Overcome (12 page)

Chapter 26

Parker

“So, how do I figure that one?” Carly’s bare feet were on Parker’s dashboard, her math book open across her legs.

Parker was helping her the best he could while driving.

“Um … let me see that.” He took his hand off the steering wheel and reached for the book.

“Keep your eyes on the road,” she squealed, smacking him away.

He found keeping his eyes on the road was difficult with her naked legs sitting right there.

“I told you I’ll help you with it when we’re at my house.” He held his hand out.

“But, I don’t want to spend my time there doing homework,” she whined.

“You’ll still be with me,” he smirked, glancing toward her.

The smile on her face made his heart warm.

“Why do you have to make it impossible to not like you?” She closed the book and lowered her feet.

He was disappointed. He liked having her legs there to look at with just a glance. “Because of my manliness?”

Carly belted out laughter and placed her feet on the seat. Her arms reached around her bent legs. “Yes, you just ooze of manliness.”

“I know, right?” he lifted an eyebrow when he glanced at her.

Her shiny toes wiggled, her lips curved up in a smile and she pushed on his shoulder. “You dork.”

Even her touch to push him excited him. “You’re the dork,” he chuckled. “You don’t wear shoes.”

Her toes wiggled again. “It’s liberating.”

Parker shook his head and couldn’t stop smiling. He was relieved when he talked her into coming home with him for the day. Her mom didn’t hesitate in approving. He’d bonded with her the night of Carly’s headache, though he was worried having her mom’s approval might actually deter Carly from him.

“Oh!” she shrieked, “I love this song!” Carly leaned forward, turning the volume up. The local station playing pop-princesses and boy bands wouldn’t normally be Parker’s chosen ballad, but he’d let Carly choose today.

Her head bobbed from side to side and she drummed her thumbs on her knees as she belted out the lyrics.

It may not be music he enjoyed. This was the stuff Kammie made him listen to, but when he heard her singing along, even off key, he could listen to it all day.

*****

Carly fell asleep about an hour in, and though he wasn’t sure about the quiet, he didn’t mind seeing her sleeping, even if he could only glance over once in a while.

She was curled into a ball, her cheek pressed against her hands, facing him. Seeing her face soft and dreaming was something he couldn’t complain about. It was the only time he’d not seen her with a guard up and he liked it.

Even when she was joking, and she was hilarious, he felt that was more a front to whatever she needed distracted from.

Since she was deep in slumber, he turned the radio to his music. He kept it down though, because the music he listened to wasn’t exactly relaxing. He liked lots of noise, and shouting loud music drowned out his thoughts. Something he needed when they leaned toward Mindy or Haley.

Haley was spoiled and used to getting her way. He was young and naïve. They’d grown up together, her dad business partners with his. They were stuck at the same boring company picnics, banquets and parties, along with being in the same class in their private school.

It wasn’t that he was a guy who went around seeing how many girls he could sleep with like Owen and Spencer. But that night, at the Christmas party where they were two of only a handful of people under thirty, they’d snuck a bottle of Champagne, which wasn’t difficult to do with adults who were too consumed with impressing one another rather than paying attention to their teenagers.

“Colten!” Carly’s cry jolted Parker from his thoughts.

He swerved, catching himself before he slipped off the road.  The driver behind him laid on his horn.

Carly’s eyes popped open. “Did …” she stopped what she was saying and Parker glanced over at her again. She wiped her hand under her eye.

“Are you all right?” He asked.

Her tongue peeked out between her lips and she looked over at him. “Yeah … why?”

He turned his head back toward the road, a blue rest area sign in sight. 

“I’ve gotta stop here,” he said.

He wanted to ask her about Colten, but if she wanted to share she would.  He hadn’t told her about Haley, so he shouldn’t be bothered by that. All he knew is if someone hurt her they were crazy.

When he whipped into the parking lot, Carly didn’t say anything. She hadn’t said much since she woke, this wasn’t like her. And he wondered if it was because she’d just woken up or because she was thinking about Colten.

He didn’t look back as he stepped out of the Jeep and headed toward the restroom. Giving himself some space was exactly what he needed. He’d told himself he didn’t want to deal with her issues, to get too deep. He couldn’t help but get in too deep with her. She was a mystery … a puzzle and all he wanted to do was solve it. He’d already had clue one, her dad was an abusive alcoholic. But who was Colten? Should he just come out and ask her? Or maybe wait until he saw Bree again and ask her?

When he realized he was mumbling to himself in the mirror, a tall burly man glared at him like he was crazy. Sometimes Parker thought he
was
.

*****

When Parker walked out of the restroom, he noticed Carly standing in front of the vending machine. Her head was tilted and her hair off to the side just enough for him to see her face.  Her bottom lip was in her mouth. Her hands were twisted together at her middle and he couldn’t believe it, she actually put her shoes on even if they were only flimsy flip-flops.

“Hungry?” He strode toward her.

The sun pierced through the large glass walls and shone against her face. She squinted up at him and smiled, shielding her eyes from the light, “Just getting something to hold me over.”

Parker felt bad. He’d been with her all day and he knew she hadn’t eaten.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He held out a one dollar bill. It flapped in the wind when a mom with a little boy walked in.  The little boy hopped from one foot to the other while grabbing himself.

Carly giggled at him. Parker was happy to see her giggle.

“What’s this?” she curled her nose up when she looked at his offered money.

“I just thought I’d get it for you.”

“Oh, so you don’t think I can handle paying for myself?” she crossed her arms over her chest and swayed her head back and forth.

“I … uh …” He looked down at the limp bill hanging from his wide fingers.

Her laughter echoed through the empty foyer.

