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And a new one too. Hope you like it ;)

 


 

TEN YEARS AGO


 

“I can’t believe he’s still asleep. Kids of that age shouldn’t sleep that much!”

“Maybe he’s like his father.”

Jarod grinned at Parker and squeezed is eyes pretending to be bothered by her words. Which couldn’t be farther from the truth. Jarod was still so impressed with his son’s beauty that he kept looking at Parker to remind himself that he’d taken everything from his mother.

Parker had the most delicious smile on her face, she’d never looked more relaxed and satisfied before. She kept thinking that this could actually be happiness. A happiness that she’d been neglected all her life.

The three of them were driving separately from the Major and Margaret, they had mutually agreed to wait for the waters to settle before rejoining with Jarod’s parents. Even if the pretender was looking forward to meet Jeremy and Emily again, the truth was that he couldn’t care less about his siblings.

He had a son.


He was holding his boy on his lap, they had managed to beat the Centre, for once.

And he owed it to Lyle, even if he would never admit it out loud.


Parker was driving slowly, not interested in reaching their destination so soon. She was enormously enjoying those hours of trip.

Suddenly she had an epiphany.


“Jarod!” she urged him.

“What?” he asked her, still not moving his eyes from the boy.


“We haven’t chosen a name, yet.”

Jarod blinked and glanced at her, the truth of that omission right under his nose.


He didn’t answer right away, causing Parker to huff at him, “You don’t want to call him ‘the boy’ forever, do you?”

“Of course not”, he replied sternly.


“So?”

Jarod smiled sadly, “He’s Ethan.”


Parker stared at him lovingly. Jarod had no idea of how many times she could actually hear their brother’s voice in her head. It was like an enchanted lullaby.

But even if naming their son after Ethan was something she truly appreciated, she wanted to give Jarod another reason to be proud of the name given to the boy.


She smiled, her eyes back on the road, “Ethan Kyle.”

Jarod’s grin enlightened the environment. He looked down at his son and whipered, “Ethan Kyle. I like that.”


Parker’s smile widened, “Yeah. Yeah, me too.”

“Well, at least we don’t need to wonder what name we’re giving to our second child, because since you told me that you’re pregnant I’ve been waiting for Catherine to arrive.”


Parker chuckled, “What if it’s a boy, genius?”

Jarod shook his head, “It’s a girl. I feel it. What does your inner sense tell you?”


“It’s particularly quiet about that, actually. I think it’s because I want to find out on my own. I want it to be a surprise.”

Jarod nodded in agreement and noticed that she was slowing down.


“I need a break, and I’m starving.” She explained.

“Any effect after the fight with your biological father?”


“Excluding nausea? Nope.”

Jarod chuckled and got out of the car, then he lay his son on the back seat. Parker walked to his side of the vehicle and leaned against the car, closing her eyes. She was exhausted.


“Let me drive from here on, will you?”

“Help youself, Jar.”


“Ok. I’ll take us some cofee.”

As he was walking towards the café they’d parked in front of, Parker suddenly opened her eyes and called him back, “Ehy, Pez-Head. You think we should get married?”


Jarod turned around and checked on her. Not sure if she was just teasing him, he returned a caustic, “Help yourself, Miss Parker.”

“I’m not kidding, Jarod.” She replied, more seriously.


Jarod walked back to her, looking straight into her eyes. No, she wasn’t kidding.

He put his hands on her arms, gently caressing them, “I would be a liar if I told you that the thought didn’t actually cross my mind, Parker”, she smiled and so did Jarod, “There’s nothing I’d want more than making an honest woman of you. God knows you’d need it!”


“Not the best way to convince a woman to go to the altar, you know.”

The pretender kissed her, “As much I would like to marry you, there are too many obstacles. If we wanted to do it well, all our friends would like to come. And that would mean to put Broots and Sydney’s life in danger.”


Parker nodded, interiorizing Jarod’s words. She hadn’t given it so much thought, and yet it felt like a reject. Jarod sensed her change of mood and took her face in his hands, “Parker, believe me. If it was up to me, I’d call the priest of the nearest town to ask him to come and marry us in this very diner.”

“But you won’t.”


“No, I won’t. Because this is not what I want. This is not what I need.”

It was the first time that she heard him speaking so obviously about his own needs. Jarod had never been the selfish kind. It looked like he was learning something from Parker, in the end.


“When we get married, I want it to be real and safe. I want my family around me. I want Sydney to take you to the altar. I want my parents to be proud of me. I want Broots to be your best man and Angelo to be mine. I want my sister Emily to be there as your maid of honor. I want that hopeless friend of mine Argyle to attend the wedding with his father Benny. I want to hear you saying ‘I do’ without the fear that someone from the Centre is tailing us. And I want to be able to spend a real honeymoon with you wherever you want, just to make you happy.”

Parker stared at him, she was out of words, “It looks like you thought about this quite a lot, didn’t you?”


Jarod grinned, “You have no idea.”

He walked past her and looked for his bag in the trunk, seeking for something inside it. When he found the object he needed, Jarod closed his hand around it and sighed.


“What is it?” Parker asked him.

Jarod opened his hand and showed her the mysterious object. It was a ring.


“When did you get this?” she asked him, taking the jewel from his hand, examining it carefully.

“This was supposed to be a present. For you…and Tommy.”


Parker opened her eyes widely, looking at him in disbelief, “He told you he was going to propose to me?”

“No, no…but when he called me to inform me that you two were leaving, I wanted to send you a last gift. Something that would convince you that you were doing the right thing. I wanted it to be a wedding gift for you.”


Parker smiled sadly, “You never sent it. You didn’t have the time, didn’t you?”

Jarod nodded, “Please, don’t hate me.”


“I don’t. I don’t blame you anymore, remember? Actually this is kind of sweet. And I love it, it’s gorgeous, Jar.”

“You would have loved it, then?”


“I probably would have sent you to hell”, she stopped, watching Jarod grinning slyly, “But then I would have loved it as everything else you’ve sent to me during these years, yes.”

“You know, I’m selfishly glad that I’m the one who’s giving this to you. Even if it’s for our fake-wedding.”


“That’s how we’re going to call it?”

“Oh, no. We’ll be married, or at least this is what everybody will think. So you’ll need to wear this. May I?”


“Of course.”

Jarod took the ring and put it at Parker’s wedding finger, slowly. Then he kissed her left hand.


“You’ll get one of those too?” the pretended-wife asked him.

“As soon as I find a jewelry.” He answered.


“Seeing that Parker is a hot name these days, I guess as your fake wife I’m going to get your family name as well.”

“Actually I was thinking about a new surname, fitting with our new life. What about Miller?”


Parker smiled again, “I love it, Mr. Jarod Miller. And while we’re talking about names, I don’t want you to call me Miss Parker anymore.”

Jarod looked at her, incredulous, “You want me to call you by your first name?!”


“I don’t.” she cut him off, “That name died with Mom, you know that. I don’t want to hear it.”

“And I don’t think I could actually stop calling you Parker, you know that.”


“So let’s stick with it. Mrs. Parker Miller. It’s cool. Sounds like one of those old matrons entertaining themselves with soap operas.”

“With one slight difference: you’ll entertain yourself with me.”


“You can bet on it!”

Just when Jarod was kissing her, she interrupted him, “But you’ll have to share my attention with two other people.”


“Can’t wait for it."









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