The Silent Partner (Mature themed)

Christmas Day Part III

At 4pm, Colter looks at me. "We have to go to my parents." He looks at my parents. "It was nice to see you again Mom and Dad."

Mom smiles. "I missed hearing you call me that, Colter. Even when we weren't talking to you I still thought of you as my son." She looks at me. "I'm glad, Lexi is giving you another chance. Just screw it up."

He shakes his head. "I won't screw up my second chance. I was lucky she even gave it to me," Colter holds my hand. "We went to Peta's grave before we came here. It was hard for me to see it."

I run my fingers over his hand. "It will get easier Colter since we're together now." I pull the chair back and rise.

Colter rises as well. He hugs my parents. "We should have dinner one night. Just the four of us."

Mom pulls away from him. "That sounds great." She looks at me. "Who's going to cook?"

I raise my hand. "I'll cook and the dinner will be at..." I look at Colter. "Ours?"

Colter smiles. "I like the sound of that housing being ours again. But, I won't rush you into letting me move in."

I hug my parents and say 'Goodbye' to them. Colter and I walk through the house and exit through the front door. We walk down the stairs to the car. We climb in and Colter drives us to his parent's house.

Colter pulls to a stop outside an iron gate with the letter K on it. There's a security box to the left and a guy steps out of the box. He looks at Colter and then at me. He smiles. "Lexi, it's good to see you again."

I smile. "You too Garett. It's been too long since I last saw you. Do your parents know she'll be here for Christmas?"

Colter shakes his head. "I wanted to surprise Mom and Dad. Are you going to let us in Garett?"

He opens the gates for us.

Colter drive up the long driveway. On the left and right are palm trees and behind the palms on right is an apple tree.

I look at the apple tree and smile as a memory flashes through my mind. I giggle.

Colter turns to me. "What's funny?"

I smile. "Do you remember that time when we climbed the apple tree and you wanted to prove to me that you were a better climber?" He nods. "You climbed to the top and we had to call the firefighters to get you down because you froze when you looked down and saw how high off the ground you were."

Colter laughs. "I was hoping that you would have forgotten about that day." He shakes his head. "But, I should have known that you wouldn't forget something like that."

The car comes to a stop outside the mansion. I step out of the car and admire the beauty of the Kingsley mansion. The mansion is four stories high with a wrap-around porch. It has a bunch of tables and chairs. There's a swinging chair close to the front door.

The front door opens and Colter's parents step out of the house. They make their way down the stairs and they hug me.

Mrs Kingsley pulls away from me. "I'm glad you're here, Lexi. It feels like a proper Christmas with you being a part of the family again." She looks at Colter. "When are you going to give me a Grandbaby?"

Colter freezes and he looks at me. "Lexi and I are taking things slow. Having another baby isn't going to magically wipe away the years we spent apart. Besides, we have agreed to take things slowly." He looks at the house. "Who's here?"

Mom looks at the house. "Your brothers, a few uncles and cousins." She smiles. "Oh, and they're playing mud footy."

I smile. "I love that game." I look at Colter. "Do you have spare clothes for me to wear later?"

He nods.

I grab his arm. "Let's play. I want to see your brothers eat dirt."

Colter laughs. "You always make my brother's eat dirt." We run through the house and out the back door.

I step onto the porch and everyone turns towards me. "Lexi's in the house." I yell. I move down to the lawn and look at Colter's family. I smirk. "WHO'S GOING TO EAT DIRT THIS CHRISTMAS?"

The guys all point to someone.

I shake my head. "Oh, well. Since, no one volunteered. Looks like it'll be the whole family."

Colter stands next to me and laughs. "Let the game begin." Colter and I are on opposite teams.

I have the ball and I run down the field. I see Colter's Uncle and the guy is built like a tank. So, I throw the ball at one of Colter's brothers and he runs down the field.

The uncle looks at me. "I'm going to get you princess. When you least expect it. You're going to eat dirt like you did to my Children."

I laugh. "Sure, tank."

He shakes his head. "I forgot that you were always a cocky little bit..."

Colter jumps in. "I dare you to finish that Sentence Barry."

Barry shuts his mouth.

The football flies through the air and it's about to hit me in the head, I catch the ball and run down the field I score a try for my team.

These guys are easy to rattle.

Colter has the ball and he runs down the field. I run after him and I jump on his back making us fall on the ground. I have him pinned beneath me. I scoop up some dirt and I rub it into his face. "Looks like you'll be eating dirt, honey." I kiss his cheek and rise.

My team has the ball and I run over to the guys. They pass me the ball and I run down the field. I look at them and they smile when Colter throws mud at me. I scoop some up and throw it at him. Then the rest of the family joins in with the mud fight.

Colter's Mom picks up the hose and she sprays all over us. "It's dinner time. There's towels by the door. Get changed and then join us at the table."

Colter places his hand in mine and he drags me to his bedroom. We pulls out a familiar black dress. He throws it at me. "Do you remember this dress?"

I nod. "This is the dress that I wore on our first date. I hope I still fit in it, Colter." I take to the bathroom and I get changed. I use his brush and brush my long brown hair." I hear a knock on the door. "Come on, Lexi. Mom, won't be too happy if we take any longer. Everyone is waiting for us."

It's about time that they wait for me.

I walk out of the bathroom and make my way down stairs with Colter. He opens the door for me and we exit the house. He pulls my chair out for me and I sit. Colter sits next to me and takes my hand. "Thank you for coming home with me, Lexi. This Christmas has been a great day all because of you." he kisses me in front of his family.

I hear some of them whistle. I pull away from Colter and my face turns red.