Page 65 of Fight for Me
“Come to my house for Thanksgiving,” he said finally, his voice somewhere over the top of her head.
She opened her eyes and wiped her face with her fingers. “That’s sweet, Jacob, but—”
“No buts,” he countered, leaning back to look her in the eye. “I love you, and you’re coming home with me. And I don’t care if you can’t say it back right now,” he went on, raising his voice when she tried to interrupt. “I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d say it, too. I told you because I want you to know I’m not going anywhere.”
Lexie felt herself soften, and fresh tears slid down her cheeks, though for an entirely different reason.
“I’m sorry I hit you,” she mumbled.
Jake’s chuckle vibrated through her bones as he laughed. “Hit me if you need to, Lex. I can take it,” he said.
Lexie felt another tear leak from her eyes. She couldn’t believe she had ever doubted this man—thisman, who was so unlike Colt or her father or any other boyfriend she’d ever had.Thisman deserved better than that.
“I can wait until you know how you feel. I’m not in a hurry,” he said, toying with the ends of her hair where it fell between her shoulder blades. “But come home with me for Thanksgiving and see what family is supposed to be like.”
Lexie wavered for another minute as she thought of all the ways one weekend could possibly go wrong. Holidays with the Prestons were full of criticism and thinly veiled aggression; she had a feeling spending one with the Tanners would be anotherexperience entirely—one she wasn’t sure she knew how to navigate.
“I don’t want to be a burden,” she said, her voice small, but Jake only squeezed her quickly and stepped back, pulling out his cell phone as he did.
“My mom is dying to meet you; she’ll be thrilled. Plus, there are so many of us, one more person won’t make any difference. Here, I’ll prove it,” he said, and he guided her toward a nearby park bench as he tapped his screen a few times.
Lexie could hear his call connect as they sat down.
“Hey, baby!” a woman’s voice said, and Jake held the phone out in front of them, putting it on speaker.
“Mama, Lexie says she can come for Thanksgiving,” he said, meeting Lexie’s eyes as he did. They both winced when an ear-splitting shriek cut the air.
“Oh, I’m so excited!” Mrs. Tanner squealed. “When will she get here? Is she allergic to anything? I’ve already got clean sheets in your old room, so you can have the couch in your father’s study. Unless you think she won’t want to share a bathroom with Ashlyn? Then we can rearrange a few things and put her downstairs.”
Jake raised an eyebrow in question as his mother rambled on, and Lexie took a long breath, willing herself not to cry anymore.
“Sharing a bathroom will be just fine, Mrs. Tanner,” she cut in, leaning closer to Jake’s phone so his mother would be sure to hear. There was a sudden pause on the other end of the line.
“Is that you, Lexie? Oh, I’m so glad to hear your voice. Please call me Kathleen. There are too many Mrs. Tanners around here; it gets very confusing.”
Jake bumped his knee against Lexie’s, beaming.
“If you’re sure it’s not any trouble, I would love to come next week,” she said, feeling her chest fill with gratitude.
“It’s no trouble at all, dear!” his mother responded. “Now, you just tell me what you like to eat best, and I’ll be sure to have a whole plate of it waiting for you.”
“I’ll have her make a list,” Jake interrupted. “Right now, we have to get back to work.”
“Oh, alright,” his mother said, sounding disappointed. “But Lexie, you come as soon as you can and be ready to stay the whole week. I’ll get out all Jake’s old photos, and we can have a hen party.”
Lexie laughed and said goodbye before Jake hung up, feeling lighter than she had in days. Maybe in years.
“Well, now Ihaveto go,” she said as they stood. “Pictures of baby Jake? Who could pass that up?”
Jake groaned good-naturedly. “I knew there would be a downside,” he said, and Lexie cackled, her father’s words slowly losing their sting.
“No takebacks!” she said, wagging her finger.
“Never,” he said, and Lexie felt him tug on her hand.
She went willingly into his arms, tipping her face up to meet his as he settled into a kiss that warmed her all the way to her toes. His arms went around her waist, pulling her close, and Lexie suddenly realized nowhere had ever felt more like home.
Leaves of everycolor dusted the narrow back roads and flew past Lexie’s window as her tires bumped through the little town called Copper Hill. “Town” was probably a generous term for it—it was more a collection of farms and a four-way stop in the middle of nowhere, but it had a deep-southern charm that Lexie found soothing.
