Effortless (30 page)

Dad sniffed a moment before taking the gorgeous boy’s hand. He
shook it for a long time while he silently judged to see if Kellan
was worthy of me. I knew from experience that Kellan wouldn’t pass
Dad’s test today. It had taken three months of almost daily
interaction for Dad to not say Denny’s name with a sneer. And until
Denny had taken me away, Dad had really liked him.

“Uh-huh,” was Dad’s response to Kellan’s introduction.

Mom sighed irritably and stepped around us. Maybe feeling that
her husband wasn’t being quite as hospitable as he could be on
Christmas morning, she walked over to the door. Placing her hand on
Dad’s shoulder, she addressed Kellan. “It’s nice to meet you too,
Kellan.” Motioning into the warmth of the house, she added, “Please
come in, it’s freezing out there.”

Kellan smiled at her as she forced Dad to step aside so he could
enter. Glancing at me quickly, a wry smile touching his lips for a
moment, Kellan muttered, “I know.”

I looked away before I started laughing. When I looked back,
Kellan was extending the bag to my mom; Dad had his hands on his
hips, clearly not thrilled that another male was in his home,
trying to sweep away his little girl. I didn’t bother telling Dad
that I’d been swept away long ago…

“Mrs. Allen, I noticed that you were low on milk so I got you
some more.” Mom smiled as she took the bag and Kellan looked over
at me again, adding, “I got some eggnog, too, just in case anyone
wanted some.” He smirked at me as he turned back to my mom.

A flake of snow in his hair melted, dropping to his cheek and
rolling down his skin. Every female in the house watched its
progression. Snapping out of it first, my mom smiled and took the
bag from him. “Thank you, Kellan. That was very thoughtful of
you.”

Shrugging, Kellan looked down at the floor, a soft smile on his
lips. “It was the least I could do, since you’re letting me stay
for a few days.”

Dad dropped his hands from his waist and twisted his head to
stare at me. “A few days?”

I’d sort of failed to mention that when I’d asked about Kellan
staying. Honestly, I hadn’t been sure how long I’d get to have him.
My insides squirming at the thought of all the time we’d have
together, I frowned at my father. “Dad!”

He sighed and shook his head, but didn’t complain any further. I
was sure I’d hear more later, but for the moment, he was being nice
enough to not say anything around Kellan. My mom watched the
showdown between Dad and me with a raised eyebrow, then encouraged
Kellan to take off his jacket and make himself at home. I slung it
up on the coat rack for him, bouncing a little as I took his hand.
It was just so nice to have him near me again. I knew the next
separation would hurt…but I’d deal with that when it happened.

Kellan smiled once he smelled the combination of coffee,
cinnamon and bacon. Looking perfectly at ease with my family, he
sat at the table across from Dad. While I made Kellan a cup of
coffee, Dad eyed him like he was going to go mental at any moment,
pull out a WMD or something. Kellan only smiled at him, asking if
he was a Cincinnati Reds fan or a Cleveland Indians fan. Dad
brightened, then stopped himself. Shrugging, he said the Reds were
alright.

Mom and I both looked at each other and rolled our eyes. Dad was
glued to the television whenever his favorite baseball team was on
the air. It was well known in the house that if you wanted anything
from Dad, you waited to ask for it until the Reds were winning… and
didn’t even bother asking if they were losing.

I returned to the table just as Kellan started going into
specifics of the game. I listened to his deep voice, enraptured. He
knew more than I realized he did. Kellan had never struck me as the
athletic type. That had been Denny. He’d always been watching
highlights on TV. Denny and Dad had bonded together over a few
amazing plays. But Kellan knew enough to keep up his end of the
conversation and had Dad engaged until Mom and I set the plates of
food down. 

Pouring myself a huge glass of eggnog, I sat beside Kellan. He
glanced over at my glass and smiled to himself. I squeezed his
thigh under the table, thanking him for the treat he’d gotten just
for me.  As we gazed at each other for a moment, I had to
firmly resist the urge to lean up and kiss him. My father cleared
his throat.

