Fighting to go on

Chapter 14

            He gave me a sheepish look. “Sorry.”

            I groaned. “I wish you’d given me more warning. I mean, what if she doesn’t like me? I don’t know how I should act around her. Does she know about Jason? What will we talk about?” I was starting to panic.

            Ryan pulled me against his chest and stroked my hair. “Shh, calm down angel. She’ll love you, you should act normal, she knows a little about Jason, and you’ll talk about whatever you want.”

            I blew out a breath. “I kind of hate you right now,” I whined.

            His chest rumbled as he chuckled. “No you don’t. So is that a yes, you’ll come to dinner?”

            I nodded. “I’ll make you pay for this later,” I warned him.

            “Oh I know.”

           

            When we pulled up to his house, I was almost shaking with nerves. Ryan got out of the car and came around to open my door. He held my trembling hand and gave me a reassuring hug. “You’ll do fine, Sammy. Just relax.”

            “Easier said then done,” I mumbled. But then I sighed and stepped out of his embrace. “Come on, let’s go inside. It’s freaking freezing out here.”

            We went into the house and Ryan took my coat. “Mom! We’re here!” he called out.

            “I’ll be there in a minute,” his mother called back.

            Ryan took me into the living room and a moment later, a tall woman came from the direction of the kitchen. She had the same hair color as her son, but her eyes were a chocolate brown instead of hazel. She was beautiful and looked younger then I knew she had to be.

            She walked up to me with a big smile. “You must be Samantha,” she said.

            “It’s nice to meet you Mrs. MacDonald,” I said nervously.

            “Oh, please call me Nancy. I don’t like formalities. Why don’t you and Ryan have a seat in here? I’ll be back in a moment, I just need to check on something in the kitchen.” She hurried off back in the direction she had come from.

            I sat down on the sofa and Ryan sat right next to me. He took my hand and rubbed circles on the back of it with his thumb. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

            “I guess not. But we haven’t really talked yet,” I replied.

            “Everything will be fine. I’m right here.”

            I laid my head on his shoulder. “Good, because otherwise I’d be running out of her like a bat out of hell.”

            Nancy came back in after a minute and sat on the chair facing the sofa. “So, Samantha, Ryan told me you have a younger brother?”

            “Yeah, Charlie. He turned fifteen about two months ago, but he likes to pretend that he’s my big brother instead of my younger one.”

            She laughed. “Oh yes, boys are like that. They think they have to protect their females, no matter how old they are. Ryan is the same way with me. Sometimes it feels like I’m the child and he’s the parent.”

            Ryan shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not that bad,” he muttered.

            I snorted. “Hate to break it to you Ryan, but you are. I’ve seen how protective you get of me. Or are you forgetting that girl that you flattened when we went camping?”