Chapter 22 - Pink Flamingo Kind of Love

"Engaged. My little brother is engaged. It's about time." Jillian tried to frog me again but I moved out of the way and hit her back. "Ouch!"

"Nicholas, do not hit your sister." My mother stood between Jilly and me to keep us from goofing off any further. "Congratulations, son."

"Engaged and managed to move out of the way and get mom to scold you for hitting a girl. I am proud of you, little brother. I see I have taught you well."

"Jillian, do not taunt your brother."

It was my turn to gloat at my mother scolding my sister, "Ha."

Jillian smiled, "It's about time, Nick. It's about time."

I acted like I was hurt, "I'm feeling the love here. You're acting like I'm the old maid here with twenty cats."

"And I just have one cat." Anna smiled, "So he'd need nineteen more."

I reached for Anna and put my arm around her waist and kissed the side of her neck, "I'm getting picked on by everyone. I'm really feeling the love."

"Nicholas."

I turned around to see my father coming towards us, "Dad." Anna stepped back and he hugged me tightly just as my mother did.

"Nicholas, how are you?"

"Dad, Nick's engaged." Jillian started to smile. "Finally."

"Well." My father saw Anna who was standing next to me. She smiled and reached for my hand as my father looked at both of us in a way that I couldn't quite figure out what he was thinking. "And this is..."

"Oh, right." I pushed Anna in front of me. "This is my fiancé, Anna Gigandet. Anna, this is my father, William Stokes."

"Nice to finally meet most of the family at least. Nick has spoken highly of you all."

Jillian laughed. "Nick? He can be nice?"

My father ignored my sister and didn't give Anna a chance to say anything as he hugged her, "Nice to finally see my son so happy. Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you." If Anna was nervous, she didn't let on. She was fitting in fine with my family.

"Come inside out of the heat." My mother turned to walk back inside with the rest of us following.

"Oh, not us. I'm taking Anna to meet Allison and Marissa. We're gonna grab lunch." Jillian reached for Anna and yanked her closer, causing Anna to stumble as she triped over my foot. "We'll be back in time for supper. This is a girls' only thing."

"Jilly, we just got here. Can't this wait? You're not letting me keep her and introduce her to the family. Allison and Marissa can't come here? What about Tyler and Ryan and Riley and Jason?"

"Everyone else will be here for supper later on. This is a girls' day out thing. We have to get to know our future sister in law. We did the same thing with Marissa. Trust me." Jillian pulled Anna away from me as they started toward Jillian's Toyota Camry. "I'll bring her back in one piece in time for supper. I promise."

I watched as Anna cast a glance over her shoulder at me as Jillian let go of Anna's hand long enough to leave her on the passenger's side of the car. Anna blew a kiss at me as she got in and I waved as they drove off. "My fiancé has been kidnapped."

"By your sister. She'll be fine, son."

My father was failing to see my point. I wasn't worried that Anna was with my sisters. I was worried that Anna was with Jillian alone and I wasn't there to police what she told Anna. "Dad." My father opened the door and stepped inside with my mother and me following him in. "Anna has been kidnapped by Jillian...By my sister Jillian and you're saying she'll be fine?"

My father glanced out the window as Jillian took off with Anna, "Point taken. We'll pay for any therapy Anna may need. Come on in and sit down. Tell your mother and me all about Anna and about your engagement. This was quite sudden. Last time we spoke, I knew nothing of this."

My father and mother sat down on the couch as I took one of the recliners. I knew what he was trying to ask and I was trying to be as diplomatic as possible. "Anna and I have been together since February when she treated me at that crime scene. It hasn't even been a year yet, but I know in my heart that this is what I want to do. This is the right choice for us. You and mom both know that we've been through a lot in that time and I can't imagine my life without her." I stopped as I knew what my dad was trying to ask as I continued to try to find a way to answer his question that he didn't want to ask. "I know we haven't been together that long but I love her. Anna almost died on me twice. I was holding her in my arms and was watching her slip away and then once again at the hospital and after that, I knew that I didn't want to lose her again. I knew then I couldn't lose her." I looked up at my parents, "I know it may seem quick and you have your reservations, and that's fine. I don't expect you to understand what Anna and I have gone through but I want to marry her. If you want to know anything about her, ask. I'll tell you or if Jilly brings her back in one piece, you can both ask her but I love her. I love that woman and would do any thing for her and will do my best to make her as happy as I can make her. Anna is who I want to be with."

"Nick, I'm not planning on giving you the same lectures that I gave your sisters. I don't need to bring Anna in here and find out what her intentions are. I only got a chance to spend a little bit of time with her before your sister took off with her, but I could tell that you love her and she loves you. I'm just curious about one thing and I just have one question. Does Anna make you happy?"

