always tried to be kind, but sometimes it was just plain hard to do with her. “This is Gyth. Gyth, this is my mother, Jacqueline Abbott, and this is my father, Thurston.”
Gyth let go of my hand and I felt lost in the blink of an eye without him touching me, but I knew he was trying to make this as easy on me as he could, and that meant being polite to my parents. “Nice to meet both of you,” he said, even though I had a feeling he didn’t mean it at all. This was not his scene, not the type of people he would mix with.
I was brought up in this world and it was not what I’d want surrounding me either, so I couldn’t blame him at all.
Gyth extended his hand to my mother first and she looked down at it as if she would catch some disease if she took it. When she looked back up at Gyth but didn’t put her hand in his, he just moved his arm and tried with my father. My father, being a little better than my mother, grabbed Gyth's hand and shook it. But then my mother spoke and things went from bad to worse.
Ignoring my introduction altogether, she said, “Summer, why must you insist on not listening to me? I told you on the phone that this was a family function and that I had someone I’d like you to meet.” She shot a venomous glance at Gyth, before focusing her gaze back on me.
“And I believe I told you that I was bringing someone if I was coming and that I didn’t want to meet anyone,” I fired back. “I am tired of you trying to set me up and I am happy in the relationship that I am in.” My tone spoke volumes to just how spitting mad I was.
“Don’t talk to me in that condescending tone,” she scolded me with an exasperated expression on her unflawed, perfectly put-together face.
Just as I was about to lose it, my brother walked up and jumped in, just as he had done numerous times throughout our childhood. He was always trying to keep the peace, but more than that he took the focus off of me and the brunt of their bullshit so I didn’t have to. Now that I was older and realized the sacrifices he’d made for so many years, I felt guilty because I knew they’d brought him unhappiness in his life.
“Hey sis, hey Gyth,” he said as he approached, immediately throwing out his hand to Gyth to welcome him. “It is good to see you man,” he told my guy, making me smile at his attempt to be kind and also shove it in my parents’ face that this is how one should act. He was smooth about it, my brother had style beyond his years and always had. He was a cool and kind guy.
Gyth took hold of my brother's hand and said his hellos, not missing a beat or letting my parents rile him in the least. Then he wrapped his arm around the back of me pulling me close, laying claim, and showing possession. I didn’t mind at all, I was his and I was happy for everyone in the room to notice, especially my mother.
Landon took charge and told us to follow him to grab some food and mingle, pulling us away from my parents before they could utter another word. God, I could kiss my brother's feet and the ground he walked on. He truly was my savior growing up and it looked like he was doing his best to continue that role.
Deep inside I knew he would always be there for me, but I also knew I had a phenomenal man next to me, that would now safeguard me for the rest of my life if I wanted him to. I wanted my brother to live life and find a woman he would do that for, finding joy in his life for once.
