16. Walker

Walker

" O kay they're definitely going to embarrass me," I start as I turn onto the gravel road taking us to my parents' house.

Dutton just chuckles happily. "Big family?"

"Well, three kids. I'm the youngest. My sister, Jackie, and then my brother, Ben. They're both assholes." I notice him wince slightly. And fuck, I don't want him worried. "I mean they give me shit. Lovingly. Not mean. I promise. No one in my family is even capable of actually being mean."

He seems to relax a little. "Was it hard coming out to them?"

I grin at that and shake my head. "Nah. Not at all. My mom had a girlfriend right before she met my dad. She was always really open about being bisexual."

"Oh," he says and looks a little surprised. I can't help but laugh.

"I know. Small towns in Kansas—no one thinks about it, but of course there are bisexuals here, and gay and pan and everything under the rainbow."

He smiles at that and plays with the hem of his shirt. "I was so judgmental about this place. I thought everyone was like my grandmother."

I reach over and take his hand in mine as I drive with the other one. "There are plenty of people like that, but there are good ones too. And I make sure to surround myself with the good."

"I can tell." His smile is sweet as we pull up to my parents' house. It's worn with time, but they do a pretty good job of keeping it up. I see one of my nieces shoot out from the front door, and I laugh.

"That's Lizzie."

"She's cute."

We climb out. "Yeah. I have no idea how Ben wound up with cute kids. Wait till you see his ugly mug," I tease just as I bend down and open my arms wide for my niece to run into them for a hug.

"Uncle Walker, is this your boyfriend?"

I don't miss a beat and look over at Dutton. "Yup. Lizzie, this is Dutton. Dutton, this is Lizzie, one of my four nieces."

"It's nice to meet you, Lizzie." Dutton holds out his hand for her, but she pushes it away and hugs him instead, making him chuckle, and my insides warm.

"Hello, Uncle Dutton!" Yup. Insides just all warm and happy and tingly.

He blushes slightly, but he doesn't seem freaked-out. Lizzie runs off, and I take his hand. "Let's get you introduced to everyone," I say, my head held high because he's here with me, and I couldn't be happier about that.

We walk inside, and it's utter chaos because that's what it's always like here. Not just around the holidays, but whenever we all gather. My mom is the first adult to notice we've arrived, and she practically squeals as she makes her way over to us. "Oh, you are just adorable. You must be Dutton." Before he can answer, she's pulling him into her arms and squeezing him tight. "I'm Rhonda, Walker's mom."

"Yes, and you can call her Rhonda," I say just as Archie appears. Of course he was here already.

"Hey, I have manners," Archie says, taking a huge bite of one of my mom's homemade rolls.

"Sure."

My mom finally releases Dutton. "Yes. Please call me Rhonda. None of that Mrs. Murphy crap." She reaches for my dad, who was just passing by. "And this is John. John, this is Dutton! Walker finally brought someone home."

I cringe a little bit because way to make a big deal about it, Mom, but I let it go as my dad reaches his big hand out for Dutton. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, sir."

"Don't start that shit," my dad says and looks over at Archie, shaking his head and pointing at him with his thumb. "We still can't get this one to stop with the sir and the Mr. Murphy ."

"Told you it was annoying," I say to Archie, who shoves me.

I just laugh and then hug my mom and dad. Ben comes in, and I introduce him and his wife, Krista. Dutton is polite, even if I'm sure he's a little overwhelmed. We find Jackie and her husband, Chris, in the kitchen, and she squeals like my mother did, making a huge deal about Walker finally having a boyfriend.

"We're going to watch football with Dad," I say, starting to tug Dutton with me.

"Hold on. You know I don't do the sports."

Jackie looks far too pleased. "Oh my God, yes. Finally, another person who doesn't think football is the best thing that ever happened."

"Oh great. You can bond with my annoying sister."

"Sounds good to me," Dutton says, and I can't help that it sends butterflies through me. He really sounds like he wants to stay here with her.

She's assessing him and whistles. "Phew. You're really slumming it with my brother, huh? Thank you for taking pity on him. I know he's not much to look at, but he is a pretty okay guy."

I flip her off. "Thanks, sis."

She cackles, so proud of herself, and Dutton, of course, joins in, "Yeah, I'm not sure what attracted me to him in the first place, but he did install a pretty great hot tub in my backyard."

Jackie nods her head, going along with the charade. "Ah, yes. He is handy. That's enough to base a relationship on."

"You're both the worst," I say. "I think I should stay before the awkward Walker stories start."

Jackie takes away the choice for me to hang around. " Oh, hell no. You're not taking this away from me. Shoo. We want to talk about you."

I groan but let her send me away when I see Dutton looks totally comfortable. I go into the living room with Archie, Ben, Krista, and Dad to watch the game. Mom is busy wrangling all the grandkids and chasing them playfully around the house.

I have to admit, even though I wanted Dutton to join us, I was nervous. I know his family isn't like this. He told me, even when he was in California, they didn't really celebrate Thanksgiving and would usually have Christmas dinner together, but it wasn't always a given. Sometimes, his parents like to take a trip over the holidays.

I can't imagine not having this, but it seems to work for them. When dinner is ready, I help my brother set the table, and then I take a seat right next to Dutton. We all dig in, and then the conversations start once we get a little food in our hungry bellies.

"So, Dutton, you're from California?" my mom asks, even though I've already told her that. I know it's her way of starting the conversation. I didn't tell her how he wound up here, though, and I'm kind of thinking I should have.

"I am. I just moved here a couple of months ago."

"Right. Walker and Oakley's Crew are doing landscaping at your house, and that's how you met, right?" She smiles over at me, pretending to be exasperated. "I swear, getting all the details from him is like pulling teeth."

Dutton just laughs at that, looking content and happy, not at all tense. "Yes. My grandmother lived in that house, and when she passed, she left it to me. It needed a lot of work."

"I'm sorry for you loss," my mom says kindly, and I wait for Dutton to tense up. Fuck. I really should have told my mother that his grandmother wasn't a great subject. She'd probably be mortified to bring up something so traumatizing.

"Thank you, but I honestly mourned her loss a long time ago." Dutton surprises me by being so candid. My mother looks slightly confused, but I can tell she's going to let it go. Good. Phew. Crisis avoided. "She told me not to come back when I told her I was gay."

Okay. Maybe not. I look at Dutton, kind of shocked he wants to talk about it. My mom doesn't miss a beat though. "Well, that's tragic."

He shrugs. "I'm okay."

"Oh no, honey. I mean for her. She missed out on knowing you. That's the tragic part. I only just met you, and I would have been sad to not know you."

I can't help but admire the hell out of my mother because I see how deeply her words affect Dutton. "Thank you," he barely chokes out.

"What a bitch," Ben adds angrily, and I snicker before Mom scolds him for cursing.

"Benjamin. That's not a nice thing to say about his grandmother. Even if it's true sometimes, we don't say it." She winks at Dutton, who thankfully laughs.

"He's not wrong."

Jackie is sitting on Dutton's other side, and I see her pat his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here. Slumming it with my brother."

Dutton laughs as I glare at my sister, but really, I'm happy. Totally happy because they do love him. Just like I knew they would.

After dinner, I help my dad with the dishes, and Ben and Archie help my mom get all the Christmas decorations out of the garage.

We all decorate the house and the tree together, my mom making hot chocolate and singing Christmas songs out of tune. It's like every other Thanksgiving, except Dutton is here for this one, and it makes it all the more special.

God, I hope he'll be here for the next one and you know, every single one after that.