Don't Let These Boots Fool You

I heard my phone ringing and ran down the stairs to get to it in the kitchen. “Kelly here” she said as she walked back toward the back porch so she didn’t wake anyone else in the house up.

“Merry Chirstmas”

“Sid, why are you calling me?” I was furious with him for not letting me explain myself before the holiday break. I just wanted to tell him how pissed at his behavior I was.

“I’m calling to apologize, beg for forgiveness, and ask that you spend a week here because our WAG event is falling to shreds with you over in Philly.” The apology was evident in his voice as he tried to get me to forgive him.

“What exactly are you apologizing for, because I honestly haven’t heard from you since the transfer. You left a note and that was it, Jordan called me repeatedly you fucking ass.” My annoyance level rose as he stuttered on the other side of the line.

I felt arms wrap around me and the annoyance toward Sid began to fall away as Sid spoke back up again. “I should have heard you out. Jordan told me what you said to him. As I’ve had time to think about it I respect your choice, but I’d really like to have you in my life again. The only way I can see that happening is if you come and help this event happen.”

His words sunk in as I tried to think up excuses as to why I couldn’t go back to Pittsburgh. “I’ll think about it. I’ve got to go now.” I turned and kissed Danny and smiled at him, “Merry Christmas.” I whispered at him as I heard the phone call end.

Danny smiled at me and dragged me in the house, “Your mom said there are presents to open.” He sat on the couch waiting for me to join him. I walked over to him and sat at his feet.

My parents began to pass around the gifts to people as was the tradition in my house. There were serious gifts, funny gifts, and sentimental gifts for almost every person. I almost forgot to notice that Danny hadn’t handed me anything yet. I felt him move me to stand up as he walked to the front door. That’s when I heard paws clicking and clacking on the floor. “You brought Joe?” I asked as I looked down at my big dog.

I started to hug him and rub his big body of fur and felt something along his collar that shouldn’t have been there. “Well he missed you so why not? Plus G flew out with him and then flew to Canada.” I moved his fur along his collar and found a ring attached. I looked up at Danny and saw him looking me in the eye on one knee holding a box with an actual ring in the box. “Kelly, will you marry me? Maybe not soon but make a promise to be only mine, you’re the first woman to make me feel whole again, don’t worry I asked you dad first.” He laughed as he asked me the question.

I felt the world stop and for a second felt a moment of fear at the thought of another engagement after Mike. Especially after only knowing Danny for a month, my mind quickly went into autopilot and forced me to smile and drag him out of the front door and toward my truck. I pulled the car out of the driveway, drove all the way out to the woods, and found my cabin. I jumped out of the truck and pulled Danny alongside and into the cabin. The bed in the back of the house was made and the fireplace was lit.

“Did I Just get a yes Kelly?”

“I think so, I’m not going to say yes I’ll marry you soon or for sure but right now okay” I leaned down to kiss him as he sat up on the bed and rolled him onto his back. His lips traced along my jaw as I slid my hands under his shirt and over his chest. “No leaving me, no talk of getting married unless I bring it up, and I want this feeling to stay” I said, I couldn’t possibly hurt his kids, or hurt him.

“I wouldn’t think of doing that to you, but babe if you don’t take care of my friend I might take the ring back.” He grinned at me as he pulled my sweater up over my head. “in all seriousness if you don’t want this then tell me to stop now.” He worked his way back to my mouth as I began to feel something I never felt before with Mike after I was raped. My breath caught in my throat and I pulled away from Danny.

I wanted to be with Danny but something stopped me in my head. I felt that it was okay to have sex again but damn my mind for making me feel as if it was going to be a bad idea to have sex with him. “Can we go to sleep please?”

I woke up to Danny’s half-naked body behind me and a smile formed on my lips. I enjoyed the solitude but realized that we would have to leave soon before my mother came looking for us. I rolled out of bed and looked for my pants before waking up Danny. “Where are you going?” he growled at me as his arm came around my body.

“Mom’ll be on her way soon if we don’t leave.”

“Guess it’s a good think I called her an hour ago.”

“Wait, why?”

“She was afraid you’d say no. I’ve got this covered,”

“Wait why would I have said no, because of Mike?” I smiled as I pulled on the pajama pants I found on the floor. I walked barefooted into the kitchen and began to fix breakfast while I waited for him to come into the kitchen.

I watched Danny walk into the kitchen with his jeans hanging low on his hips and a confused look on his face. I assumed that it was because he thought there would be no food. “Wes knows I come out here the day after Christmas at some point and he stocks up on—” I was interrupted by a knock on the door. Danny pushed me behind him and walked to the door.

He pulled open the door to see Mike standing in a suit with an annoyed expression on his face. “Well I hope you have all these indiscretions out of your system. My mother has been waiting an hour for you.”

I cringed inside and out at his snotty tone and realized how much of a tool he has become in the past few years. I stepped around Danny and right in front of him. “Did you not let me walk away from you when I asked about another girl?” I paused and tried to calm down while running my hand through my hair.

“Well then, where’s my ring?”

“In a package sitting at your mother’s house, I gave it back two weeks after you called me. I’m engaged to Danny, oh by the way we’re pregnant. Hope you find a better step-ford wife.” I slammed the door and turned back to find Danny pushing me toward the wall.

“That was so sexy. You better follow up on that statement of a pregnancy Mrs. Briere. My kids are almost grown trust me I’ll take three more if that keeps you protective and sexy.” He grinned as he began to kiss around my collar bone.

“Danny stop. We should get back to mom’s so we can go to grandma’s for dinner. If I’m late she’ll kill me.” I smiled as I danced away. “You brought a suit right?”

He followed me back to the room and pulled his sweater back on. “Yes I did. Why did I bring it anyway?”

