Vegas Aces: The Wide Receiver Complete Series

CHAPTER 16 TRISTAN

I sling my duffel bag over my shoulder. It’s the last of my belongings still at my parents’ house, and as ready as I am to move in with Tessa, to wake up beside her every morning, to hold her in my arms every night, to brush my teeth next to her as we establish our morning routine…I’m still a little hesitant to leave my mom and dad’s house.

It’s not the fear of growing up or anything like that. I’ve already moved out, and I hadn’t been back to this place in a long, long time.

It’s more than that.

It’s the fear of missing out on time with my dad.

And on that note, I head out to the garage before I take the walk down the block to my new house, where my truck is already parked.

My mom is still at the salon, but my dad is in the garage sanding down a project, and when he turns off the sander, he glances up at me. “You all packed?” he asks.

I nod and set my bag down on the treadmill. I sit on the edge of it. “How are you feeling?” I ask.

“What was the only request I had of you when I first told you I was sick?” he asks.

I glance up at him. “Don’t treat you like you’re dying.”

He holds up his hands as if to say yep, that’s it . “I’m fine. But stop. I’ll tell you when I’m not fine. I know you don’t want to leave because you’re worried about me, but you can’t let what’s happening to me stop you from doing everything you want to do in your life. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you,” I say.

“Now get outta here.” He jerks his thumb toward the door.

I laugh. “Come over for dinner tonight. You and Mom. Tess and I have something to tell you.”

He raises his brows. “Do I get a preview?”

I hold up my hands. “All I’m saying is clear your schedule for the weekend because you’re coming to Vegas. But it’s all very hush-hush and Tessa wants to tell you two and her mom together.”

He chuckles. “All right. But is this what you want, son?”

“Yeah,” I say softly. “It’s all I ever wanted.”

He walks over and sets a hand on my shoulder. “You walked down the wrong road a while with that ex-wife of yours.”

I press my lips together and set a hand over his. “Somebody I really admire always told me to fix my mistakes. I’m a work in progress, but I’ve got one checked off the list.”

“Love you, kiddo,” he says, and he squeezes my shoulder.

“Love you, too, Pops,” I say. I give him a hug before I sling my bag over my shoulder and head out the door toward home.

Tessa’s car is beside my truck in the driveway, and I can’t help but admire how they look beside each other as I leap up the steps and onto the porch. I ring the bell, and she opens it a second later with a giggle.

“It’s your home, too,” she says. “You could just walk in, you know.”

A smile tips my lips. “Come out here.”

She does, and I sweep her up into my arms. “Oh my God, Tristan! You’re going to hurt yourself lifting me like that!”

“Stop,” I say, and I press my lips to hers to quiet her. “It’s tradition to carry the woman over the threshold, isn’t it?”

“I think that’s when you’re married.”

“Well, for us, it’ll be any time I damn well feel like it.” I walk through the front door with her in my arms, both of us laughing the entire time.

That’s all I’ve ever wanted. A lifetime of laughter, of peace and harmony. Of love.

The last time I felt those things was the last time I was with her. The women in between never even came close—most especially my ex-wife.

I got it right this time.

I feel it in my blood.

“How was saying goodbye to your mom?” I ask as I set her down. I toss my duffel by the stairs and follow her into the kitchen, where she resumes her task of putting dishes into a cabinet.

“You know, it was harder than I thought it would be,” she admits.

“Same.” I press my lips together. “It’s going to be so weird to be in Fallon Ridge and not sleep at my parents’ house.”

“Or talk to each other through our windows,” she says.

I hadn’t thought of that. As many benefits as there will be to us living together, there are a lot of things about our old houses I’ll miss.

“If you ever want to chat through the window, I’m sure our parents would love for us to come visit,” I say, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind as she stretches to get some bowls on a higher shelf. I set my hands over her swollen stomach, a ripple of love for both her and the baby coursing down my spine. “But this is where it begins, babe. It’s where we start our life together. Not the life our parents wanted for us as they raised us in those houses on Oak Tree Lane, but the life we want for ourselves right here on Main Street.”

She spins in my arms. “I love you,” she says, and she presses her lips to mine.

“I love you, too,” I say, and I allow my hands to wander down to her ass.

She bats my hand away, and I chuckle. “None of that yet, sir. We have a house to clean for our first dinner party. I’m going to sweep, and I need you to finish cleaning out the dishwasher.”

“But I don’t know where anything goes,” I protest.

She laughs. “You’ll figure it out.”

