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Chapter Thirty Three - Addy

The next morning I awoke to the feeling of warm winter sunlight caressing my bare shoulder. For a moment I was disoriented. Then I remembered.

As if I could forget.

My head sank back into the pillow and I slowly looked over at Kevin. His arm was draped across my waist, his hair was completely mussed, and his eyes were wide open.

“Good morning,” he whispered.

I had worried for a brief moment that things might be awkward once the morning came. I smiled and cuddled closer to him. He kissed my forehead, trailing kisses down my face until his lips fell onto mine.

Things were the opposite of awkward. My fingertips brushed his face and I felt the familiar feeling from the night before of being punch drunk in love. He rolled over on me and I closed my eyes and let myself go.

An hour later I glanced at the clock with a sigh. In truth, I would have preferred to never leave the bed. I didn’t want to face the outside world, but I knew I had to.

I rolled out of bed and began to collect my clothes. Kevin stood up and stretched. I stole a glance at him. I had never thought that anyone so physically attractive could be so caring. He was the total package.

“I’ll drive you home,” he offered. He grabbed a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans.

“You sure? Daddy might be waiting with a shotgun,” I teased. Kevin smiled.

“I’m going to have to see him sooner or later.”

We rode in comfortable silence back to the house. He pulled up by the barn and I got out and stretched. Even the air smelled cleaner.

I headed into the house through the back door, Kevin right at my heels. I had hoped that dad might have already left for the office; he hadn’t. He looked up from his bowl of cereal.

“Good morning,” he said as Kevin closed the door behind him.

“Morning daddy,” I said. I walked over and brushed a kiss on his whiskery cheek.

If he looked like Santa before, he certainly didn’t know. He smiled at me and patted my hand.

“Honey, why don’t you go to your room for a minute? I want to have a little talk with Kevin.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“It’s okay, Addy,” Kevin said softly.

Feeling like a teen whose date was going to be torn a new one I walked into my room and sat on the edge of the bed. The room hadn’t changed much over the years. Gone were the pictures of My Little Pony, replaced with pictures of my own horses in competition. Jacks and jump ropes were boxed up in the back of my closet to be replaced by barn boots and one trusty pair of lip gloss.

At that moment I couldn’t help but take stock of my life. I was a thirty two year old college dropout whose never traveled out of the great state of Kentucky. I lived for my horses and I didn’t really have a job unless you counted keeping my dad’s life organized.

What I had thought sounded safe now just sounded really pathetic.

I thought of Kevin. He had been around the world; he had done things people could only dream of doing. He had taken chances in life and been rewarded with a great son.

Sigh.

I sat on my bed approximately ten minutes before I got antsy. Opening my door just enough to avoid the telltale creak, I slid out and crept back towards the kitchen. The voices coming from the room were soft; I strained to listen.

“I just don’t…hurt,” I heard dad say. I leaned a little closer to the doorway.

“I don’t…hurt…see…going,” Kevin said. I frowned. That was harder to decipher.

“Going…relationship…future,” dad said. I stifled a sigh. It was like a bad game of charades.

“We’ll…go…love…married,” Kevin said.

My eyes widened. Married? Married? Was he talking about before? Or…or…

I realized that both men had quieted. I tucked tail and ran back to my room. I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

The last time I had thought of marriage was when my mom was still around. She loved for me to play “bride” and march up and down in some of her fancy dresses that she used to wear in theatrical performances. I still remember the feel of the itchy lace on my arms and the high heels that were five sizes too big. She used to paint my lips in red lipstick and tell me to pucker and blot.

“You’re going to make a beautiful bride someday,” she would tell me. “You’re going to meet a gorgeous guy who’ll sweep you off your feet. Remember, the best ones are tall, dark, and handsome.”

“Like daddy?” I asked one time. I still remember the look on her face. The happiness slid off her face.

“Daddy’s a good man,” she said simply. She rubbed her thumb across my cheek hard; I had put on too much blush.

From my memories, I heard footsteps come towards my room. A second later, Kevin peeked around the doorway.

He had never seen my room before. I saw his eyes quickly gaze from one corner to another. He smiled.

“I’m going to take off now. How about I meet you at the field tomorrow morning?”

I smiled. “Sounds good. You riding Fiona?”

Fiona was the horse that we had picked out for Kevin during our trip to Lexington. She was a sweet, gentle horse that Mason could grow up to ride. He nodded.

“I better break her in around the big guys,” he said. I laughed.

“Alright I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He closed the distance between us in a matter of seconds. I didn’t even have time to stand up before his face lowered to mine. His kiss was soft, sweet, and absolutely perfect.

“Have a good day,” he whispered, brushing his thumb along my jawbone.

And like that he was gone.

I fell back on my bed, feeling a little bit like Marcia Brady. Marcia Brady had Davy Jones; I had Kevin Richardson.

Somehow I thought I was one up on Marcia.

As I lay staring at the ceiling, I heard a knock on my door. I saw dad standing in the doorway, looking at me in his calm bedside manner.

“He really likes you,” my dad said simply. I knew who he meant.

“I know,” I said quietly.

“And you?”

I looked away, staring back at the ceiling. I took a deep breath.

“I feel the same way.”

“I just don’t want you hurt. I made the mistake of staying out of things the last time and…” he trailed off.

“I’m older, wiser, and stronger,” I said, sitting up. “This time’s totally different. Trust me dad.”

He smiled. “I trust you.”

“He took a bullet for me,” I reminded him. He
shook his head.

“Honey, right now you could light that boy on fire and he wouldn’t feel it. Just don’t rush into things.”

His eyes grew far away.

“Sometimes thinking only with your heart is the fastest way to getting it broken.”