CHAPTER 14 - Rosie

A mon Parrish plays his cards close when he says these words. But I can tell that he's a little bit afraid of my answer. And it wasn't a question I was expecting, so I don't actually have an answer ready.

So Amon asks again. "Do you want to try again and see if all those plans the two of you made can still work out, Rosie?"

"The answer is easy to the first question, Amon. It's no."

His eyes narrow down a little. "Just no?"

"Like I said, that one is easy. So yes, it's just no. I don't want him. I don't even know him. But do I still long for the plans we made? That's another question altogether."

"How so?"

"Well, those were my dreams. So it's just different."

Amon lets out a breath, relaxing a little. "So you want the dream, but not with the man you planned it with?"

"Yeah, I guess. If Erol had done this when Cross was still little, I'd have settled, I think. I'd have given in to the old longing. Because if I could've given Cross a father, I would've. But he's twelve now. Erol missed it, ya know? My daddy and brothers taught him everything a father should teach a son. So that part is over."

Amon nods thoughtfully. "I agree, to a point. He still needs a role model."

I smile at Amon, wondering if he's offering to do the job.

Of course he is. That's why we're having this conversation in the first place. But it's not a decision that can be decided by a mother and her love interest. At this age, a boy's role model is chosen by the boy. Even if he did have a father at home, Cross is just about ready to start questioning authority, blood relations or not.

"I wrote a reply when I went out there to the woods," I tell Amon.

"What did you say?"

"Something along the lines of… ‘Not even if hell froze over.'"

Amon smiles and this time, when he breathes out, all the leftover tension goes with it. Then he asks the real question, which has nothing to do with Erol. "Do you want me?"

I don't answer right away. Not because I'm hesitating, I just want to enjoy this moment. I want to memorize it. Because this is it. This is all there is to my dating life.

It's over now.

"Yes, Amon. I want you."

He chuckles, but looks down. Maybe to hide his relief or maybe just to take his own moment to fix this morning in his head. When he looks up, he's still smiling and things are different now. "All right then. Let's go back up." He nods his head to the stairs.

I sigh, but smile too, and look up at all those stairs.

When I look back at Amon he winks at me. "I'll carry you if ya want."

"I think I can manage, but I'm not saying no to that offer just yet."

He takes my hand and we climb back up.

Amon didn't need to carry me , I made it up those stairs just fine. Very out of breath and my legs will probably be aching tomorrow, but I made it. We walk back to the motorcycle and he unlocks the helmets, but when I reach for mine, he doesn't let go of it. Which forces me to meet his gaze with a questioning look. "What?"

"I have one more question."

"OK."

"Can we have dinner tonight?"

"Um… Cross is actually gonna be home for dinner tonight, so?—"

"Well, I was including him in the ‘we.'"

"Oh." I am a little taken aback because number one, I have never dated a man from Disciple and number two, Cross was never involved in my love life—lackluster as it was.

Amon, reading my hesitation, jumps in here. "Never mind. It was a bad idea."

"Well, just hold on now. I'm not convinced it is a bad idea. It's just… I've never introduced Cross to a man before. I mean, you know. One I was datin'."

Amon nods. "Right. But… I already know Cross." Then he smiles. "We've already met, Rosie. That cat is out of the bag."

He's not wrong. I mean, I've never seen Cross and Amon having a conversation, but I'm sure, at one point during that first week when Collin and Amon were all over town, Cross did bump into Amon and say a few words. And all the older teenage boys have been talking about joining up with Edge Security when they graduate. So I'm sure that Cross, as an up-and-coming older boy himself, has also participated in such conversations.

When I take too long to answer, Amon keeps going. "Your place tonight at seven-thirty. I'll bring food, you make dessert, and the three of us will have a nice time. That's it. That's all it'll be. Just a nice time."

I nod. "OK. Dinner at my place tonight."

The whole ride back up to Trinity County I find myself grinning like a stupid teenager. Amon Parrish and me. Together. As a real couple.

It's not something I had ever considered. I mean, not seriously. Of course, everyone loved Amon in high school, but any thoughts I had of him were tempered by the fact that he was two years older and I was pregnant with another boy's baby.

