Veer (Clayton Falls #2)(43)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“They’re here!” A woman’s voice broke through the quiet night. Gavin helped me down, and I grabbed my purse before he could close the door.

“Hi, Ma.” Lit only by a few outside lights, it was hard to get a great look at the woman in front of me, but I did notice the way Gavin hugged her. He definitely loved his mom.

“And this must be Becca.” She stepped in to the light and smiled warmly, pulling me into a hug as well. “It’s so nice to have you here.”

“Thanks for having me, Mrs. Powell.” I was so not used to this. I’m sure my nerves showed.

“It’s Annie. Just Annie.”

I smiled. I was too nervous to know what to say. I pulled my bag out of Gavin’s hand.

“I’ll help you with that.” A man as tall as Gavin came out of the house and took my bag.

“Hey, Dad.” They exchanged a hug.

“Dad, this is Becca.”

“Hi, Becca, it’s so nice to finally meet you.” He reached out a hand. “I’m Todd.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” I smiled politely. I felt Gavin’s strong hand on my back offering comfort.

“Let’s go inside, shall we?” Annie suggested.

“Great idea.” Gavin kept his hand on my back as I followed his mother up the front steps.

We walked into the large foyer, and my eyes went immediately to the family portraits lining the walls. I knew Gavin had a big family, but it was different to see it. Four kids—so different from how I grew up.

“I set Becca up in Brody’s room. That way she’ll be right next to you.”

“Isn’t he coming home?” Gavin sounded pretty disappointed as he asked about his youngest brother. I’d grilled Gavin about the entire family.

“No, he’s staying up at UGA for the rest of the summer.”

“Oh. Well, hopefully I’ll make it up there for a visit soon.”

Annie touched Gavin’s arm affectionately. She used her other hand to brush some of her curly brown hair off her shoulder. “Why don’t you two get settled, and then maybe we can all talk and catch up a bit before bed. I told Amanda and David to wait until tomorrow to come by. I didn’t want to overwhelm Becca on her first night.” I appreciated the thoughtfulness. It was already ten o’clock, and I was exhausted.

“All right.” Gavin picked up both of our bags and headed up two flights of stairs. At the top of the second flight was a small hallway and two doors.

Gavin opened up the door on the right. “Here’s Brody’s room where you’re technically staying.”

“Technically?”

He dropped our luggage in the hallway. “Mom didn’t want to outright put us in a room together, but she wanted to give us privacy.”

“If they don’t want us sharing a room, we’re not sharing a room.” I picked up my bag and moved into Brody’s bedroom. Pushed up against the back wall was a double bed with a red checkered comforter.

“Seriously?” Gavin stood in the doorway. “They really don’t care.”

“Yeah, seriously.” What if his mom came upstairs? I wasn’t dealing with that.

“You actually care what my mom thinks, don’t you?” He smiled. “I’m glad, so I’m not going to argue even though it’s going to be hard to sleep in the next room. These rooms share a bathroom.” He opened a door across from the bed.

“Oh, cool.”

“If you change your mind later, you can come join me anytime.” He grinned before knocking me down on the bed and hovering over me. “Or maybe I’ll just come visit you.”

As his lips found my neck, I knew I had to push him off. “Gavin, your parents are waiting downstairs.”

“Okay, okay.” He moved off me, taking my hand to help me up.

“I just need to use the bathroom real quick.”

“Sure, do you want me to wait, or should I meet you down there?” He ran a hand through his hair.

“You can go ahead. I’ll find my way.”

“All right.” He kissed my cheek before walking out.

I used the bathroom quickly and tied back my hair. Obviously, his parents had already seen me, but I wanted to at least make myself look a little bit more presentable.

I climbed back down the stairs and followed the voices into a cozy den. Gavin was eating a sandwich—no surprise there.

“Would you like something to eat?” Annie offered me a plate with several sandwiches.

“No, thank you, we ate dinner on the road.” I glanced at Gavin as I said it.

“What? We ate hours ago.”

I smiled. “I know.”

Annie set down the plate. “Gavin told us you’re about to start your last year of law school.”

“Yeah, I’m definitely ready to be done.”

“Do you know what kind of law you want to practice?” She crossed her legs, settling into an arm chair.

“I want to do criminal, ideally as a prosecutor, but we’ll see.”

“I’d be so intimidated to do criminal law. It’s got to be so much pressure.” Annie studied my face. For the first time that evening, I felt like I was being assessed.

“There is, but it’s important to me.” I tried not to dwell on the fact that I still had no idea where I was going to work after graduation.

“You two are going to make quite the crime fighting duo, aren’t you?” Gavin’s dad chuckled.

“I guess I never even thought about that.” I yawned, covering my mouth just in time.

Gavin gently squeezed my shoulder. I could barely keep my eyes open.

“You can go on to bed if you want, Becca. I know it’s late. I’m sorry we kept you up, but we’re just so excited to have you here. Gavin’s never brought anyone home before,” Annie said quietly.

“Oh, I don’t mind. It’s been nice to talk, but I think I’m going to turn in.”

“All right, I’ll be up in a little bit,” Gavin said.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” I said pointedly, wanting to make sure his parents knew we were sleeping in separate rooms. “Good night, everyone.”

“Good night, Becca,” Annie said warmly.

“Good night.” Todd waved.

I changed into a comfortable set of short and cami pjs and washed up. I slid into bed, hesitant to turn off the lamp. I contemplated leaving it on, but I knew if Gavin saw it on and came in, he’d probably stay, and I really wasn’t going to do that in his parents’ house.