Kellan glanced up at him as Anna handed Kellan a plate of bacon.
As Kellan took some, my dad pointed at him with the serving spoon.
“So, Kiera tells us you are in a…band?”

Dad said the word like it was foreign, like he wasn’t sure how
to pronounce it. His face held an equally confused expression. To
Dad, bands were something you did as teenagers. To Dad, real men
went to college, got degrees, and joined the stereotypical work
force. Dad just didn’t understand Kellan’s life choices at all. I
frowned as I looked across the table at him. He might understand
better if he knew Kellan’s history, knew just what music had helped
him through, but that wasn’t my story to tell. And it wasn’t one
Kellan told openly.

Passing the plate of bacon to me, Kellan gave me a warm smile.
“Yes, sir. We’re on tour right now. Our next show is on New Year’s
Eve in D.C.”

My shoulders slumped a little at the news. Having a definite
departure date kind of sucked.  Dad brightened a little,
though. Slopping a mess of eggs on his plate, he casually said,
“Oh, so you’ll be away a lot…on this tour-thing?”

Grabbing the plate of rolls from Anna, who rolled her eyes at
Dad, Kellan quietly said, “Yes…” He grabbed a roll and handed the
rest to me. Our fingers touched under the plate and Kellan stroked
my thumb with his. The expression in his eyes screamed an
apology—that he’d be leaving soon, that he’d be gone for so long,
that we’d be separated again. Swallowing, I nodded at him
encouragingly.

Digging into the plate of bacon, Dad smiled. “Oh, well, that’s
good that you’re finding success.” Kellan nodded at him, taking the
eggs as they made their way around the table. As Dad loaded his
fork with food, he asked, “So what do you boys call yourselves
anyway?”

I cringed, knowing my dad wasn’t going to like this. Anna
laughed while Kellan looked down, seemingly unsure if he should say
it to the man he was trying to impress. Maybe understanding that
lying would do no good right now, Kellan picked up his fork and
muttered, “D-Bags.”

Dad sputtered on the food he’d just attempted to swallow.
Coughing a little, he leaned over his plate. “Excuse me?”

Clearing his throat, Kellan looked up at him. “Um, the
band…we’re named…D-Bags.” He shrugged. “It’s just…supposed to be
funny.” As Dad narrowed his eyes, clearly not amused, Kellan
murmured, “We might change it…if we go mainstream.”

Anna looked between the two men and laughed. Spunkily shaking
her head, her high ponytail flipping around her face, she told
Kellan, “You better not. I love that you’re Douchebags.”

Kellan bit his lip to hide his amusement while my mother gasped.
“Anna!”

Teasingly shoving Kellan’s shoulder back, Anna laughed again and
dug into her food. Dad frowned at my sister, but said nothing more
about the band’s name. There was a moment of silence around the
table as we all ate in peace. Mom’s food was incredible and I
nearly purred as I popped a gooey piece of cinnamon roll in my
mouth. Kellan watched me eat it, a slightly devilish look in his
eye. I smacked his leg under the table, warning him as quietly as I
could to behave himself.

When he playfully grinned at me, popping a segment of a roll
into his own mouth, I had to look away. I’d suddenly envisioned
licking cinnamon and sugar off his skin, and that was certainly not
a thought I should be having on Christmas morning…at my parents’
table. While Kellan chuckled, I met eyes with my dad. He was
watching us with a furrowed brow. His eyes darted past me for a
second, into the living room, and I held my breath, hoping he
didn’t piece anything together.

What he did say, though, made a cold wash of nerves go over me,
and I suddenly would have preferred him asking about last night.
“Kellan…is it true what they say about rock stars?”

Kellan finished his roll and looked around the table. Bunching
his brows, he shook his head. “What do you mean?”

Dad paused to take a bite of his bacon while I tensed. There
were so many different paths he could take this conversation down,
and all of them were bad. “You know, about the women that follow
the bands around, trying to…get to know them.”

Anna dropped her fork and stared at Dad while Mom brightly
exclaimed, “Would anyone like some more eggs?”

Kellan ignored her question, keeping his eyes locked on Dad’s.
“Some women are like that, yes, but it’s a lot less than you would
probably think—”

Dad cut him off, waving his bacon slice in the air. “But it
is
true, though, you do have women trying to seduce you?
To lead you away from my daughter?”