"Mom, Dad..." I closed my eyes and sighed, hoping that I could put in to words what I knew I felt in my heart. "I love Anna. Anna loves me as much as I love her and that's not gonna change. I have never felt the emotions or feelings I feel for Anna with anyone else. I found the person I'm gonna marry and spend the rest of my life with. Anna and I are happy."

"Nick, that's…" My father was interrupted by someone yelling from the front of the house, "We're back here."

"Mr. Stokes, the gate on the south end of the property is loose again."

"It's a never ending storm around here. On my way." My father stood up, "Oh, Brandon, this is my son, Nicholas. He's here from Las Vegas with his fiancé. Nicholas, this is Brandon Ware. He helps us out with the horses."

I stood up and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Brandon…" Ryan came in the room and didn't notice that I was here. He was explaining in greater detail to my father the problem Brandon had found with the fence. When he finally did notice I was in the room, he forgot what he was trying to tell my father, "Nick! What are you doing here? Jillian didn't tell me you were coming."

"Now that's a shock. I called last night and said I was coming from Arkansas with Anna." As I hoped none of my ribs were broken when Ryan let me go out of his massive hug, I had forgotten how people in Texas love to hug. "I'm surprised Jillian could keep her mouth shut. That's never been one of her strong suits."

"Anna? Who's Anna?" Ryan stopped, "Oh wait, Jilly told me about Anna. She's the one you got married to?"

"Not quite." Shaking my head, I continued, "We're not married yet. Anna is my fiancé. Your wife kidnapped her to meet Allison and Marissa."

Ryan winced, "Lord, I hope she goes easy on your gal there. I'd stay and chat but I'm headed out with Brandon and your father to fix that fence. You coming?"

My mother didn't give me a chance to answer, "No, I'd like for Nicholas to stay with me for a little bit. I haven't gotten a chance to ask him all the questions that a mother needs to ask her son about his upcoming wedding. I'll send him along when we're done talking." She turned to face me, "Stay here."

"Yes, ma'am." Even though I was old enough to live on my own, I still treated my mother with the respect she and my father hammered into my head constantly since I was a child.

I watched as they went towards the back of the house, leaving me alone in peace and quiet for the first time since we got here. As I waited on my mother to get back, I wished I would have given Anna my phone to keep track of her or so she could call if she needed an escape route. I pulled mine out of my pocket and dialed Jillian's number. Not expecting Jillian to actually answer the phone, I was pleasantly surprised when she did. "Where's Anna?"

Jillian laughed, "She's here. She's fine. We're waiting on our food to be brought out. Marissa just got here."

"Prove to me she's still alive."

"Nick."

"Jillian, prove to me Anna is still alive and is not being held against her will."

I heard Jillian hand the phone across the table to Anna. "He thinks you're dead."

"Nicky?"

"You are alive and you sound unharmed. Good."

Anna laughed, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't know Jillian as well as I do just yet. So you're fine? Not being held against your will?"

"No. I'm fine and they're even letting me have bathroom breaks and everything. We're here in town and are about to eat then we'll be back. Your sisters are both being nice to me. No Stokes family hazing."

"Yet!" I heard Jillian's voice in the background. "Tell Nick you have to go. We've got some more talking to do."

"Just make sure my sisters and sister in law have you back here in one piece, please?"

Anna said they'd be back in a little bit and hung up after telling me she loved me, making Jillian act like a school girl in the background.

I was putting my phone back in my pocket when my mother came in. "So." She sat down and stared at me after Brandon, Ryan and my dad left. "I get you all to myself for a minute. When's the wedding? Tell me all the details."

I laughed, "Mom, we haven't gotten that far yet. I don't even have a ring yet."

"You asked Anna to marry you and you don't even have a ring for her? Nicholas, I taught you better than that."

"Mom, I know. It was kinda sudden. I didn't plan it. It just happened. I was on my way to get Anna from Arkansas and bring her back home and when I saw her and started to leave, I asked her to marry me and she said yes."

"I know it's none of my business, but I have to ask since I'm your mother. Were you the reason Anna was in Arkansas? Did you have a fight?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. Anna and I didn't have a fight." I knew there was no way out of this with my mother and tried as best as I could to give her the abbreviated version of what happened between Anna and me after Renee and Nigel entered our lives and almost destroyed them. "After Anna got out of the hospital, she was having some problems adjusting to her life in Vegas and went to visit her sister in Arkansas until things settled down back in Vegas. I came to get her to bring her back and when we were getting ready to leave Arkansas and her sister's house, it hit me then how much I loved her and I wanted to marry her, so I asked her then and she said yes. When we get back to Vegas, I'll get her a ring then. Anna said she doesn't need one but I want her to have one. She means that much to me."

"Like I said, I wasn't trying to pry but I had to know. So other than the ring, everything is okay? You and Anna are fine?"

