Ten Below Zero(62)

His hands were cupping my jaw and pulling me up. His clear blue eyes stared into mine for a minute, and then he pulled me down and kissed me, gently, softly. Each of his kisses so far had been different and this was no exception. It was a healing kiss. Healing the parts of me that hurt with how he made me feel.

I pulled away and let my head rest on his chest, mind-numbingly terrified of the kiss I’d just given to Everett. Terrified of what it meant, what he saw in that kiss. I felt his hand come down to my hair and he brushed it with his fingers.

We laid on the bed, my head on his coffee-covered chest and his fingers in my hair as I tried to wrap my head around what was happening with Everett.



“When did you make the appointments?” he asked, pulling into the tattoo shop just outside of Austin, where his family lived.

“While you were asleep, last night.”

Everett looked happily surprised. And it planted a little seed of happiness in my chest, to know I’d put that on his face. Happiness was truly a weird emotion. It filled your chest with little flutters. It made me nauseated, but I chose to let it come. It wasn’t painful like the other feelings.

Everett climbed out and walked around to grab my hand. “What are you getting tattooed?”

“It’s a secret.”

“Well then mine will be a secret too.” He squeezed my hand not once, not twice, but three times. So I squeezed back three times.

Everett looked down at me and squeezed my hand three times again. Whatever it was, it was intentional. He furrowed his brow for a minute before clearing his features. “You ready?”

“Yes.”



When my tattoo was finished, I walked outside and looked for Everett. When I didn’t see him, I sat on the curb and waited. I decided to text Mira.

Me: How did everything go?

I tapped my feet on the asphalt as I waited for her reply.

Mira: Fine. We had to let him go. But I think he’s convinced that Andra was never at the ranch.

Me: Andra? Why did he call me Cora?

Mira: He’s confused.

Me: I feel like you’re not telling me something.

Mira: Because I’m not. You don’t need to know. Drop it.

I stewed on that for a minute, annoyed that she wasn’t telling me. But I knew that nothing I could say to Mira would change her mind.

The door to the tattoo shop opened and Everett stepped out. He’d decided to wear long sleeves and shorts, so I knew that I wouldn’t be able to see where he’d gotten his tattoo. Luckily, mine was hidden as well.

He reached a hand down to me on the curb and pulled me to standing. “What’d you get?” he asked.

“What did you get?”

“Ah,” he said, understanding coming into his eyes. “You’re not going to tell me, until I tell you.”

I nodded.

“You’re going to have to wait then, because I plan on keeping this on lockdown until you get me naked again.”

I chewed on my lip. “Same goes,” I replied.

Everett grinned. “I can’t wait.” He winked and pulled me towards the car. I was struck by how our relationship was developing. Despite the emotional feelings I was collecting for Everett, he still had to pull me, pull them from me. And for some reason, I wanted to be the one pulling him.

“Are we off to meet your parents?”

He nodded. “We’re going to go to a late lunch with my sister and nephew first.”

I continued chewing on my lip. Everett opened the passenger door to the Jeep for me. “You okay?” he asked, stalling on helping me in.

“Yeah,” I said nonchalantly.

“No lying.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I wish I had added ‘no eye rolling’ to the rules right now,” he laughed. “Come on, what’s on your mind my precious Parker?”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “Precious Parker? Really? That makes me sound like your pet.”

He put an arm around my shoulders and brushed his hand down my hair. “My precious.”

I pushed away from him. “That’s so creepy.” But part of me wanted to smile. A big part. I moved from chewing on my lip to chewing on the inside of my lip.

“Don’t smile, Parker,” Everett said, leaning in to me. “It would look weird on your face.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again. “Why are you being so playful this morning? Where’s my dark, broody Everett?”

He cocked his head to the side. “When did I become yours?” he asked.

I stopped breathing for a second, not realizing until that moment that I’d referred to the Everett I was accustomed to as ‘my Everett’.

“Relax, Parker. Breathe. I was just teasing you. Dark and broody Everett is on a high from getting new ink. Don’t worry; I’m sure he’ll return when we meet my parents for dinner tonight.”

Whatever smile had been teasing my lips left quickly.

“Come on,” he said, gesturing for me to climb into the Jeep. “We have pizza calling our name.” He patted my butt as I climbed into the car so I gave him a sharp look over my shoulder.

He just laughed and climbed into the driver’s seat.





Everett’s sister was pretty. Not the kind of pretty that you’d see on a beauty queen, dolled up with makeup and spray tan. She was tan like her brother, natural, or boosted by the sun. Her black hair was styled simply, long and straight. She had the same eyes as Everett, that unnerving ice blue. But her face looked softer than Everett’s even though she was a few years older.