“Hello, you’ve reached the Moore family. Please leave—”
I hung up and then called my father’s cell. It rang once.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“Good morning to you too, Dad,” I said with a chuckle.
I heard my father say my name and my mother yelled something in the background.
“No call, no text, no hey our baby looked adorable. Nothing.”
I closed my eyes. I’d been so excited to get Liza to the hotel that I’d forgotten to call home. “Shit, Dad. I’m so sorry. We were on such a high. We got to the hotel and I asked Liza to marry me the proper way, with a ring. She threw up on me and we fell asleep.”
Silence.
“Dad? Are you still there?”
“Did you say Liza threw up on you?” my mother asked.
I must have been on speakerphone. I laughed and shook my head. “Yeah, right after I put the ring on her finger. She barfed on my bare chest and then…well, then I threw up.”
My parents both started laughing hysterically. I rolled my eyes, waiting for them to get it all out.
“Air…I need air…” my mother said as she laughed uncontrollably.
“Haha, it’s not that funny,” I said.
My father was still laughing as my mother kept repeating, “I’m okay. I’m okay now.”
“Yeah, it is, son. Yeah, it is,” my father said as my mother started laughing again.
“Okay, fine. You know what? I’m going to hang up now and I’ll talk to y’all later.”
“No!” they both shouted. “Tell us about the baby,” my mother pleaded.
I laughed and wrapped a robe around my body. “The sonogram was amazing. We got to see the baby and it was just beyond words. Liza swears it’s a girl, but I say it’s a boy.”
“Whatever baby M is, I just hope she or he is healthy.”
“Baby M?” I asked.
“Yeah, M for Moore and Morris,” my mother said, like I should have known that.
I chuckled and then said, “Hey, Mom and Dad, Liza and I were talking. She’d really like to rent a place in Llano. Something to call our own.” I lowered my voice, “She has no idea about the house or the land. I wasn’t sure if Layton and Whitley wanted to tell her. I’d like to bring her out and tell her about the house while we’re standing on our own dirt.”
“I agree with both of those ideas. I’m pretty sure Layton wants to tell her and Jase about the land. I think it will be more meaningful if you tell her about the house on your own property.”
“Our place is available, Walker. It’s a darling house and holds many wonderful memories. We’d love to have that be your first home together. Of course, your father and I wouldn’t charge you rent.”
My heart swelled with love for my parents. I knew they wanted to help us however possible. My stomach flipped. “Mom, I love you so much for that. But Liza and I want to be responsible and pay rent. If we’re starting a life together, we want to do it right.”
I heard a sniffle and I knew my mom was crying. “Walker, I’m not sure how the hell we did it, but we raised you and Ava right. I thank God every day for you two. Let us at least reduce the rent. We don’t want to see you struggle as you start your new life. How about seven hundred a month?”
I knew that was way below market value, but I wasn’t going to argue. The more we saved, the better we could build our own house. “Deal.”
My mother clapped her hands and said, “Perfect. Well, it’s fully furnished, so that takes a load off, big time. All we need to do is get the baby’s room fixed up.”
I could picture my parents now. My father was probably leaning against the kitchen counter with his dark hair a mess, as usual. I was betting he’d already been out to the garden and picked what needed to be picked. My mother was probably cuddled up against him, with his arm somewhere on her body, holding her close. Her blonde hair was most likely tied up and I imagined her in her running clothes. My mom hardly ever missed her morning run.
I glanced up and saw Liza coming into the bedroom. She gave me a thumbs up. I nodded and put my finger up, asking for a minute.
“I’m sure Liza is just as excited about that, Mom. I’ll let her know the good news and we can talk more when we get home later this afternoon.”
“Okay, darling. Y’all be careful. We love you,” my mother said.
“Talk to you soon, Walker. Love you,” my father said as his voice got closer sounding. He must have taken me off speakerphone.
“Bye, Dad. Love y’all, too.” I hit End and smiled at Liza. “How are you feeling?”
She scrunched up her nose. “Queasy, still. I just can’t seem to shake it. Maybe I’ll feel better once I eat something.”
She walked over and into my arms. I held her and took a deep breath. She smelled like vanilla. She always had. I told my mom about it once. She said it was because Liza was so sweet.
Pulling back I asked, “Did you order coffee with breakfast?”
“Shit. Sorry. I always forget.”
Laughing, I kissed her lips before walking out into the suite’s living room. Liza didn’t drink coffee, but I was addicted to the stuff. I headed into the kitchen area that was set off to the side of the living room and began making some coffee. They had a Keurig machine—I’d get instant coffee. I fist pumped when I saw the Starbucks morning coffee blend.
I looked back into the living room and saw Liza at the door. She bent over and picked up a piece of paper and a small envelope. “Here’s the copy of the bill,” she said as she set it down on the coffee table. But then she gave me a funny look. “This is addressed to me. Who knows we’re here other than our parents?”
I shrugged. “What does it say?”
Liza sat down and opened the envelope. She read it and then looked up at me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, as I sat down next to her. She handed me the card.
“Congratulations on your new life,” I read.
I turned it over. It wasn’t signed by anyone. Weird.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Walker,” Liza said as she bit her lip.
“Huh. Maybe it’s from Jenifer.” I said.
She looked at me funny. “Jenifer? The front desk lady?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, once she found out we were having a baby, she went out of her way to be nice. Maybe she just wanted to send us a card. Who else would it be, babe? No one besides our parents knows you’re pregnant.”