But I will admit that when I first saw him in the Rise and Shine getting coffee that first morning he was back, and before I recognized him for who he was—which was only a few seconds. He aimed that smile at me and the little recognition centers in my brain went off pronto—but in those few seconds when he was a stranger, a tourist passing through, oh, you bet I was interested.

And now, just a few months later, I'm leaning my face into his leather jacket as we fly up the highway on a motorcycle and not only are we having dinner tonight, but it will be our third date.

Yes, my brain went there. Third date implies something. Something I am more than willing to try out. But Amon and I won't be having sex tonight because I am gonna introduce him to my son.

It's a big step but when I start picturing a life with Amon my heart goes soft, and my head gets light, and if I were standing right now, my legs would be weak.

He's the one. I feel it.

Amon Parrish is my forever man.

After Amon drops me off at my car and leaves, and I drive back up to Disciple, I walk into McBooms on a high I haven't felt in over a decade.

Lowyn is at the front counter doing something with a serious look on her face. The teenagers are sweeping the floor and goofing off in the back corner of the store, and there's some music on, so it's a nice buffer between them and us when I lean my elbows on the counter and sigh.

Lowyn looks up. "Hi, Rosie. I didn't hear you come in."

"I came in the back." I sigh again, louder this time.

Which makes Lowyn grin and redirect her attention to me instead of the papers in front of her. "Well, did you eat a canary or something? Because you look like you've just been doing something devious." She side-eyes me for a moment. "What? Did you have a quickie with that Scar guy down in Fayetteville?" But she winks when she says this. So I know she's teasin' me.

I giggle. "No." Then I turn my body so I have my back to her and prop my elbows up on the counter while looking over my shoulder. "I was never datin' no guy named Scar, Lowyn. He was just made up so people wouldn't ask me why I wasn't datin'."

Lowyn cocks her head at me. "Really?"

"Truly."

She laughs. "I know all about Amon. I live next door to that man and this here outfit you're wearing? I picked it out yesterday afternoon while you were busy with Revival."

I turn back around and practically explode. "You did!" I smile big.

"I did. Amon wanted me too, of course. Because he had this date all planned for you. So. Was it everything you thought it would be? He was aiming for perfect, and I'm rootin' for him, so I hope he pulled it off."

"He did, Lowyn."

"Really?"

"Truly. It was dreamy. And not only have we dated twice now, but we date in costume! Can you believe that?"

"Dating in costume is adorable, Rosie."

"Isn't it, though? For our first date he dressed up in a proper Bishop gentleman's outfit. And then took me to the Ordinary for lunch!"

"Oh, Collin laughed about that Bishop costume pretty hard the other night. And the Ordinary? For a first date? Now that's what I call an effort."

"It is, isn't it?"

Lowyn leans back in her chair, making it creak a little. "Well, I guess that settles it then. Date number three is a sure thing."

I slap my hands on the counter and burst. "It does, doesn't it! It's settled all right. We're having dinner tonight. At my place. Well, he's bringing dinner. I just have to make dessert. Date number three, Low." My head is nodding in a furious manner and I'm making one of those all-teeth smiles.

Lowyn's stoic face breaks into a wide grin. Then she leans forward, like she's gonna tell me a secret. "You're gonna live next door to me, Rosie Harlow. We're gonna be neighbors."

"What do ya mean?"

"Well, Amon's house is right next to mine. And Amon, well, he's got ‘ready to settle down' written all over him, Rosie. And you're it. He wants you ."

I turn away again, pressing my back into the counter, and sighhhhhhhhh . Because while my life has not been terrible at all, I had given up on finding romantic love. I was satisfied with loving my son. And now, on the turn of a dime, just like that—everything is changing.

And I couldn't be happier with where this might end.

Amon Parrish is… mine ?

"I gotta go," I say, rushing towards the back of the store. "I gotta figure out what I'm gonna wear and rustle us up some dessert!"

Lowyn calls out a goodbye, but I'm already gone.

Picking an outfit for a date with a man at your house is not an easy thing when your soon-to-be teenage son is gonna be there too. And Cross is the whole point of this date. I had to remind myself of that. Amon wants to formally meet him. And even though Cross and Amon already know each other, this is a big step.

I need to come off as motherly, but still a woman in her prime. Because I am. I only just barely turned twenty-eight last month.

