“Nate,” his voice rumbled against my neck. “Nate is the only thing that should be on your list.”
I shuddered as he kissed a gentle trail along my jawline. “Yes.”
He kissed the corner of my lips.
“Louis Nathaniel Mercier is the only thing on my list.”
He growled and grabbed the chair on either side, jerking me closer to him when he kissed me square on the mouth.
EpilogueNate
“Just one more minute!”
A pair of long legs and a hideously bright floral shirt disappeared beneath the popped hood of the lawn mower.
Who knew how long Dad had been under there. It was scary to think of what could be going on. The man had an obsession with lawn mowers.
It was downright unhealthy. And then, when he met Eldon, it was as though something clicked. Like he’d finally found his people. I didn’t know what to tell my dad. I didn’t know what to say other than, “Am I adopted?”
He demanded that he be the one to drive in the lawn-mower race. He was less than impressed when he heard I’d only placed third. It was a tough blow when your own father couldn’t be proud of your lawn-mower racing record.
Now he was going to make sure he did it right.
“Are we sure we should let him do this?” Wren asked where she stood next to me with her arms crossed over her chest. “He’s not very young, you know.”
“I heard that!” my dad yelled.
“Sweetie, maybe you should leave it how it is,” Mom suggested from where she stood on the other side of Wren. “Wren’s right, you know. You could get hurt if you end up racing on this.”
I’d been right. My parents adored Wren and were overjoyed to have Riley back in our lives. Frank still came to visit Wren regularly. He did try to talk my parents into funding his latest business idea every time he saw them. Dad had offered him a good, honest job as an apartment manager. He declined.
Someone walked up behind me and slipped their arms around my waist. A face pressed against my back.
“Guess who?”
“Nascar Jim? Is that you?”
“Ha!” Riley tickled my ribs before she slipped around in front of me. “Have we warned your dad?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then he’ll be fine.”
“What do you mean, ‘he’ll be fine’? I wasn’t fine.”
“I know, and I apologized for that. I even gave you a back rub to make it better.”
“Uh oh, you got stuck with this goon because of a back rub?” Dad said as he pointed at me but smiled at Riley.
“Thanks for the support, Dad. Great to know what you think of me.”
A car drove by slowly—a large SUV almost identical to Gabe the Gunrunner’s. (He would forever be called that. Gabe the Firecracker didn’t have the same ring to it.)
It stopped, and Bane and Nola climbed out. “Did we miss anything?” Nola asked as they crossed the street.
I pointed to Dad under the hood.
Bane’s eyes widened. “Somebody stop that man. I know what he can do to a lawn mower.”
Riley just laughed loudly and stepped closer to the toolbox so she could hand my dad any tool he asked for. “I think Nate should be given a chance to redeem himself. I mean, I really did surprise him with the race. And he might have needed to see a chiropractor afterwards. I feel like I might owe him a second chance.”
Dad shook his head. “Nope. We’re kicking him out of the family. No third places allowed in the Mercier family. Riley, we have an opening. You and Wren can fill it.”
“I’ve been kicked out of the family over a lawn-mower race?” I faked a stab to the heart.
“Better than getting kicked out because you were squatting in someone else’s house,” Bane muttered.
“So, where’s your next job, Nate?” Nola asked.
“Boise. Riley and Wren are coming with me.”
“Really?” Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
“Yup!” Riley piped up. “We’re taking the trailer over.”
“Wait. How are you guys moving that thing?” Dad stood up and tossed the tools back in the box.
I pointed at the truck parked in front of my single-wide.
“Oh. That’ll do.”
I nodded. I’d traded in my Jeep and bought a truck. It was the perfect trailer hauler, and I knew the bed of the truck would be useful for all sorts of things. I caught Riley’s eye and winked at her. She blushed and dropped the screwdriver into the toolbox.
She wrapped her arms around my waist and looked up at me. “You going to miss this trailer park?”
“Without a doubt.” I planted a kiss on her forehead.
Eldon jogged down the street toward us, waving the pink helmet. He yelled, “Found it!”
“Hmm, maybe there are some things I won’t miss.”
“We’ll be back,” she predicted right before she leaned up on her tiptoes and caught my lips with hers.
It was going to be an exciting life together.
THE END
Special note from the author:
Rumor has it that the mouse that chased Nate and Riley down the hall still lives in the single-wide. It has a family of its own now and is doing well.
Thank you for reading Miss Trailerhood! I hope you enjoyed it and had some tears of laughter when you finished.
Please leave a review if you enjoyed the Trailerhood experience as much as I did.
(Lawn mower races, anyone?)
Acknowledgements:
I don’t know where to begin with the acknowledgements. This story has been slowly evolving over the years. I wish I could pin point exactly when this story started to form, but I don’t think it’s possible.
I CAN thank my husband, beta readers, and amazing editor Jenn. They helped make this the fun story that it is. I can also thank the first old farmhouse I lived in for its extensive “research” I learned on mice. But I’ll just say not ALL things need to be experienced to appreciate.
Thank you to all of you wonderful readers out there! I mean it. I LOVE talking to readers. I love hearing what you thought of a book.
