“Grow up, Dad.” Mere rolls her eyes at me, while Clementine chuckles.
“And you don’t. Please.”
39
CLEMENTINE
“Are you guys sure about this?” I ask Mere and Keith as we stand outside their house on a Saturday morning.
“How many times will you ask the same question?” Merida raises her eyebrow at me as Keith opens the white gate.
“So, this is it? We’ll permanently move to Kings Security? What’ll happen to this place? Have you thought about it?” I try to circle around Keith, as he takes the keys out from his pocket.
“I’ve talked to a realtor. It should be easy selling it,” he replies casually, opening the main door.
“Selling?” I gasp. My brain spins around. “Wouldn’t you want to keep it for a while, until we’re all settled in the new house?”
Keith grabs my shoulders as we stand at the doorstep while Mere has already left for her room. “What are you worried about?”
I look at his beautiful face and hesitate. Should I say something or not?
The last few weeks have been the most amazing days of my life. Will I ruin his mood, voicing my doubts?
He fixes me with those ocean-green eyes. “Speak up, Clem.”
“I worry you won’t feel the same…later.”
“What does that mean?” His gaze softens as his fingers stroke my arms, forcing me to loosen some of those bunched muscles.
My tongue feels heavy as I say the words I hate thinking.
“Someday, when you are overwhelmed by my craziness, you might miss this normalcy.” I tilt my head gently toward his house.
“If I haven’t said it before, I’m a die-hard fan of your craziness.” His lips pull up in a smile as he twirls one of my curls with his finger. But his confidence in me doesn’t help. I don’t feel it resonating inside me.
“Don’t make light of this, Keith. It’s a big decision. I don’t even know how long you’ve had this place.” I try to blink the nervousness away.
There’s so much we don’t know about each other.
“Clem.” Keith releases an exasperated sigh before cupping my face and bringing it closer to his. “Have you ever seen me doing anything on impulse? That’s not me. I’ve thought this through.”
“But—” He places his finger over my lips, preventing me from saying anything more.
“The house has been with me for more than fifteen years.”
My eyes widen at his response and I pull his finger down.
“What if Merida someday feels like I took the only home she ever had?”
He shakes his head. “I highly doubt she’ll ever think so. She’s too smitten by your charms.” When I don’t return his smile, he asks, “Would it ease your mind if we keep it for a while and don’t sell immediately?”
“Yes, please. Please.” I clutch his biceps. “We can do that, right? Or do we need the money to purchase the house from Connor?”
“No, we are good with the money.” Keith doesn’t explain further.
I realize I’ve no idea about our financial situation. I mean, I make good money, also given that I’m slowly getting better at keeping my overindulgences in check. But where do we stand as a family?
His thumb gently pulls on my bottom lip, extracting it from the tight grip of my teeth.