do you want me to help with, Mom?” I ask, joining them in the kitchen.
Alana slices onions on one end of the island. Arissa slices mushrooms at the other end. Hunter tosses a salad at the counter, stopping long enough to draw me into a quick embrace.
“You can put all that on the dining room table,” she answers, pointing to the dishes, glasses, and utensils she just took out of the cabinets.
I step over to Alana and give her a hug.
“Hi, honey.”
“How are you doing?” I ask her.
She smiles. “I’m hanging in there.”
I hug her again, then peek outside as I carry the dishes to their destination. Jason and Dad stand near the grill, each with a drink in one hand and the other hand in a pocket, talking as they look out into the yard. I cradle the dishes and observe the two men who saved me. A swelling in my chest causes me to catch my breath as I think it should be Mike that Jason’s standing with out there.
“Sara?”
I jump and nearly lose the dishes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Mom.” I tear my gaze away from outside and hurry to the table.
Mom sends me out with the chicken next. Dad and Jason turn around and smile when they see me.
“There’s my Parker.” Jason meets me halfway, taking the platter of chicken. He leans over and leaves a tender kiss on my forehead.
My cheeks flush and Dad chuckles. “Do you guys need anything else?”
“More water,” Jason answers, passing me his glass.
“More tea.” Dad hands over his.
The Rivens arrive and the quiet work morphs into chatter and laughter.
After eating, we relax and settle into a quasi-food coma.
“I understand you’re headed back to L.A. tomorrow, Jason,” Felix says, breaking the silence.
“Maybe,” he replies.
All heads turn to Jason. This is the first time he’s mentioned not going back to school. From Alana’s stunned expression, I figure he didn’t mention it to her either.
“I’ve just been thinking. That’s all. And I had a long talk with Andrew before everyone got here.”
My head whips to Dad, giving him a questioning look. He shrugs slightly. I shift back to Jason.
“I haven’t decided yet, Parker. But I thought about what you said about me not doing it all. Andrew just helped me process some of my thoughts. That’s all.”
“She’s right you know,” Alana says. “You don’t have to do it all.”
“I’m seeing that now, Mom. I thought I’d be letting Dad down if I didn’t go back to school, play basketball, and get my degree.”
“And here I was thinking about going back with you,” I state.
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Riss got me thinking too.”
Everyone stares at Arissa, who squirms from all the attention she would normally bask in.
“She can be really smart when she wants to be,” I add.
“My daughter?” Dad asks, dropping his jaw and raising his brows in feigned disbelief.
“Dad!” Arissa exclaims.
He snickers. “Joking!”
Jason leans into me. “Really?” he whispers.
“Yes,” I whisper in return.
“All right,” Dad says. “Who is ready for game time?”
A chorus of “Me,” rings out and we get up and head inside.
An hour later, Alana, Felix, and Shelly leave and I’m saying goodbye to Hunter at the door. He has both of my hands in his. “I’m going to miss you if you go,” he says.
“I’ll miss you too, but we’ll come down and visit. You know Jason’s going to want to see Alana as much as he can. And you can always come up to see us.”
“Truth.” He cinches his arms around me.
I let myself relax into him. If I leave, it’ll be just me and Jason. No Arissa. No Hunter. No one else to lean on but each other. A tear escapes at the thought.
“Hey,” he whispers. “You’re not gone yet.” He releases me. “We’ll deal with it when it happens, okay?” I nod. “I’ll call you later.”
“Thanks, Hunter.”
Jason and I go to my room where he sits at the head of my bed, relaxing against my pillows, and I sit facing him.
“You’re thinking about staying,” I say.
“You’re thinking about going.” He picks up a stuffed animal, a puppy he won for me at the Fair, and plays with it absently.
“What are we going to do?”
“What did Riss say to you?”
“She said I needed to leave my past behind and take chances.”
He presses the floppy ears together. “She has a point.”
“That’s why I started thinking again.”
“You would really go back with me without a plan?”
“Not right away. We at least need a place. I can’t live with you in the dorm.”