Chapter Six
“I asked Ethan out.”
I heard myself confess to Ladd as I handed him the family ring I had just finished for Connor. Ladd looked up from the ring and gave me the biggest smile I’d seen on him that wasn’t for his boyfriend. Then he launched himself at me and hugged me tightly.
“It’s about fucking time, Uncle James. You’ve been talking to him for months now. I’m surprised you haven’t made the trip over there and seen him way before this.”
Then he let me go and pulled out his phone. In about five seconds he had the phone on speaker and Remy was on the line.
“Remy, you win the pool. You picked two and a half months, and you’re the closest by a longshot.”’
All I heard on the other end was a huff and Remy’s rough voice.
“Which pool is it? You know we have three going right now.”
Ladd nodded his head like he knew what Remy was saying.
“Yeah, Uncle James just asked Ethan out. It’s that one, not the other ones. They’re coming along though I imagine. We’ll talk about it after Christmas.”
“Yeah, but if he—”
“Remy, Uncle James is right here listening, we’ll talk about the rest later, okay?” Ladd threw me an awkward side smile and one finger to tell me just a minute, then quickly turned off the speaker and walked out the door whispering to Remy quickly.
Whatever the hell that was, I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know. I thought back to the topic of conversation and smiled a secret smile I got whenever I thought about him. I had asked Ethan out. Beautiful, sweet, smart Ethan was going out with me. He was too good for me, too young and too pretty, but I could only take so much, and that skirt with the fishnets had been my end. I needed to let my mind take a break and listen to my heart for once. My heart told me Ethan could be special. Special to me. I was beginning to believe what Patrick had said. I needed a life of my own. Ethan might not want an older man like me forever, but maybe he would let me bask in his bright light and see what it felt like to have beautiful be mine for just a little while.
Ladd walked back in and gave me another quick hug.
“Uncle James, I’m so happy for you. This is going to be so good for you.”
He looked back down at the ring box in his hand, opened it up, and ran one finger gently over the ring that looked just like all of our family rings.
“I hope he knows what I mean when I give this to him.”
He shot his eyes up to mine, and there was a little panic behind the blue.
“Oh, God, is it too soon? Am I making a mistake? I’m not asking him to marry me because I’m not brave enough for that yet, but, do you think he’ll get nervous and disappear when I give this to him? Oh, God! I didn’t think about that until right now.”
He snapped the lid in the ring box and collapsed onto my stool at the workbench.
I smiled and stood behind him, wrapping my arms around him from behind and resting my head on his slim shoulder. My arms completely surrounded him, and he let out a heavy breath as he eventually calmed down. I had done this for him since he had first come to the family. He would work himself up into panic attacks over the smallest things in those early days and weeks. Sweet Ladd had thought that if he or the boys made a mess or caused a problem, we would kick them out and they would be on their own again. He had driven himself to exhaustion in the first month trying to make everything perfect. I had finally called our family friend Bridget Dawes in to help the boys and us with the transition. Bridie was a Godsend with Ladd and Rhett. She was eventually able to help Remy, too. I lifted my arms from around Ladd on that thought and unconsciously ran my hand down my side to smooth my shirt down, making sure everything was covered.
Ladd didn’t notice, or if he did, he didn’t bother to comment about it anymore. He took a calming breath. “Thank you, Uncle James. You always know what to do to make me feel better.” He got up while tightly clutching his ring box. “I’ll see you later this afternoon at the party, okay?” I nodded, and he gave me another quick hug. “I’m so happy about Ethan. He’s perfect for you from what little you’ve told us.”
I raised one brow and asked, “How do you know he’s perfect for me, Ladd? I haven’t said practically anything about him to anyone.” One more hug and then he was heading to the door.
I thought he was going without answering when he turned at the last minute and threw over his shoulder. “He’s perfect for you because you’ve smiled more in the last two months than you have in the last five years combined. Uncle James, I don’t care what he looks like, what he does for a living or anything else about him. If he makes you smile like that and makes you that happy, he’s perfect, and I’ll love him, just for that alone.” Then he was gone.
Shaking my head, I checked my phone to see if the man in question had texted me today. I hadn’t heard from him since the other night. He hadn’t texted me from work Friday night, but he had sent me a few quick ones yesterday. They felt off, though I couldn’t put my finger on why. I hadn’t heard anything today at all. He had said he would be with friends today for Christmas Eve, so I decided to let it go for now. Looking down at my work uniform of jeans, threadbare tee, and boots, I decided I need to get ready. I had the party at Connor’s new pub tonight with all of the families. I needed to look nice for the company. Closing up the shop and walking across the yard to the house, I wondered if Ethan was having a good day with his friends. It was so hard, but I wouldn’t bother him now. I smiled and shook my head at myself. Who was I kidding? I’d break down eventually. I was addicted.
* * *
This afternoon,and now evening, had been so emotional. Both Ladd and Connor had given each other rings tonight. Rings I had made for them. Ladd had wanted to give Connor something to signify his commitment and wanting him to be a part of our family. That was a huge step for him, and I was more than happy to embrace Connor into the fold. As for Connor, he wanted Ladd for his own, and when he had come to me to ask my permission to ask Ladd to marry him, I nearly cried. John wasn’t here anymore, so I was Ladd’s de facto dad. The emotions that brought up in me were raw and new, especially since I had been thinking more and more about what I wanted out of my own life now. As I thought about all of these things, and looking at all of my family, both old and new, one image kept coming to the forefront. Ethan.
Finally, I couldn’t wait any longer. It was five in the evening on Christmas Eve, and I hadn’t heard from Ethan since he’d texted yesterday. Even if he was with his friends, I was feeling so sentimental and emotional today that I needed to message him. Pulling my phone out, I shot off a quick message.
James:Hey, gorgeous! How’s your day going so far?
The response came almost immediately. Much faster than normal. I had a quick thought that he must be sitting on top of his phone and smiled when I looked down at the screen. What I saw made the smile disappear, and frown lines appear.
