Dream Chaser (Dream Team, #2)(110)

“And my mom met you, and them, going to the hospital to check on her son who was cuffed to a hospital bed.”

“And?”

I tipped my head back and caught his eyes.

“Boone, put yourself in my shoes.”

“Your mother would no sooner think badly of me because one of my brothers had an issue that was beyond my control than she’d poke out her own eye.”

Good point.

And this was true.

He kept going.

“And what my parents saw today was a sister who loves her brother so much, regardless of his problems, she was messed right the fuck up at the thought of him being hurt and in trouble. Messed up so bad, she could barely talk.”

Hmm.

“And they saw she had a mother who had it together and dropped everything to get to her boy.”

Well, that was a better way to look at it.

“And your mom saw you had a man and his family who are going to have your back.”

Another better way.

“In other words,” he kept at it, “would I rather those two met to giggle about expensive fridges and shit while my mom and dad shouted the house down? Maybe. But the way they met didn’t suck either.”

“Mr. Brightside,” I whispered, pressing into him.

“Rynnie, you can’t control the world. You can’t make everything okay for your niece and nephew because they got shit parents. They have shit parents, but they’re the parents they got and there’s nothin’ you can do about that. You can’t adjust the course of life to fit how you need it to be so everything will be just perfect for those you care about. Like you can’t hold your breath and make your brother stop talking so you won’t have to hear his ugly, and your man and your mom won’t hear it either. And babe,” he got closer, “heads up. You can’t make Hattie let Axl in and you can’t give Axl the tools to get in. That’s gotta happen how it happens, or not, if that’s the way it’s gonna be.”

We’d see about that last one.

“Jesus, Ryn, are you listening to me?” he asked.

He totally knew I was going to meddle with Hattie and Axl.

Still, this was serious, so I said, “Yes, Boone, and I hear you and you’re right.” Except about Hattie and Axl, but I wasn’t going to share that at that juncture, and not only because he already knew it. “And I’ll be mindful. And I’ll…I don’t know.”

“Find a way to let go.”

I grinned up at him. “Maybe I need more sex.”

He started chuckling and promised, “That’s something I can help with. And I’ll be sure to get right on that.”

I pressed closer, still grinning up at him.

Then I got serious.

“But truth, I’ll work on it. I promise. Okay?”

“More than okay. And I’m here. And I’ll help.”

I fit myself snug to him.

He bent and touched his mouth to mine before he lifted away and finished our discussion with “Okay.”

“We should probably get in there before your dad finds Hound’s tool belt. I’ve noticed Hound doesn’t like anyone touching his tool belt.”

Boone started chuckling again, but he turned me toward the house.

I couldn’t say I was super mindful right then, except to Boone, what with how sweet he was being, but I didn’t miss all three of our parents jerking away from the back window the minute we turned.

“They’re all certifiable,” Boone muttered.

He didn’t miss it either.

“They’re cute.”

“Yeah, you didn’t tell your mom not to mention your girlfriend’s job until your girlfriend mentioned it only to have your mom mention it practically before your girlfriend got her ass in her chair at their first dinner together.”

He sounded disgruntled.

That was also cute.

“She was right to put my mind at ease.”

“What’s right is what my dad said. She’s a steamroller.”

“It’s good you found yourself a biddable girlfriend, then.”

“I’ve noticed that pretty much is only the case when we’re in bed,” he noted.

“Is that bad?”

He bent his face close to mine even as he kept us walking.

“Not even a little bit,” he growled.

I gave him a scrunched nose.

He kissed it.

Then, before we slammed into the house, he started paying attention to where he was leading us.

All of our parents were faking absorption in the quality of my kitchen cabinets.

Not certifiable.

But totally dorky.

And you know what?

I loved it.

*



That evening, Mom and I were in Boone’s kitchen, making lasagna.

Boone and his folks were in Boone’s living room area, chatting but mostly giving us space even if we were all still in the same space.

Mom was handling noodles, chopped hard-boiled egg and mozzarella cheese.

I was handling meat sauce and cottage cheese.

We were tucked as close as we could get and still do our work.

“I really like his house,” she said under her breath.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“And his parents are great,” she went on.