59. Thick as Thieves

FIFTY-NINE

One thing was certain when it came to Lily, and it's that she would be spoiled for the rest of her life. Del and I had done our Christmas shopping separately. Jo and Noah had their presents for her delivered to us, and I added them to the stacks of boxes I had hiding in the basement. Del would say I went overboard, but she couldn't do anything about it if I waited to show her until tonight.

We met in the living room at midnight. Our families were gone and our baby was asleep, but we still tiptoed stealthily, as if Lily would wake up and walk herself down the stairs to catch us playing Santa.

It took Del two trips to her car and me three trips up from the basement.

"I think we overdid it," she said with her arms crossed over her chest, assessing the damage. We'd already opened presents with our families.

"There are a couple for Peter and Brett in there, but the majority are Lily's."

Her mouth opened to smart off, but I spoke before she could.

"Yours are somewhere else, and don't even try to get it out of me. I'm weak and I break easily."

Her giggle was a sound I rarely heard. As much as she tried to pretend she didn't, she loved gifts.

We got everything out and ready to wrap, only to find out we didn't have any tape.

Del smacked her forehead. "Stupid. How could I forget that? She got up and started to pace. "Seriously, do I have any motherly instincts? My mom would never forget something like this."

"Hey, hey." I leapt to my feet and took her hands in mine. "We're not doing that. You're a great mom. We've just been busy." Her defeated, downcast eyes met mine and the implicit trust staring back at me was exactly like when we were young and I needed to think our way out of a situation.

"Oh, no." Her voice would make you think she was scared, but her grin rang true. "You have that look in your eye. That's never good."

"How do you feel about a little theft?"

"Parker, we can't break in somewhere. Don't you think we've had our faces in the news enough lately?"

"Relax. It's not breaking in if you have a key." I crossed to the entryway table and found the key to my parents' house. "You wanna come with?"

"Sneak around your parents' house in the dark? Hell yeah. It's like we've been training for this our whole lives!" Watching her face light up after being so sullen made my chest squeeze tight.

"Okay, just a slight change of plans. Are you opposed to getting one present early? It's only like eight hours early."

"I thought we were headed out to be thieves?"

"We are, but I need you to be the getaway driver. Grab your keys."

"Wouldn't your truck be more practical right now?"

"I love your brain, but can you just turn it off for a second and grab your keys?" My feisty girl always had to question me.

She eyed me suspiciously but did as I instructed, pulling on her fuzzy boots and winter coat. Once she was all zipped up in her black coat she looked more like a penguin than a thief. Cute of course, but still a penguin.

I caught her hand as she started toward the door to the garage. "Actually we need to go this way." I opened the front door and led her out to the unattached garage that I knew she thought was probably still empty like the last time she'd seen inside.

"All our cars are over there."

"Uh huh."

I opened the door and turned on the overhead light.

"No," her hand flew to her mouth. "No, you didn't."

"I did and if you say one thing about the price, I'm taking it back."

"Holy shit, Parker. I… this is crazy. Is it the one we saw the other day?"

"Yeah, I knew you needed it when I saw the look on your face."

"I was going to go back and buy it myself!" She beamed, completely awestruck by the teal jeep in front of her.

I pulled the car keys from her pocket and attached the fob I'd hidden in my own.

"So Peach, do you think you can be our getaway driver?"

"Yes!" There wasn't an ounce of hesitation in her voice.

"Do you want to get inside?" She was standing there frozen, staring at the vehicle, until I led her to the driver's side and opened the door. "You should be able to get around just fine in the winter with these tires."

She took them in with big eyes. "They're massive."

"We're taking it mudding in the spring."

She gasped. "But she's so pretty!"

A chuckle fell from my lips. "We can wash her up after. Come on, let's go before it gets even later. Or earlier, I guess."

She grabbed onto the handle bar and pulled herself up. It was completely unnecessary for me to give her a little support with my hand on her ass, yet… Shooters gotta shoot.