"Yes. Of course we are. Why?"

"No reason, but I was hoping you'd say that. Wait here." My mother stood up and left the room, leaving me to wonder where she was going and what she was hoping I'd say to her.

As I waited on her to come back, I started looking at the wall in the den. Ever since I was little, the south wall in this room was filled with photos of my family. Portraits of our family graced one portion of the wall with pictures of my siblings and me during varying stages of our lives on the other areas. My sisters were all cheerleaders in school and Tyler and I were on the football team. My sisters' cheerleading photos were in one area with my brother's and my football pictures under them. As my sisters and brother got married, wedding pictures started to out number the high school pictures. My sister's wedding photo was on top followed by Tyler's and then Jillian's. Baby photos of Jason and Riley were under Allison's wedding photos. My mother had left room under Jillian's wedding photos and Tyler's wedding photos for grandchildren. When I got to the pictures I sent my parents of Anna and me, my mother had left room for our wedding photos and our future children. I smiled to myself as I sat back down to wait on my mother.

"I was waiting on a time to do this." My mother came back in and caught me looking at the memory wall. "I do hope that you took note of the room I left for grandchildren for you and Anna. Lots of grandchildren."

"Let's get to the wedding first then Anna and I will talk about children." I looked over as my mother came back in the room and sat down on the couch next to me. "And waiting to do what?"

My mother had something in her hand but kept it hidden where I couldn't see it, "You know where the Parker came from in your name, right?"

I had been told the story before. My brother's name was my dad's mother's maiden name. For me, Parker was my mother's maiden name. It was requested of my grandmother to name me after my mother's maiden name. "Grandma's idea to use your maiden name, right?"

"Yes. The Parker in your name is my maiden name. When you were born, she was there. She wanted to be there when you were born. She said you were special and asked I name you Parker."

"You've told me this but what does it have to do with Anna?"

My mother handed me a small box. "This is why. Open it."

I took the box from her and opened it. "Grandma Parker's wedding set?" I felt my breath catch as I looked at the ring. "Mom, oh. Wow."

My mother motioned for me to give her the ring back. "She wanted you to have it. That's why we named you Parker. On the day you were born, she said you were going to be special. Right after that, she handed your father that ring and told us to give it to you when you found the right girl." My mother took the ring out of the box and put it on her ring finger. "Won't fit. Give this to Anna. My mother made us promise to give it to you when you found someone and it looks like Anna is that someone. Tyler got your father's mother's ring. You get mine."

My mother handed the ring back to me and I put it on my pinky finger. I couldn't even get the tiny ring over my first knuckle. The ring that my mother gave me was gorgeous. Anna had small hands and as I looked at it, I was thinking it'd fit just as it is and I wouldn't need to get it stretched. I knew Anna would love it. It was a beautiful ring made of white gold and had an emerald-cut center diamond flanked by smaller round diamonds down both sides of the band and two baguette diamonds at the top on either side of the center stone. "Mom, are you sure?"

"Yes. My mother made us promise that you'd get this. Give it to Anna, Nicholas. She makes you happy and that's all the proof I need. Just take care of her. She will be good to you. I know this."

I spent the next hour or so talking to my mother before my father came back in. About half an hour after he came back in from fixing the fence, Anna came in with Jillian, Marissa and Allison. We spent the next couple hours talking and everyone was questioning Anna. I asked where Tyler was and Marissa said he'd be by in a little bit as he was finishing up with work.

After Tyler got to the house, my mother assigned Tyler and me the task of barbequing for the whole family. I left Anna inside with my family as Tyler and I went out and started in. He caught me up on the goings on in Texas and I was filling him in on what was going on in Las Vegas when he interrupted, "So did mom give you the ring story like she did me?"

"Yeah, she did. Anna and I got engaged and it wasn't planned so I didn't even have one. Mom gave me Grandma Parker's ring and I plan on giving it to Anna soon. Not sure just when yet."

Tyler wanted more information, but everyone was coming outside as the aroma of freshly cooked meat started to filter through the house.

My parents added a large deck to the back of their house about the time I moved to Las Vegas. It was after we were all sat down outside that I understood why. As much as I loved working and living in Las Vegas, I missed being home with my family. Anna was fitting in well and everyone was enjoying getting to know her as we ate. Anna took great pride in rubbing in the fact that her Razorbacks stomped our Horns into the ground last season. Anna was laughing as my brother said that I wasn't allowed to marry someone who didn't appreciate the power of the Horn.

