"Lindsay Lindsay Lindsay Lindsay Linds-"

"Saying my name over and over isn't going to make me move faster and you're fifteen minutes early so just simmer down about four notches there, turbo."

"Feisty."

"Impatient."

He made a face at her in the mirror, then went back out to the front room.

"I'm picking your shoes!"

She sighed and finished putting her make-up on before joining him. He held out a pair of boots and she steadied herself with a hand on his shoulder while she slipped into them. Shaking her jeans so they weren't bunched up on top of the boot, she righted herself and allowed him to pull her into his arms.

"You smell good," he commented, pressing a kiss to her ear. She shivered at the gentle contact, a smile spreading across her face.

"Adam…" she started as his lips moved to her neck.

"Hmm?"

"You're all impatient to leave and now you're delaying our departure a lot."

"Well, I was fifteen minutes early."

She giggled and pulled away as much as she could without completely rejecting him.

"Decorum, sir."

"Do you know how difficult you make my life?" he asked, his hands sliding down her arms to wrap around her fingers.

"Hey, I am not interested in meeting your mom while I am sporting a hickey, and I can't think of any reason to be wearing a turtle neck in June."

"You keep me out of trouble."

"Well someone's gotta."

He gave her a quick peck, then tugged her hand towards the door.

"Okay, we can go now."

"Hey."

He stopped his movements and turned back to her.

"What?"

Before the word was out of his mouth she had grabbed his shirt and crushed her lips to his, returning his affections quickly and with such force his head was almost spinning.

"Um…"

"Come on, we gotta go."

"Lindsay Joy Monroe, you wild, wild woman."

She smirked and locked the door behind them, loving the ability to knock him on his butt.

The drive to the airport was long and they were stuck behind several huge trucks for what felt like hours. They had his iPod, but they couldn't agree on anything. They played I Spy, but the scenery never changed, leaving very little to spy. In the end they played "A my name is Alice" and had gotten all the way to "O my name is Olive and my husbands name is Oswald and we live in Ottowa and we sell organ grinders" when they finally arrived at the airport. They found a spot that was close enough to the actual airport that they wouldn't have to take a shuttle to get inside. They were a few minutes late and navigated the crowds to find the restaurant where Adam's family was waiting.

"Brudder, it's me!"

They looked over and saw Hannah sitting on her dad's shoulders, but struggling to get down. Adam chuckled and headed over there, reaching her just as her feet hit the ground. She jumped into his arms and squealed when he tossed her in the air.

"Brudder, guess what, guess what?"

"What, what?"

"I don't even remember!"

He laughed and kissed her cheek and she held tightly to him as if he was the most exciting thing she had ever seen in her life. Lindsay grinned as she watched them, loving this new facet of Adam more than she thought she would.

Introductions were made and they headed into the restaurant, Adam discussing gas prices and the weather with his step-dad, while his mother tried to convince Hannah that she was not going to be having chocolate cake for lunch.

"But mommy, Brudder would let me have cake for lunch!"

"Brother would not let you have cake for lunch my dear. Not after the ice-cream for dinner fiasco. He's learned his lesson."

Lindsay glanced over at Adam who just smiled and pulled her chair out at the table. His fingers grazed across her neck and they shared a look before he sat down next to her.

The conversation moved easily from one subject to the next and it wasn't long before Lindsay felt totally at ease around Adam's parents. They reminded her a lot of her own, truth be told.

"Brudder, can you draw me a chinchilla?"

"That is the strangest request I've ever heard," Adam said, taking the notepad from his sister and quickly sketching some kind of rodent. Lindsay giggled and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You can do a mock up of a crime scene that is perfectly to scale, but you can't draw a chinchilla."

"Neither can you."

"You win."

"Brudder, this kind of looks like nothing."

"Is this pick on Adam day?"

"Yes," everyone at the table answered. He grimaced and Lindsay squeezed his hand under the table.

"Can I pick the music?" Hannah asked as Adam adjusted her booster seat in the back of the car. She hopped from foot to foot, her ponytail slapping against her back.

"Sure, just gimme a minute to-"

"Where's your iPod?" she asked, climbing into the front seat and searching around for it. Lindsay smirked and closed the trunk where she had been trying to fit Hannah's suitcase in among all of Adam's stuff.

"I ate it," Adam replied, earning a giggle from Hannah. "Just wait a sec, okay?"

"Need help in there?" Lindsay asked, poking her head in the door.

"No, I got it. It's just hot in here and I keep burning myself on the buckle."

"You should always carry a handkerchief."

"You did not just say that to me."

She grinned and kissed his cheek before moving out of his way and sliding into the passenger seat.

"Miss Lindsay, do you know where Brudder's iPod is at?"

"Yeah, it's right here," she answered, pulling it out of the glove box. "What do you want to listen to?"

"Um… I dunno."

"Well what's your favorite?" she asked, scrolling through the folders of music. They were organized alphabetically, but she recognized very little of what he had labeled.

"I like Tim McGraw the best. And Faith Hill. And George Strait. And Blake Shelton. And um… Sara Evans! And the Dixie Chicks. And Brooks and Dunn and… pretty much all of them."

"Adam, you didn't tell me your sister liked country music."

"Surprise."

"Ooh, can we listen to Kerosene? I'm tryna learn all the words."

"Hannah, you're so cool," Lindsay said with a grin. Hannah nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Alright squirt, come get in your seat."

Hannah scrambled from the front seat into the back and buckled herself in. Her Converse clad feet swung back and forth as the music started.

"I'm waitin' on the sun to set cuz yesterday ain't over yet," she sang, her voice slipping into a twang that Lindsay suspected she had picked up from watching too much CMT. "I started smokin' cigarettes, ain't nothing else to do I guess. Dusty roads ain't made for walking, spinnin' tires ain't made for stoppin'. I'm givin' up on love, cuz love's given up on me."