My go-to summer outfit is cut-off denim shorts and a halter top. Which isn't very motherly, but it makes sense in my little world. Which means it makes sense to Cross because this is what he's used to seeing me in when I'm just hanging out at home in the evenings.

So this is what I go with instead of a dress.

Hair, on the other hand, is easy. Because ninety percent of the time I just wear it long with no ponytail or nothing. So that's how it is tonight as well.

I don't wear shoes inside, so I'm barefoot.

I decide to do two things to make this night stand apart from any other night at home. The first is paint my toenails. They are the prettiest shade of light green and they match my halter top—which is a crocheted number with full coverage over the breasts and lace that hangs down my belly. That's the motherly part, I guess. Because while you can still see my sexy little button, it's a peek-a-boo look at best. The shorts are just your regular bleached-out cut-offs with lots of tantalizing white strings flirtin' with my upper thighs.

The other thing I do, which I don't normally do, is put on a little make-up. Just a bit of rouge to brighten up my tanned face, some shimmery eyeshadow that matches my top and toes, and lip gloss. I love me some lip gloss. Shiny lips are still a thing in my world.

I was gonna cheat on dessert and just pick up a cake from April Laver's bakery, but… this is Amon. And I want to impress him. Besides, I'm a damn good baker. I worked for April and her family when Cross was just a baby because it was an early-early morning kind of job. And while I mostly did dishes, I worked there long enough to end up helping with the donuts while Cross snoozed in my baby wrap.

The point is, I can bake. So I decide on strawberry shortcake. An easy dessert that no one hates. Amon's bringing dinner, so?—

" Mooooom !"

"What?" I turn to my son.

"Stop pacing in front of the window like a crazy person. It's just Amon."

He and I already talked about this dinner and he wasn't impressed. Not wasn't happy about it, but literally wasn't impressed. When I told him to go comb his hair and wash his face he scowled and said, "Why do I have to look nice for Amon?"

"Because I like him," I explained in my soft motherly voice.

" So ? Everyone likes Amon. What does that have to do with him bringing us dinner?"

I wanted to roll my eyes here, but instead I mentally patted myself on the back for my son's cluelessness on the subtleties of dating.

I'm still pacing—though Cross has decided to ignore me and is playing video games on the couch—when Amon's truck pulls up in front of the house.

I let out a breath, just looking out the window.

And while I'm doing that, Cross gets up and opens the door before I can stop him.

I turn, and there he is. Amon Parrish comes up my walkway holding a brown paper take-out bag from the Revival Café and a bouquet of flowers and I go speechless as I take him in. He's wearing the same thing he was this morning, minus the leather jacket. So it's just jeans and a white t-shirt. And he's got his sunglasses on—mirrors, which I have always been partial to, as they are sexy as hell. Normally that blond hair of Amon's falls all over like an unruly child on a jungle gym, but this evening it's been combed back just enough to make him look presentable.

"You better get in here," Cross says. "She's been looking out the front window waitin' on ya for the past half hour."

My face goes hot, but Amon is smiling when he meets my gaze, walks up the porch steps, and hands me the flowers. "I picked them from the woods behind my house, so they're nothing special. And Lowyn tied them up with the ribbon." When he takes his sunglasses off, a few stray bits of hair fall into his eyes and he rakes his fingers through it, trying to tame it back in place.

Oh, my God, I might faint when I look directly into those blue eyes of his, so instead I concentrate on the flowers, sniffing them. They are wildflowers. Small, but colorful. And they are wrapped in a light green satin ribbon that matches my toe polish.

I look up at Amon once again, blinking a little, flattered and feeling a little gushy that he actually picked flowers for me. But it's not surprising, really. Because Amon Parrish is a fuckin' romantic and he's not shy about pulling out all the stops.

Cross grabs the bag of food and peeks inside. Then he turns and scoots past me, back into the house, muttering, "Yum. Burgers and chicken. I'm hungry." Like this isn't a big deal. Like Amon Parrish brings us dinner every night of the week.

Amon and I both ignore Cross as we gaze into each other's eyes. He speaks first. "You look real nice tonight, Rosie."

"Thank you. And thanks for the flowers, I love them. Come on in." I slip past the screen door and hold it open for him as he comes up behind me. And just the mere presence of his body so close to mine is enough to make me wish that Cross wasn't here right now. Because I am getting hungry for something all right, but it's not food.

It's this man.