I laughed and came out of the bathroom with my hair pulled up. “Grandma demands that we wear coat and tie attire to dinner. It’s fun though, which makes the evening really fun. You’ll love it.” I smiled as I began walking out to the truck holding Danny’s hand.

We drove back in silence neither one sure what to say after our run in with Mike and the final realization that I had said yes to the ring. I opened the car door, got out and ran toward the house. “You have about twenty minutes to get ready or we’ll be late.” I smiled as he jogged up to the house behind me. We separated at the bathroom where he ran in and I went to my old bathroom. My mind started to think back to the fact that this time last year I was engaged to Mike. I smirked a little at the thought until I heard my phone ring. I quickly shut the water and scrambled to find my phone in the bathroom. “Hello, Kelly here” she said as her hair dripped down her back.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were engaged to the enemy,” my smile began to grow as I heard Jordan’s voice. “I thought you promised to stay friends and tell me everything.” My smile faded as I realized I hurt him.

“Slow down buster, where did you hear about me being engaged?”

“The website online my girlfriend checks for fun.”

“Well Danny proposed this morning and I said yes, but don’t believe anything you hear about me being pregnant.” I heard the phone drop and his heavy breathing come back on the line. “Last night Danny proposed to me. We’re engaged and taking it slow, although Mike showed up at my cabin expecting me at hi mothers even though I told him I wasn’t coming home with him when he flew down here. Jordy, I'm a little scared, what if this isn’t the right choice?”

I heard the sigh come out of his mouth as i heard muffled voices in the room. “Is that your family or the team? Wait don’t tell me, if it’ the team tell them what I just told you. I’ll be back in a few days, we have some stuff to do for the foundation. My office after practice, got it?”

“Yes kell, tell Danny we say congrats, drinks the next time you’re both here.” I could hear the smile in his voice as he tried to end the conversation. Maybe the relationship I have with him hasn’t totally been ruined.

I moved my arms in some contortionist position as I zipped up the rest of my dress and fixed my hair. As I walked down the stairs I saw Danny standing at the bottom in his suit. He sure did look great in a suit. “Will you drive? Grandma hates for me to drive.” he nodded his head and walked out to my truck, it felt weird to slide into the passenger seat. “Okay, here’s the one rule. No judgment on where my grandma lives” I knew that something would be said since she lived in a grand house but he would most likely think it was a shambley place.

He silently followed the directions to the house and pulled around the last curve before coming to a stop in front of a large driveway. “you want to tell me something?” I knew he saw the large mansion that looked as if it came right out of Gone With the Wind.

“Well, my family kind of comes from money. My grandfather owns one of the horse farms Keeneland uses and his grandfather built this house in the civil war. My grandma will ask you too many questions don’t be offended. Just stick by me and you’ll be fine.” I said as I saw my grandmother standing outside of the house.

“There’s my favorite girl. Come to Nana. Who might this charming man be?” Her Alabama accent coming out in full force. It was the one thing that was never lost when she moved. It made her who she was and I missed hearing it as I often did. “How are you baby girl?”

I smiled up at her, “Good Nana, this is Daniel Briere, he would rather you call him Danny.”

She grabbed my hand and pulled it in front of her face “You want to tell Nana something? I do believe that’s not the ring that shlump of a guy gave you.” Nana never missed a damned thing did she. How had she noticed so quickly but with Mike it took her a few days.

Danny grabbed my hand and kissed it. “Well, you see we met a few months ago. I couldn’t risk losing her so I figured putting a ring on her finger would allow everyone to know she’s mine.”

Nana looked at him with a toothy grin, “Baby girl i like this one he can hold his own, but by the way he looks he seems older.” Nana needed her wine so she wouldn’t ask so many questions.

“Nana, I know we’d love to explain to you but could you just leave us the hell alone for the rest of the night?” I grabbed Danny’s hand and walked off, he quickly fell behind me as I walked through the house. “Whatever you do don’t let her get you alone. I want this to stay between us right now.”

He laughed as he stopped walking. I turned around and looked at him. “come here” he whispered with his arms wide open. He waited for me to walk right into his arms. “Baby I love you. Lets just enjoy tonight cause we have to fly back tomorrow.”

“Speaking of, I have to go to the burgh for a few days because their wags have fucked up my event. Jordan says congrats and wants to take you for drinks, which means we’re going to have to leave tonight.” I looked up at him to see him smirking, “What’s that face for?”

“Knowing I got you over those two idiots.” he replied as he leaned in and kissed me hard. It seemed more of a territorial kiss than the other kisses that he had given me. I felt him push me back until a door opened behind me. I looked up to find he had found the library. “Plus you look so fucking good in that dress.” He pushed me back into a wall full of books with a smirk covering his face.

It felt as if he was marking his territory by even thinking about Jordan or Sidney at a moment like this. I wanted him badly, but having sex at family Christmas to be a bad idea. I had always been my Nana’s favorite grandkid regardless of the fact that she had found me in the study five years ago with Mike between my legs. I thought about doing it now to get rid of the memories. “You’re so horrible. What if we get caught?” I was more worried about a pregnancy or getting caught by my young niece.

“Guess you better be quiet. If not they’ll know” he stated as his hands roamed up my body and squeezed the sides of my hips. He had no idea how degrading this experience felt, I felt as if I was some girl in a porno flick. He tried to push my dress up over my hips as his lips pressed against my neck.

I let out a throaty moan as I tried to hold it in as to discourage him from continuing this. I had wanted him all day, but this wasn’t going to end well, “Danny stop I can’t do this I can’t do this in here, the only reason I was trying to do it was because Mike and I got caught in here five years ago.”

He sighed as he let me slide down in front of him. He sighed as he leaned his head down on my shoulder and tried to catch his breathing and calm down.