When I was inside and the garage door was open, I waited for her to put it in reverse but she was frozen with her hands on the wheel.

"Are we gonna go?" I asked gently. I didn't understand what the hold up was.

She looked up at me and the curls hiding her face fell to the side. Her blue eyes were slightly glassy and her bottom lip was so pouty I wanted to take a bite.

"What's wrong, Del?"

"Sorry, this is just the nicest gift anyone has ever gotten me. I can't believe you remembered."

"How could I not remember? I can't even look at a jeep without thinking about you, let alone this one. It was out of my control. My wallet practically leapt out of my pocket. Here, look." I released the lever on the glove box and showed her what I had stocked inside.

Her jaw went slack. "You got me matching ducks?!?"

"They're the same color as everything you have. It all matches because you're addicted to this color." I held one small, teal duck in my palm. "They glow in the dark, too."

"No way." She put it up on the dash and then turned to me. "You already have a camera installed and everything."

"Well, yeah. Mama"s gotta ride in style."

"I literally got you boxers." The words blurted out of her mouth. "I got you boxers and you got me my fucking dream car. I'm so undeserving. And I suck at giving gifts."

"You're just easy to buy for. I have another surprise in the morning."

"Parker." She sighed in frustration, while shifting into reverse.

"Come on, let me spoil you a little."

"You only let me buy groceries. I do have money of my own, you know? I'm a pretty successful author."

The minute it came out of her mouth, I could tell she regretted it. Which wasn't needed. I didn't want her to feel like she couldn't be proud of her accomplishments.

"Yeah, you are. You're fucking talented." I squeezed her upper thigh as she drove.

Her smile started out shy, then worked its way up to a full blown grin.

"I am, aren't I?" she admitted with a shrug and a smirk.

"You are. Now, when you get down the driveway, don't be afraid to give it a little ga?—"

"Like this?" She hit the pedal and we took off. All I could do was hope that Evan was on duty and not one of the old bastards that gave out tickets for sport.

My hand was firmly on the "oh shit" handle for the entirety of the short drive to my parent's house. It was safe to say she was excited about her Christmas gift.

We decided to ditch our coats to make our break-in a little less noisy. I fit my key into the lock and then slowly turned the knob to prevent the loud click that had gotten me caught once in high school. Holly wasn't as graceful when she got to the age of sneaking out, and I had to teach her my ways after she got caught and grounded a couple times. I did, however, add in the stipulation that she needed to text me when she left the house and share her location in order for me to not ask questions.

I ushered Del in before me and reset the door so it looked like no one had come in. Not a single light was on since my parents were staying out at the cabin for the holiday.

We navigated the hallways in silence and I held her hand clutched in mine as I pulled her behind me. She knew the layout of the house just as well as I did, but the last time we'd done something like this I wasn't allowed to touch her like I could now. I was seizing the opportunity and planned to for the foreseeable future.

When we reached my mom's craft room, I tugged her through the door behind me and pinned her against the wall. She was still in her Christmas pajama pants and button down top. I slipped my hands under the hem to feel her warm skin against my finger tips.

"I like sneaking around with you."

"Want to pretend to stay in your old room and sneak into mine tonight?" She reached around my back to pull me closer to her.

"Oh, I don't know. You'd have to be really quiet." I trailed kisses up the bend of her neck and breathed in her sweet, marshmallowy perfume. "You think you can do that, Dellie Girl?"

"I don't think you want me to be quiet."

"Not usually…" I kissed her lips once in a lingering peck. She felt so good in my hands. Soft and warm and inherently mine. "But I don't want Peter and Brett hearing the sound you make when you?—"

A bright light rounded the corner and shone straight in our eyes, blinding us for a minute before I heard a familiar sigh of relief.

"Jesus Christ, you guys. I almost beat the shit out of you. Don"t you have your own house to do that in?" Holly was still holding the baseball bat over her right shoulder like she was about to take a swing. She flicked the overhead light on and I couldn't help but laugh at her ridiculous pajama set.

