Page 36 of Homebody (The Long Road Home #21)

“ Two visits home from my son in one year. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Dean’s mother asked when he slipped into the back seat of his father’s car that was pulled along the curb at the airport in Albany.

The car felt roughly the temperature of a pizza oven but he wasn’t going to complain. It was nice compared to outside, where the New York December winds had nearly frozen all of his exposed skin as he waited for them to pull around to get him.

“Don’t you know the reason, Mom? You paid enough money for her,” Dean said, reminding his mother of her duplicity regarding his love life the last time he’d been home for a visit.

Amazingly that had been just three and a half months ago. To him, when considering all the changes in his life since then, it felt more like a lifetime.

“Mean,” she accused.

“Truth,” he countered.

“And it was the best money I ever spent,” she said, the smile he couldn’t see evident in her voice.

He couldn’t argue with her last statement. Her manipulations had led him to Tessa. And to happiness he hadn’t known possible. Even the distance keeping them apart hadn’t quelled the overwhelming joy.

Even so, the guilt of her initial comment cut deep.

He knew he didn’t visit his parents enough.

He hadn’t since he’d enlisted. And he was undeniably guilty of making sure that this year he got approved for leave over Christmas so he could fly to New York to see Tessa.

He had a feeling everyone in this car knew that seeing his parents too was just icing on the cake.

The cell in Dean’s jacket vibrated. He pulled it out and found a text from Tessa.

It consisted of an excess of emojis and exclamation points and a countdown of the number of minutes until she got off work and would see him at his parents’ house.

He couldn’t help but smile as he typed in a countdown of his own.

That being his estimate of how long it would be until he could get her alone in her apartment later tonight.

After sending the text, he glanced up and said, “Mom.”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for lying and hiring a girlfriend for me.” Cocky as the thanks was, he meant every word. He’d never been happier and he owed it all to his meddling mom.

She turned in her seat to glance back at him. “You’re very welcome.” Turning back around, she continued talking. “Now all we need to do is find a nice girl for the son of one of my friends from church. He has even worse taste in women than you did. Ruby has some ideas to help him out though.”

In the driver’s seat, Dean’s father just shook his head and accelerated to merge onto the highway.

Years from now, this domestic scene could be him and Tessa. He imagined it now. Him behind the wheel. Tessa spouting something complex he didn’t understand, but he’d still love every word she said because he loved her so much. Perhaps their own son or daughter would be sitting in the back seat.

No one could predict the future—except maybe Blessing at the Atlanta USO—but Dean knew one thing. He’d do everything in his power to make happily ever after happen. With Tessa.

“Oh, by the way, Juniper stopped to talk to me today at the post office.”

Dean’s good mood fell sharply. “What did she have to say?” he asked, dreading the answer.

“She’s getting married.”

“Oh, thank God,” he said under his breath, relieved.

Maybe now there’d be no more glares from across the bar if he and Tessa were at the Muddy River Inn while Juniper was there.

No more texts or phone calls of her trying to get together, meaning hook up, while he was home on leave.

No more having to be borderline rude to her just to avoid giving her the wrong idea.

His mother turned to ask, “What was that you said, dear?”

“I said, that’s good,” he repeated, with a slight alteration.

“Yes, I thought so too.”

She turned back around as a thought hit him. One that had him frowning. Was his mother’s scheme to get him and Tessa together responsible for Juniper finally giving up on him and moving on?

Damn. As good as this outcome was, as much as he was happy to have Juniper married and off his back, he could never tell his mother his theory.

She’d never let him hear the end of how right she was.

Hell, she’d probably open a matchmaking agency.

She and her cronies from the hair salon would be in every unattached person’s business in Mudville, both young and old.

Nope. His mom didn’t need that kind of encouragement to meddle even more than she already did. Dean was taking his theory to the grave.

“Oh, did I tell you?—”

“Mom,” Dean interrupted his mother. “I’m not sure I can handle anymore news.”

“Don’t be silly. This is good news. We bought a new bedroom set and gave Tessa our old bed for her apartment.”

“The king-sized bed from your room?” he asked, hopefully.

“That’s the one. That bed she had in there was much too small. I don’t know how you two did anything in it.”

Oh, God. His mother was talking to him about sex.

He felt the color drain from his face. “Mom!”

“What? You’re adults.”

Dean shook his head and noticed his father doing the same. He’d never felt closer to the man.

“Oh, and…” she began again.

Dean drew in a breath and braced himself for whatever this news might be.

“…isn’t it exciting that Tessa finished all that stuff with her thesis? She now officially has her master’s degree.”

“Really?” he asked, surprised she hadn’t mentioned what was definitely good news.

“She didn’t tell you?” his mother asked, sounding equally surprised as he felt.

“No,” he answered as he pulled out his cell to text her.

“Probably because she was hoping to surprise him, dear,” his father said pointedly, finally speaking up.

“Oh. Oops,” his mother said.

Dean punched in a text, shaking his head once again as he did.

You’re totally done with your thesis?

Tessa

Who told you?!?

Who do you think?

Susan

He hit the thumbs up as a reply to her correct guess.

I wanted to surprise you.

I am surprised and happy. Can’t wait to celebrate in your new big bed

Darn it! The bed was a surprise too!

Can’t beat Mom at her own game, baby. Get used to it.

And Dean couldn’t complain about that. It was his mom playing in other people’s lives that had brought him Tessa. It might have been his mother’s game, but he and Tessa were the clear winners.

That was evident when he stepped out of the car in his parents’ driveway and Tessa, waiting there, rushed to him.

Picking her up, he swung her around, kissing the hell out of her and not caring who was watching as he did. When he pulled away and let her stand on her own two feet again he said, “I’m not sure I can stand being away from you again when I have to leave.”

“I hate being away from you too,” she agreed.

“The end of my contract with the Navy is coming up next year. Instead of reenlisting, I could?—”

“Dean Sinclair! Don’t you dare give up your career for me.”

“Well I’m not letting you give up your career for me,” he countered.

“Maybe you don’t have to.” She smiled.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

After all they’d been through and countless hours on video chat he could tell when she was hiding something from him.

“There’s one more surprise your mom couldn’t spoil because I didn’t tell her or anybody. Liam arranged an interview for me for a position at a university… in Virginia,” she added.

“Seriously?” he asked, afraid to get too excited and jinx it.

“Seriously.” She nodded.

“But what about when I’m gone for those six months? You’ll be down there alone.”

She dismissed his concern with the flick of a wrist. “I’ll be too busy to miss you.”

He frowned.

“Kidding.” She couldn’t control her smile as she said, “If I get the job?—”

“You’ll get it,” he interrupted.

“If I get it,” she repeated, “it wouldn’t be until the start of the fall semester.”

He widened his eyes. “When I’ll be back.”

“When you’ll be back.” She nodded and continued to smile.

Damn. One more thing he was going to owe Liam for. But with Tessa in his arms looking so happy, and the possibility of her being right there in Virginia when he got off the boat, there was no way in hell he was going to complain about it.