After we got finished eating, it was still light out and I wanted to show Anna the layout of my parents' property. "Alright, now if I can please have some time with Anna for a minute, we'll be back." I stood up and held my hand out and started to lead Anna down the deck and towards the barn. I heard my nephew behind me giggling and saying something about how it was gross that I was holding a girl's hand. I had to smile as I led her out towards the barn. "Finally. I get you away from everyone for a little bit." I kissed Anna and turned around to make sure we weren't being followed. Anna was already walking down the center aisle of the barn and she stopped at one of the stalls we had for our horses. "Pepper. This was my sister's horse when we were in high school."

"Did you have one?"

"Yep. The four of us all had our own horses when we were growing up. Pepper is Jillian's horse." We passed two more stalls on our way to Flash's stall. "Shadow is Tyler's horse and Allison had two horses. Sergeant was her first horse and she got a second horse, Jinga, after Sergeant died at the age of thirty seven. She got Jinga not too long ago to go with the horses her kids have. Allison's horses are at her house. My horse is down this way." I took Anna's hand and led her towards the back of the barn. "This is Flash. I got him when I was a senior in high school. Flash was four when we got him and wild as the day was long. The neighbor we got him from named him Flash because of the markings on his face." I reached out to pet the chestnut head that was intently watching Anna and me. "And you remember me even after all these years. I can't count the times I got bucked off of him trying to put a saddle on him but he finally tamed down and was a great companion. I just wish I lived closer so I could ride him more."

Anna stood up on one of the railings of the stall so she could see over. Flash bowed his ears back at the intrusion, but was soon nudging Anna's shoulder when she quit petting him to look at me, "You do know I've got room at my house, right? If you ever want to bring him home, we can load him up and take him home if you wanted to have him closer. He'd be good company for my older horse, Amy."

It never occurred to me that Anna had enough room at her house for my horse. One of her horses was about Flash's age and they would be perfect together. "That's a thought."

Anna wanted to go for a ride so I got a saddle out of the tack room for Flash and got another saddle for Pepper and led the two horses with Anna following me out of the barn. She got on Pepper as I got on Flash and told her to follow me.

I took her a few miles away from my parents' house and down a trail that wound up by a creek. "I used to come back here as a kid. Friend of mine lived back this way and that's why my parents bought this house was because of how quiet it was and because of the trails back here." Anna came to a stop next to me as Pepper bent down to eat some grass off to one side of the trail. "Really beautiful back here, but nothing could compare to the company I'm in."

"I do hope you mean me and not the horse."

I had to laugh, "Of course. Hop down."

Even though she didn't need the help, I helped Anna off of Pepper as I took Flash's reins and led the two horses over to a tree near the edge of the creek. They stayed busy grazing on grass and drinking water as I brought Anna in closer to me and hugged her, "I love you." I put my hand under her chin and brought her face up so I could kiss her.

"I love you, too, Nicky. So much."

I sat down on the grass next to the tree and pulled Anna in my lap. "Everything about you makes my heart stop and you made me realize that I've always been missing something I never even knew I wanted." I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her tightly. "I've already asked you to marry me, but I didn't have this." I started to get the ring of my grandmother's out of my pocket when Anna got up. She watching a hawk flying overhead and didn't notice what I was doing. When she finally did turn around, she gasped and saw what I was doing as I got down on one knee. "I'm doing this properly this time. I told you I was."

Anna stared at me, "Oh, God. Nick?"

"Meri-Anna Gabrielle Gigandet, you know how much I love you and though I've already asked you this before, I'm asking again the question I asked you earlier. Will you marry me?" As Anna started to nod her head as she started crying, I took her left hand and slid the ring on her ring finger, "It fits." I kissed the top of her hand as her right hand was covering her mouth which was open as she was staring wide eyed at my grandmother's ring on her finger. "This was my grandmother's ring. I've told you the story about my middle name, right?" Anna, still open mouthed, just nodded as she kept her eyes on the ring on her finger. "My mother told me that my grandmother wanted me to have this to give to the woman I loved." I pulled Anna's hand away from her mouth and made her zone back in so she could understand what I was trying to tell her. "And of course, that woman is you. So now that I have a ring, I get to ask you again. Will you marry me?"

Anna looked down at the ring again before she wiped tears out of her eyes, "My answer hasn't changed since the other day." Anna put her arms around my neck and kissed me, "Yes, yes, yes."

I returned the kiss and hugged her as one of the horses snorted behind us, causing me to start laughing when I smelled what triggered the snort, "I always imagined the moment would be just like this with two horses standing behind me, one farting and one snorting at us."

Anna laughed harder than I have heard her laugh in a long time but quieted down when she sat back in my lap and kissed me again as she hugged me, "I couldn't imagine any thing more perfect."

A/N: And I'm finally done with jury duty. Yay! Now back to more important matters at hand like adding to this story. Back to Vegas they go in the next chapters.

If you're in the mood for something goofy, head on over and check out my Investigation CSI Series stories. They're good for a laugh.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Reviews would be nice.