"You still wear that to bed?" I eyed the shorts and t-shirt set with avocados all over them. She had multiple sets with various kinds of foods covering the material.

Her face reddened. "Dad gets me more every year and I don't know how to tell him to stop," she explained defensively. "Plus, they're soft."

"Leave the girl alone." Del spoke up to my sister's defense. "Sorry, we woke you up, Holly."

"How did we wake you? I was so quiet with the door."

"Dad installed a new security system that pings our phones."

That would have been good to know.

"What are you even doing here? I thought you'd be at the cabin with Mom and Dad."

"I wasn't feeling up to it." A look crossed her face so quickly I couldn"t categorize it. She spoke again before I could question her. "Why are you two getting handsy in the craft room?"

"We don't have tape." Del shrugged. "But onto more important topics. Do you wanna come see my new Jeep?" She grabbed Holly"s hands into her own and her excitement warmed my chest.

"He gave it to you already?" To me, my sister said, "You have no will power."

"He's defenseless against my charm and beauty, and I love it!" Del threw her arms in the air and let loose an evil laugh. It was the truest statement I'd ever heard. I was a fucking fool for this woman.

"Can we go for a ride?" Holly asked her.

"It's late, Holl. Maybe another time."

Del turned to me. "Don't worry, we'll be quick. We'll be back before you even find the tape."

They took off out the door without a backward glance. I was more than happy that they were back together again, but man were they trouble.

I found the tape and shoved a few rolls in the pockets of my sweatpants, then headed for Holly's room. Her bag from school was still packed and sitting on top of her dresser. I didn't know why she deflected my question earlier, but I wasn't letting my baby sister wake up alone on Christmas.

I gathered her phone charger and laptop off her bed. Her makeup stuff was scattered across the counter in the bathroom we used to share. I dropped it all into the massive duffel bag before zipping it up and throwing it over my shoulder. I locked the house back up and waited on the front porch for them to get back.

I wasn't excited at the thought of sharing Del, but the smiles on their faces when they finally returned to get me made it worth it.

I tossed Holly's bag in the back and shoved it across the seat before I got in beside it.

"Why do you have that?"

"You're coming to stay with us, not by yourself on Christmas Eve."

"But I need my phone charger."

"Got it."

"Toothbrush?"

"Got it."

"Okay, damn. Let's get going then. Hold onto your ass, she's a bit excited about her new ride."

"Who wouldn't be excited about getting their dream car for Christmas? I'm half tempted to sleep in it tonight." Pride erupted in my chest at Del's words. I did a good job with her gift.

"So," Holly said. "Since I'm staying with you guys, how about a sleepover, Del? Parker can take care of Lily for us."

"What do you mean a sleepover? You're already staying at our house."

Del laughed. "She means you need to find somewhere else to sleep."

"I'm getting kicked out of my own bed in my own house?" Ridiculous. All I wanted to do was fall asleep with Del in my arms after a long day.

"Sorry big bro. We need sister bonding time. You can go snuggle with Peter."

I would not be doing that, but I would be paying more attention to my friends with my sister in the house. I trusted them, but Holly was young and impressionable. They were wealthy pro athletes.

Then I realized Peter and Holly were the same age, and I might just be an asshole.

Holly tucked herself into our bed while Del and I wrapped the presents. It was a late night that got much later than intended. We were both exhausted by the time we finished.

I pulled Del close to me by the Christmas tree and rested my chin on her head when she snuggled against my chest. "Holly's a cockblock. I wanted to celebrate the holiday with you. It's our first Christmas together."

A laugh bubbled up in her throat. "I think she does it on purpose, honestly."

"Probably. Sorry, I'm just being whiny. I'm going to miss you tonight." With everything going on around us, I wanted some time for reassurance. The holidays were always busy, but I wanted them to slow down so we could enjoy them. The new year was looming over us and we both knew it meant a decision would have to be made. When she was in my bed with the rest of the world shut out, it felt like nothing else mattered. When Christmas was over, reality would crash over our heads and the bubble we'd been living in would pop.