I flushed, hating that our life was being discussed so openly.
“Dad!”

Dad ignored me, focused intently on Kellan. As Kellan
unwaveringly met his eyes, I suddenly saw my dad’s true fear with
me dating a rock star. It wasn’t really that he considered the job
frivolous, or that there was an alarming potential for drug or
alcohol abuse. It was that my dad didn’t think Kellan could
possibly be faithful to me. It was my own fears reflected back to
me. Somehow, that made them seem all the more possible.

Beside me, Kellan whispered, “Yes.”

I blinked and looked over at him, not expecting him to answer so
honestly. It stung, too, knowing that he
was
getting
offers. Even if he was rejecting them, it still hurt to know that
they really were out there. My eyes started watering and Kellan
purposely avoided looking at me.

Dad leaned forward in his chair and I looked back at him,
begging my eyes to calm down. I did not want to cry in front of my
parents. They would never trust Kellan if I didn’t trust him. As
Anna sputtered that none of this was Dad’s business, Dad pointed
the last of his bacon at Kellan. “Don’t you think it would be
better for Kiera then, if you paused the relationship while you
were away…so she doesn’t get hurt by your…admirers?”

Kellan shook his head. “I never…I don’t…” He closed his eyes,
taking a moment to collect himself. Just as I felt my eyes starting
to pool over, Kellan opened his and looked over at me. “I love your
daughter, and I’d never do anything to hurt her.”

My mother stood up then, collecting Dad’s plate. “Of course you
wouldn’t, dear. Martin’s just being an ass.”

Dad frowned at Mom and I blinked, staring up at her. Mom never
swore, not even the mild ones. When Dad looked about to object, Mom
gave him a glance—
the
glance. It was a pointed look that
said so much. It was a full-on sentence in just a second of
connection. She may as well have screamed—Y
ou have said enough,
and if you open your mouth again there will be hell to pay in this
house for the next six months! It is Christmas morning and I will
not let you make my baby girl cry while she is here visiting us,
for quite possibly the only time until next winter, by making her
doubt the man that she is clearly head-over-heels in love
with!

Dad wisely said nothing.

When a strained quiet fell over the table, Mom looked around.
“Should we open presents then?”

Kellan slapped on a smooth smile as he stood up. “Sounds
wonderful, Mrs. Allen.”

Mom smiled at him around her hands full of plates. “Caroline,
dear.”

Kellan nodded at her. “Caroline, thank you for breakfast. It was
incredible.” He motioned around the house with his hand. “Is there
a bathroom…?”

“Oh, sure.” Mom motioned upstairs with her one free pinky.

Kellan smiled and looked around the room as he excused himself.
He seemed happy and unperturbed, but I saw his fingers go to the
bridge of his nose as he turned the corner to head upstairs. I knew
enough about him to know that the conversation had bothered him. He
was taking a minute.

My eyes snapped back to Dad when Kellan was out of earshot.
“Dad! What was that all about?”

Anna crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. Dad
looked between the two of us. For once, his face was almost
sheepish. “I’m sorry if I stepped over the line there, Kiera.” He
leaned forward and pointed his finger to where I could hear water
running upstairs. “But these are questions you need to ask yourself
if you are going to be in a relationship with him. Is he on the
same page? Does he really love you? Can he turn down woman after
woman? If you take the relationship to the next level, will he soil
your marriage bed?”

I flushed and looked down, too flustered to say anything. Anna
spoke up in my silence. “He’s a good guy, Dad. You don’t even know
him.”

Her hands free now, Mom came up to rest her palms on my
shoulders. “That could have been handled more privately,
Martin.”

Dad glanced up at her. “I’m just looking out for our
daughter.”

I peeked up at him then. “
I
can look out for me, Dad.”
Glancing over my shoulder really fast, I leaned in and whispered,
“I’ve had all of the doubts that you have, okay. I think about it.
I worry about it.” I shook my head. “But I love him. Shouldn’t I
give him the chance to fail
before
I condemn him?”