Wren let him go and smiled. “I’ve got to go text Macy! She’s going to be so happy! I’ve been worried ever since Tia’s last visit.”
She ran inside the trailer, leaving the door wide open when she did.
“Thank you.” Riley nodded to him.
“Don’t know why you’re thanking me. I was the one who brought her around. She seemed so friendly at first.”
“Meh, we know your taste in women. Usually, they’re greedy. This is the first time you found one who was greedy for someone else’s kid.”
Frank nodded. “I think I’m going to need a ride home.”
Johnny narrowed his eyes at him. “After the problems you caused, call a taxi.”
Frank looked horrified. “And pay those exorbitant prices?”
Riley shook with laughter next to me, the stress finally catching up with her. “Careful,” I warned her. “You’re going to get hysterical.”
“Who is that?” She pointed at a car pulling into the driveway behind Frank.
Dad and Mom stepped out with Bane and Nola climbing out of the backseat.
“June! Sebastian!” Riley gasped.
Mom was already after her, wrapping her up in a hug. “We’re here! Everything’s going to be okay. We already have the lawyer on call. You and Wren can just come live with us, and we’ll help with anything. You’ll have permanent custody; we’ll help with the finances, and school drop-offs, college—“
“Mom!” I cut in. My mother suffered from a superhero complex with the need to save anyone and anything. It especially applied to people she loved. “Everything’s okay now. Frank made sure Riley gets to keep Wren.”
“Thank goodness!” And now she was crying. It was a wonder I hadn’t turned into a crier with her as a mother. Of course, things were looking a little hazy right when I looked into Riley’s eyes. But she was the one crying...not me. Not even a little mist.
I swiped angrily at my eyes. “Are you crying?” Riley asked as she jabbed my side.
“I’m a sympathetic crier, okay?”
Chapter Twenty-FiveRiley
Sebastian, June, Nola, and Bane stayed for a couple of hours, visiting and catching up on life, meeting Wren and getting to know her. When they left, they volunteered to drop Frank off at his house—bless their hearts. Nate and I fell asleep on my futon together.
Nothing beat waking up to him next to me, the morning light shining through my windows. I never shut the blinds in my trailer because I loved the light so much.
Nate pressed a kiss against my temple, letting me know that he was awake.
I wrapped my arms around him. “Please don’t let me go.”
“I’m not going to let you go.”
“Please don’t let me go, even when I tell you to.”
He kissed my forehead. “That didn’t seem to stop me in the past.”
“I didn’t want you to let me go. I wanted you. I wanted you to be there with me.”
“I know. Why do you think I stayed?”
“Well, at first I thought it was because you liked to be a big ol’ pest, as usual.”
“Well, I’m your pest, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“You don’t even know how much I needed you. I didn’t know how much I needed you. Shoot, even Wren admitted to needing you, and that’s not an easy feat. That girl doesn’t need anybody. Sometimes I think that she’s raised me more than I’ve raised her. You know?”
“Yes, I do know. She’s incredible. But she’s softer than she pretends to be.”
“Yes, she’s pretty special. I’m glad your mom is wanting to spend time with her. She’s so much better at guiding kindly. I’m not good at guiding Wren.”
“You don’t think so? Because what I saw yesterday was a fifteen-year-old emulating her older sister’s selfless behavior. I saw a girl who loved her older sister so much that she was willing to go live with a crazy lady. If that isn’t doing a good job raising someone, then I don’t know what is.”
“Stop it right now. You’re going to make me cry, and I was planning on doing a review on Instagram tonight.”
“I thought you were going to give up the fake aspect of your Instagram.”
“What? Me?”
When he looked at me ominously, I laughed. “I am. I’m moving on to strictly home decor and plants. I realized most of my engagement is in those things anyway. I’m going to do a review of my hanging planter above my kitchen sink and how it’s held up my plants really well and collects the mess. Isn’t that great?”
My mini speech didn’t deter him. “Have you made any kind of announcement about it?”
I traced a figure eight on his chest with my index finger. “I have. I shared a picture of the park. And the hot tub night. So far, all of my followers have been really supportive. A lot of them commented, saying they were encouraged to see such cute decor come out of a trailer park. They felt like it was something achievable for them. I took a poll, and the travel posts are everyone’s least favorite. I guess all that stuff felt forced.”
“You think?” he asked sarcastically. “Was it the fake backdrop, or the fact that you had to have Trailer Park Tim take your picture?”
“His name is Tony. Now be quiet and let me thank you.”
He mimed zipping his lips as I continued. “Thank you for standing with me against Frank and Tia. Thank you for doing all the research and having that lawyer on call. That was so reassuring to me and took so much pressure off.”
“You know I love you, right?” he said as he brushed a stray lock of blonde hair from my face. “I would do anything to make you happy.”
“I think there are a lot of things you do because you’re a good person.”
“It’s you I love. It’s you who I want to spend the rest of my life with. Do you understand? I don’t care if we spend the rest of our lives in a hut on top of that mountain
