Ten

Kaylee's P.O.V.

There was a spring in my step. I was aware of it. I felt happy…free.

I had woken up on top of Parker, his arm wrapped around me and our legs intertwined on the couch. As soon as I moved, he had held on tighter. It was the best sleep I had gotten in years. At first, I had given in to the temptation to snuggle into him further, pressing my face into his warm neck and relaxing back into the dream world.

It was the sound of his father moving past us and toward the kitchen that burst the peaceful bubble I had been in. After the tense dinner that we had the night before, I was expecting at least one snide comment to come from him. Perhaps a look of disgust or disdain. But, as he moved passed, I cracked one eye open to see him staring back at us. He dipped his head in our direction, acknowledging our presence before continuing on.

That brief, civil interaction had shocked me, but it wasn't the cause for the pep in my step. It was the way Parker had held my hand when we left t