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It was perfect for my small family.
“It’s all good, Mae. Ems knows I’m just giving her shit,” Holden said, putting his arm around her waist as she attempted to unload more dishes from a box.
He leaned in for a kiss and I turned away to give them some privacy even though they were in the middle of my kitchen. I thought it was sweet how he called her Mae when no one else did. I didn’t know the story behind it. I didn’t know much about their story at all except that he’d met her months after losing his leg and coming home from Afghanistan.
And while I was glad Holden had found someone to help him heal after everything he’d been through, I did think Miranda was very young compared to him. And maybe too naïve for the likes of Holden Steel. But the truth was, I hadn’t gotten to know her well enough to make those judgments yet. So the jury was still out on that one.
Me, I was the jury and honestly, I was one of those people who instantly trusted no one. That kind of thing was earned, in my opinion.
“I gotta get you home.” I heard Holden growl lowly and held in a giggle. However, Parker did not.
“Oh my God, Holden, cut it out. You’re scarring the poor child for life,” Miranda admonished him and I turned around in time to see her push his body away from hers. “Besides the only thing we are doing when we get home is painting the spare bedroom.”
Holden shrugged and then waggled his eyebrows. “And what about after that?” His sparkling eyes and smile said it all.
Miranda looked toward the heavens before turning her eyes to Parker, who was seated on our haphazardly thrown into the room couch, scrolling through her phone. “I’m so sorry, Parker.”
Parker raised her eyebrows at Miranda. “Girl, don’t apologize to me for getting you some,” she said before going back to her cell.
I laughed out loud then and Miranda turned to me with a red face. “I don’t think I’m ready for teenagers, Emily.”
Miranda and Holden didn’t have children yet, but I didn’t think anything at all prepared someone for teens. Not even raising them their whole lives before they actually reached teenhood.
I shook my head. “No one is. No one at all.”
At that, we all had a good chuckle before Holden turned to me and said, “Well, I think that’s it, Ems. We got everything off the truck and I’ll drop it back off on my way home. I put the beds together so you all can sleep well tonight and we’ll come by tomorrow to hopefully help you get your furniture situated and unpack some more of these boxes.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. You’ve been so much help already.” I looked around the room, regretting the words as soon as they came out of my mouth. Even after five years, doing things on my own still felt like an anomaly. And this disaster of a house needed a lot of work, but Parker and I had been doing things on our own even if it was hard and we’d figure this out, too. So I kept on. “But thank you so much for all your help.”
Holden’s smile dropped. “Of course we’ll come by and help you finish unpacking, no ifs, ands, or buts. Andrew would want us to. Besides, it’s what friends do.”
And I knew there was no arguing with that. When he brought Andrew into a conversation, I knew we were done. “Thanks, Hold. I appreciate it more than you know.” I felt equal parts thankful and awkward accepting his help.
“No thanks needed,” he said, walking toward me and pulling me in for a hug. I leaned into him and smiled, my small frame dwarfed by his big one as he leaned into my ear. “Besides, it gives me an excuse to get out of the house for a bit,” he whispered in my ear.
Both he and Miranda worked from home. He was retired military but ran a very successful blog that helped men and women who suffered from PTSD, and Miranda was a book editor. I knew their careers kept them both very busy, but I had a feeling they spent more time doing other activities. The kind that involved a bed. Or maybe not.
“Oh, please,” Miranda said from behind him. “Don’t act like you don’t love being holed up in the house, you recluse!” She pushed him out of the way and brought me in for a hug of her own. “Welcome home, Emily. We’re so happy you’re here.”
And there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she meant it. She was the absolute sweetest, almost too sweet. And I had a feeling that she thought we were going to be the best of friends.
I hated to disappoint her, but I knew we wouldn’t. I was too hard and I could tell that this girl was anything but. And I wasn’t much into making new friends.
They hugged and fussed over Parker before we both walked them to the front door. When Miranda was already out the door and halfway to the car, Holden turned back around and said, “You call me if you need anything.”
It wasn’t a request. It was definitely an order.
“Aye, aye, Boss,” I retorted with a mock salute, trying to be funny.
But he didn’t laugh. His brown eyes got soft as he said, “That’s always what Davies called me.”
“I know,” I answered with a soft smile of my own.
Raw emotion flashed across his face so quickly, I wondered if I’d imagined it. “Call me. I mean it.” And he was gone.
Parker and I were finally, blessedly, left alone in our new home. We both plopped down on the couch and I pulled her over toward me and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.
“So, what do you think, kiddo?” I asked, picking at the skin on my lip nervously. I wasn’t asking about anything in particular as much as I was asking about everything.
