"He seems very nice." Stevie whispered, leaning into the kitchen counter as she casually glanced around the doorframe to see her daughter and her new boyfriend sitting in living room.
They were watching an old Christmas movie, laughing about something that she'd said, while they shared a bowl of popcorn and a throw blanket... It was sweet.
"Ehh," Tom shrugged his shoulder softly, standing right behind her to peek around as well. "He's okay." He wasn't impressed by much of anything, but especially not by the men in Brooklynns life.
She was twenty- six years old and no one had ever been good enough, not in her fathers eyes.
"He seems far more put together than that last guy." Their daughter-in-law was also talking in a low tone, finishing up the dishes from the dinner they'd ordered in. "So far, at least." Courtney smirked lightly, a quiet giggle escaping her when she saw Stevie roll her eyes playfully.
"Just be kind." She reminded each of them- her son included, even though he was preoccupied with the baby that was cooing in his arms.
Chuckling softly, Sam glanced up at his mom. "We're always kind." He teased, even though he could tell just by the tone in her voice that she wasn't trying to be funny.
Biting down on her bottom lip, Stevie let out a soft sigh. "I'm sure he feels out of place being here through the holidays, instead of with his own family." She mentioned, pushing herself away from the counter. "Give me the baby and go make friends." She told Sam a second later, holding out her one arm for her grandson while the other held tight to her cup of coffee.
"I'll be nice." Sam assured as he carefully handed off the newest addition to their family. "That dude better like sports though." He joked before he picked up his cup off the counter and headed through the room.
Tom grinned softly, eyes scanning over his wife from behind as he watched her face light up the second the baby was in the safety of her arms. "Grandma just wanted some baby cuddles." He let out a light chuckle as he gently slipped his free hand around her waist to look over her shoulder.
Nodding her head, she kept her brown eyes locked with the big green ones that were staring back at her. "He is such a dream." Stevie told Courtney as she left the most gentle kiss on her grandsons forehead.
Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Tom's lips met the side of her head before he let her go. "I better go make sure Sam isn't grilling that poor guy." He announced, already getting the feeling that Stevie was being a tad bit emotional... He figured that she'd just had a long day with travel and being up so early.
He had no idea that there was far more complex things weighing awfully heavy on her mind.
Courtney laughed softly, nodding her head in agreement. "He is a tough crowd."
~~~
It was well after three in the morning when Stevie found herself slipping out from under the duvet. She was moving like a snail, trying her very best to refrain from waking up her husband, who had been fast asleep for hours by then. But not her... She couldn't, no matter how hard she tried to turn off her thoughts and close her eyes- it didn't happen.
So she tip toed through the bedroom, closing the door behind her and then sneaking down the hallway.
Sam and Courtney lived in a two bedroom house right outside of the city. They had one guest room that Stevie and Tom were in and then the small living room was rearranged, making enough room for a blow up mattress in the center. It wasn't huge and it was definitely crammed for the holiday weekend, but she wouldn't have wanted it any other way... Not even if they had all gone back out to their home in California, like they usually did.
"Hello?" Lindsey answered the phone on the very last ring, voice sounding incredibly soft.
"Did I wake you up?" She already knew the answer to that... People don't normally stay up until three in the morning doing nothing.
Chuckling softly, Lindsey began to push himself up in bed as his eyes met the glow from the old alarm clock on the nightstand. "No, I've been up." He joked, which caused a very little laugh to escape her.
She had taken the phone into the bathroom, but the cord was reaching half way across the kitchen, so after she closed it in the crack of the door, she had to sit down on the floor to talk... And do it as quietly as she could to keep from drawing any attention, especially when Brooklynn and Gabe were just around the corner.
"How was your drive?" Lindsey wondered a moment after her soft laughs quieted down.
He had missed her already but that definitely wasn't something he wanted to tell her, not when he worried that she'd think it was a bit premature... He wasn't trying to push her too fast.
"It was boring." She admitted, but that wasn't anything new.... Her entire marriage was boring.
He couldn't help but sigh, feeling a little bad... It's not supposed to be like that. "I bet it's good to be hanging out with your kids though." Lindsey was certain of that, but only because he was wishing, more than anything that he could be with his two...
She nodded softly, almost like he could see her through the phone. "What's your middle name?" She asked, which caught him a little off guard.
"My middle name?" He chuckled, creasing a brow lightly as he leaned back against the headboard. "Are you running a background check?" Lindsey teased with a soft grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
She was something else.
Her face grew a faint shade of red as she giggled in return. "I feel like I know a lot about you, but at the same time, I know nothing." She admitted, heart beginning to beat a mile a minute all of a sudden... She felt so shy sometimes.
Lindsey paused for a second, thinking about how sweet she sounded on the other end of that call. "It's Adams," he replied with a gentle smirk.
"Hm," she hummed lightly with another little chuckle following. "I like that... It's cute." Stevie assured in a quiet tone of voice.
"What's your middle name?" He wondered, finally reaching out to turn on the lamp on since he figured that they weren't going to be ending the call any time soon, which he was pretty thankful for.
"You have to guess..." she grinned, which caused them both to immediately laugh in return.
Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he thought about it for a second. "I think I'm in love with you."