"She wants to be a cowgirl," Adam explained. "She watched some movie about a dude ranch when she was two and became obsessed with horses and country music and learning how to line dance. I'm pretty sure it was a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie."

"How the West Was Fun," Lindsay said with a nod. "My niece loves that movie."

"Girls are so weird."

She smiled and rolled the window down a little as Hannah continued to sing from the back seat. It wasn't long until all three of them were singing along, Lindsay and Adam exchanging amused looks when Hannah mumbled in places where she didn't know the words.

"Brudder, can we go to the park? Mommy said New York has lots of parks. So we can go to one, right?"

"Yeah, we can go."

"Okay, right now?"

"Right this very second?"

"No," she answered, rolling her eyes. "After we go to your house and put away my junk. Then we can go to the park. And have pizza for dinner."

"Oh really?"

"I've been planning it for forever!"

"Forever, huh?"

"Yeah! Since practically yesterday morning."

Lindsay snickered and covered her mouth, not wanting Hannah to think she was laughing at her.

"Also, can we ride the Busway?"

"You mean the Subway?"

"I thought Subway was a sandwich. I am so confused."

"Subway is both."

"But daddy said it's like a bus except underground. And it's fast. So that's why I thought it was Busway."

"It's more like a train."

"Why are there so many things?" she asked, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Because New York is a world all its own," Adam explained. "Us outsiders don't understand it."

"Amen," Lindsay agreed, shaking her head. She loved New York dearly, but felt that life became way more complicated than it had to be in the city.

"Is that why mommy says you're nutso for living here?"

"That and she didn't want me to leave Arizona."

"Well, I didn't either but I don't think you're nutso."

"Thanks, squirt."

"And you know what else? Me and daddy painted my room purple! It looks so cool!" Hannah exclaimed, skipping down the path in the park. "I really wanted it to be bright purple but mommy said no, so I had to pick light purple, but I think it's better. And Daddy said that I am too big for my bed and I am gonna get a big girl bed soon. He said I could have bunk beds! And you know what? That means that when you come and visit, you could sleep in my room instead of the guest room! What do you think about that plan, Brudder?"

"I think we'll have to wait and see if your chatter is going to keep me up at night."

"You always say I talk too much," she muttered, shaking her head. "Do you think I talk too much, Lindsay?"

"Nope," she answered, shooting a grin at Adam.

"See? I don't talk too much. Hey, can we go swimming or something? It's hot here."

"It's hot in Arizona too."

"I didn't say it wasn't. Hey look, a squirrel!"

She scampered off to chase the squirrel, coming nowhere near it before it darted up a tree. She made a face and put her hands on her hips, shaking her head.

"Scaredy cat squirrel. Can we go get pizza now?"

"You're already hungry?" Lindsay asked, raising an eyebrow. "We just ate two hours ago."

"I'm not hungry really. You don't have to be hungry to eat pizza."

"She makes a good point," Adam said. Hannah giggled and tugged on his free hand.

"Carry me please?"

He lifted her up easily and she rested her head on his shoulder, letting out a short yawn.

"I think someone is tired."

"Who?"

"You, silly."

"I'm not tired. Just a little sleepy."

"Should we go home and let you take a nap?"

"Maybe just a little one."

By the time they made it back to Adam's apartment Hannah was in a deep sleep, snoring softly and showing no signs of waking anytime soon. Adam settled her in the bed and Lindsay slid her shoes off, both of them moving slowly and quietly so they wouldn't disturb her. They closed the door behind them and moved into the other room where Adam turned the air conditioner up and joined Lindsay on the couch. She was smiling up at him, a look in her eyes that he hadn't seen before.

"What?"

"Nothin'."

"No really. What?"

She shrugged and played with the clasp of his watch.

"I just like you, that's all."

"You flirting with me?"

"There's no one else here."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her, still in almost disbelief that he was even allowed to. He'd admired her from afar for months, growing in the contentment of just being her good friend, her buddy. He'd wanted to be more, but never thought she would ever pick him. Not in a million years. Then one night she's smiled at him in a new way, and he knew. Sure, there had been thoughts of "what if this doesn't work" and every once in a while he worried that she would come to her senses and break it off. But they had decided to take it slow, test the waters and be cautious. Every day his security in the relationship grew and he came closer to accepting the fact that he was deliriously in love with her.

She broke the kiss after a while, her eyes shining.

"I think Tommy Boy is on," he commented. She burst into giggles and hugged him, shaking her head.

"Oh man Adam. I love you."

"I love you too."

She smiled and they stretched out on the couch, her head resting just below his chin. She grabbed the remote off the table and handed it to him, content to watch whatever he picked, simply because he'd picked it. He flipped through the channels for a while, forgoing Tommy Boy for some re-runs of Animaniacs.

"We're children," she said with a giggle.

"Magellan said "what" and got hit by a spear."

"This show was so underappreciated in its time."

He nodded in agreement as their brains simultaneously shut off. His right hand tangled in her hair while his left hand rested against the small of her back. She sighed softly, feeling the busyness and heat of the day start to take her to a state of sleep.

"Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't let me stay too long okay? I have to work early."

"Is that a line?"

"No, I really have to work early. I wish I didn't. What I wouldn't give for another day off."

"You've got another coming up, right?"

"Not for a while. I have a bunch of early shifts for the next week."

"Unlucky skunk."

"Pretty much. Make sure I leave here by eight, okay?"

"What if I want you to just stay all night?"

"Then I am gonna be very grumpy in the morning."

"Alright, alright. I'll make you leave after dinner."

"Deal."

She smiled as his hand ran up and down her back, and her eyes began to close. Her last thought was that she had never felt quite so safe before.