The doorbell rings, and my brows dip as I glance at Tessa. Then I walk over to answer it.

“Walt,” I say in greeting when I see him standing on our porch. I wave him in.

Tessa walks in the room behind us. “Any news for us?”

“Good afternoon,” he begins, as if that’ll soften the blow of his next words. He sighs. “Turns out we can’t do much about the online impersonation. What she’s doing is immoral, but unless it’s true identity theft, it’s not really illegal. I can confirm we saw a tattoo on the neck. It appears to be angel wings with some sort of date written in. It’s hard to make out from the video, but it looks like possibly May twenty-something.”

“Seventh?” Tessa asks.

“We think it’s probably either a one or a seven.”

“My dad’s birthday was May twenty-seventh,” she says, glancing at me.

“Stephanie?” I ask.

She nods. “It has to be.”

Walt jumps in. “Do you think this woman might be dangerous?”

My eyes meet Tessa’s, and she shrugs.

“I don’t know,” she says to Walt. “I don’t know her very well, but she seems harmless enough.”

“Then track what she’s doing, when or where she shows up,” he says. “Keep a record for us, and if you have any concerns, now that we have an open case, bring them to us. We might be able to make a move on the stalking charges, but only if you feel unsafe. If she doesn’t pose a threat, then she’s just an annoyance that won’t go away.”

“That’s it?” I ask. “All you can do is tell Tessa to keep a record of when she shows up?”

“I’m sorry.” He shrugs. “I wish I had better news for you, but that’s really all we can do at this point.”

“Thanks for the update,” I say, and he nods at us both on his way out. I glance at Tessa once the door shuts behind her. “You okay?”

She nods. “Yes, I’m okay. It’s disappointing that she can just do that and get away with it, but maybe I should just confront her and ask her to stop. Or find out why she’s doing it.”

“The more I hear about her, the more convinced I become that she wants to be you. Look at all you’ve got, babe. You had a successful career as a nurse, you moved back home, you’re having a baby, you’re getting married. You had the father she wanted. She looks at you and thinks you have everything,” I say gently. “And she’s a little unhinged.”

“That’s not helping,” she says, placing her hand on her stomach. “That’s only making it more alarming.”

“I know,” I concede. “But we’re moving to Vegas, and we’ll be further away from her. It’ll be okay.”

She nods. “That does make me feel a little better.”

I’m not entirely convinced it does, though…and I don’t feel much better myself.

The house is immaculate when our parents arrive at six-thirty. Soft music plays in the background, candles are lit, and Tessa has even put out little cheese and cracker plates as appetizers before our food from the Pizza Joint arrives. We take them on the grand tour, and they’re in love with what we’ve done with the place.

“It was all Tessa,” I say, giving credit where credit is due. She preens under my words, and she blushes at our parents’ compliments.

“We have some news,” Tessa says, her eyes edging over to me. I give her a quick nod, and she clears her throat. “We’re getting married.”

Her mom’s brows dip as she glances at my parents, who also look confused by the announcement. “We know, honey,” she says. “You told us.”

“This Friday in Vegas,” I finish, just as we had planned. “And we want the three of you to be there. I’ve already booked rooms and flights for everyone.”

Tessa’s mom’s eyes go wide as she slaps a hand over her mouth. My mom squeals, and my dad looks wholly unsurprised.

My mom smacks his arm. “Did you already know?”

He chuckles. “I suspected.”

“Are you okay to travel?” my mom asks Tessa, and she nods.

“The doctor cleared me of any risks at my appointment today,” she says.

Hugs are issued all around, and it’s a night for celebrating. My dad and I drink whiskey, and my mom and Janet toast with wine, and we gorge ourselves on the best pizza and pasta in town.

Our parents leave after they help clean, and then it’s just the two of us in the house we own as we start our life together.

I turn off the lights in the kitchen so the flicker of the candles bounces off the walls, and I turn up the music as a The Calling’s “Wherever You Will Go” pipes into the kitchen. I take my future wife in my arms.

She giggles a little at first as I swing her around in the candlelight, and then her eyes meet mine. We dance as we both think toward the future with hope and excitement over how many more dances there will be in this very place.

When the song is over, we dance to another one, and then we blow out the candles, and she leads me up the stairs to our bedroom.

Before we fall asleep in our new bed in our new home, we make love as we use our bodies to strengthen our bond and show each other how deep our feelings run.

And as I drift off to sleep, I push away the feeling that nothing this good will last forever. Instead of focusing on the fear of it all falling apart, I decide to revel in its joy for however long we have it.