Free Protect Me by Lacey Black

Mrs. Steven says with a smile as she walks up from behind me. “Sometimes my children need a little ‘nudge’,” she says with a motherly smile as she pulls an extra chair up to the table. “It’s so nice to see you again, dear,” Mrs. Stevens says.  
    “Thank you for having me,” I reply with a grateful smile.  
    “My oldest boy, Jake, was in desperate need of Erin to step in and shake up his bossy, orderly little world. And Travis over there was on a crash course by working too much. He needed to see what was really important in life. I just gave them a gentle little push,” Mrs. Stevens says with a smile.  
    Erin laughs across the table. “Well, I for one am grateful for your pushing. The wedding is less than 3 weeks away. I’m so excited,” she says with a wide grin filled with excitement.  
    “Lia, where are you from, my dear?” Mrs. Stevens asks.  
    “Oh, here and there,” I mumble without making eye contact. I hate talking about it. I don’t want to talk about it. I feel like I’m evasive and everything is a lie by omission.  
    “Well, no matter where you are from, we are just so glad that you ended up in Rivers Edge,” she adds with another warm smile. It’s the smile I imagine my mother would have. If my mother was a part of my life.  
    “Did you meet William?” Mrs. Stevens asks as she glances over her shoulder towards the grill. “That’s my husband, Michael, and our middle child, Will.”  
    “Yes, he let me in the house a bit ago,” I tell her.  
    “So, tell us: Will or Nate?” Josselyn asks Mrs. Stevens with both eyebrows raised to the sky.  
    “Oh, hush, my girl. I didn’t bring Lia here to set her up,” she smiles back at all the faces staring at her. My face, mind you, is still flaming red. I probably need to hop in the pool with Ryder in an attempt to cool off. Or drown myself. That might work too.  
    “You didn’t?” Avery, Josselyn, and Erin all say. At the same time. Their faces are stunned, yet their eyes are filled with mischief.  
    My God, kill me now.  
    Mrs. Stevens laughs again. “No, I did not. I brought her here to introduce her to you ladies since she doesn’t really know anyone in town yet.”  
    The ladies all glance around the table at each other, looks of disappointment evident on their faces.  
    Hello! Sitting right here.  
    “Of course, if Lia and one of my two remaining single boys happen to hit it off, who am I to stop it?” she adds with a serious look on her face.  
    All eyes fall on me as laughter breaks out from around the table.  
    “And I’m shooting for Nate,” Mrs. Stevens adds under her breath.  
    “I think it’s the perfect time to use the restroom,” I say as I stand up, ready to make a run for the next state.  
    “It’s just past the kitchen in the hallway,” Avery says between fits of laughter.  
    Dinner proves to be a wonderful reprieve from my normal routine. Mrs. Stevens places me next to Will, but I have a feeling there is more to that. Will is very friendly, in a shy and reserved kind of way. He’s polite and generous with his smile. He’s very good looking and has a stable job. He’s everything a girl could possibly want in a man. If a woman was looking for a man, that is. He’s, also, not Nate.  
    I can almost guarantee that Will doesn’t have any tattoos snaking up his bicep and around his back. Will doesn’t have a lone dimple in his right cheek that makes you want to stroke it with your thumb and maybe stick your tongue in the little divot. Will definitely doesn’t have those intense, all-knowing, all-consuming eyes that stare straight into your soul. No, those panty-dropping qualities belong solely to his older brother, Nate.  
    I quietly watch the dynamics of this family around the dinner table. They are loud and caring and entertaining even though they are missing three key family members. But most of all, they are supportive and loving. They are the true definition of family. Hell, if