“You’re so gullible. Gimme that.” She snatched the money from him and inserted it in the slot. The machine sucked it in then spit it back out.

She pushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear, “You know, if you’re going to buy a girl a snack, at least give her a working dollar.” She held her hand out palm up. Parker smiled that the spunky Carly was back. She rubbed the money flat against corner of the vending machine and tried again.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” he replied.

The machine took the bill on the second attempt and she pushed a button. The silver coil turned, a candy bar fell with a clunk. He watched as she bent over to retrieve it.

The mom and the little boy walked back out. The mom huffed and glared at him like he was some kind of pervert and held onto the little boy’s shoulder like he was a going to abduct him.

It was ridiculous, but that didn’t stop his face from heating up.

Carly snapped back up with her candy and the mom and her boy were gone. She looked over her shoulder, winked and kicked her foot up behind her before skipping out to the car.

Though he preferred this Carly to the snarly or sad Carly, he saw through the mask. Because no matter how much she smiled at him or laughed, the pain was still in her eyes.

Parker shook his head.
Since when do I notice girls’ eyes and the pain in them?

The old man from the restroom walked out, and gave him the ‘you’re insane’ look again. That’s when Parker realized he was talking to himself for the second time in the short stop.

*****

Carly’s cheeks were puffed out as she chewed on the candy bar in her mouth.

Parker held in his laugh. It was cute how she wasn’t concerned about eating in front of him. This wasn’t the first he’d noticed it either. When they were at Bree’s, he remembered being impressed with how much pizza she consumed.  Most girls he’d known didn’t eat when he was around, even when he took them out, which was probably why he’d never been interested in a girl beyond a first date.

“You hungry?” Carly spoke through the mouthful of food.

“Nah,” Parker shook his head, “that cookie this morning was enough.” He hadn’t had much of an appetite. His stomach had been twisted in knots since finding out about his mom. “It was the bomb, by the way. Your mom can bake.”

Carly laughed.

“I’m serious, and I ate that whole plate you brought me.” He shifted the Jeep into reverse.

“My mom didn’t bake those.” Her voice was loud.

“Grandma?”

“Nope.”

“I know they weren’t store bought, they were as good as my mom’s.” Speaking about his mom made his heart hurt.

“I baked them.” She twisted the top of her water bottle off.

Parker turned to her. “No way.”

“Way.” She giggled, and he turned back to the road.  “What, you think just ‘cause I don’t know algebra I can’t work an oven?”

“No, that …” Knowing she baked those cookies just made her that much more appealing, but he wasn’t going to say it.

“Oh, whatever.” She didn’t wait for him to finish his reply as she pushed on his shoulder and stuffed the remaining half of the candy bar in her mouth.

Chapter 27

Carly

After catching a glimpse of herself in the rearview mirror, Carly realized she could have been more girly eating that candy bar. It was too late now. Parker had already seen her pig out.

To keep busy, she leaned forward and swiped her algebra book from the floor.

Going home to meet his family—his dying mom—was huge. But when he asked her to go, his big brown eyes watery, she couldn’t say no.

The closer they traveled toward his home, the more she wished she would have said no.

She rested the book on her lap and flipped open to the current page she’d been studying. Though she didn’t understand any of it, she was only aware of Parker’s hand that sat on the console, not close enough to touch her elbow but close enough to feel.

That hand should’ve been on the steering wheel.

But it wasn’t.

That hand was trying to touch her.

Colten was easy. If he wanted to touch her, he wasn’t shy about it. Though his palm would have been planted on her thigh and not sitting by her elbow. With him she knew what he wanted. Colten wanted to kiss and do things that kisses led to.

The fact that Parker was different than any guy she’d been around both scared her and exited her at the same time. She wanted to turn around and go back, but she also wanted to move forward, to let her guard down, and let him in.

She lowered her hand to his and slipped her palm under it, threading her fingers in between his. She curled them around his calloused palm.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, grinned, and squeezed. Neither said a word. They didn’t need to.

Carly stared out the windshield as Parker cruised.  Families traveled with bikes and travel shells strapped to the top of their cars. They passed a car with ‘
Just Married
’ scribbled in white on the back window. A couple large trucks. She thought about the stories of everyone they passed. Was the family headed to the beach? Were the parents irritated with each other and the kids bickering in the backseat like all her family vacations were? How did the newlyweds meet? Was he the long lost brother of her best frien- She stopped before she finished that thought.  She wasn’t even sure she wanted to date Parker seriously, let alone marry him.  The way Bree talked she already had them getting married. This coming from the girl who doesn’t want to marry her baby’s dad who she’d been serious with for almost a year.

Parker didn’t have to talk for her to know he was freaking out about seeing his mom. When he pulled into the long driveway through rows of trees, she began to squirm. Then the house came into view behind the tree cover. It was huge. Hills and a giant yard that seemed to go on forever.

His house was like something out of those
Country Homes
magazines that they keep in the hotel lobby for guests. Dark green with a wraparound porch, dozens of hanging plants made it look like a botanical garden.

Parker eased into a three car garage, his Jeep parked in between a large silver truck and a cherry red Mustang. 

“Parker, I didn’t know you were a millionaire.” Carly’s jaw was wide.

He chuckled. “We aren’t millionaires.” He hopped out of the Jeep, his hands rested on the roof as he looked back in at her. Carly stared at the defined biceps peeking out of his sleeves that had ridden up. “You coming?”

“I don’t know.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m kind of embarrassed now.” She glanced around the garage. “My whole house could fit in here.”

He shook his head and belted out a deep laugh that echoed off the walls. “No, it couldn’t. C’mon.”