I nod once. Then I hold out my fist, offering it without bravado. “I would never expect you to. But I promise I won’t hurt her.”
He stares at my hand, noticing the ring on my finger, then closes his eyes and shakes his head, but knocks his knuckles to mine.
Ryan watches us and sighs long and hard, in a typical parental way.
“Brooke, you’ve never made a spontaneous decision in your life. I think that’s almost more surprising than you getting married.” He stares at her, with a mix between the reality that she isn’t a little girl anymore, maybe, and a little pride that she made a big leap.
“I’ll piggyback on what my son said. You hurt her, I won’t call first. You understand?”
“I understand.”
“He’s serious, Arbuckle. And I’ll be with him,” Beck says.
“I know, but I am too.” I look at Beck, then at Ryan.
“So, what’s going to happen next? Is she gonna move in with us?” Charlie asks.
Brooke’s head snaps toward me, her eyes widening just a fraction. “I—” She laughs softly, but it doesn’t quite land. “I haven’t even thought of that.”
Her fingers twist together, knuckles whitening before she seems to notice and forces them to relax. This was supposed to be a whim. A story. Something unreal enough to laugh about later. And now it’s turning into logistics. Rooms. Houses. Alife.
“We haven’t talked about it yet,” I say carefully. “But I want her in the house with me, if that’s what she wants.” I look at Brooke as I say it, giving her space, giving her the out I promised.
Her throat bobs when she swallows. For a beat, I can see it all cross her face—the weight of it, the speed, the fact that a single night of fun has led to questions that sound permanent.
Then she exhales.
Her shoulders drop just a little, and she gives me a small, steady smile. Not carefree. Not reckless.
But real.
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Would be kind of hard for you to move into the dorm,” she says to me.
“I mean, you could not move in together and maybe do the whole dating thing. Just a thought,” Beck mumbles.
Brooke shakes her head. “No, I think moving into the house feels right. And don’t worry, Beck; I’m sure Charlie will keep you informed on how things are going.”
Charlie nods. “Pretty much, yep.”
The girls look at each other and smile.
“What about the combine next month? I know you’ll get invited,” Beck asks.
I nod. “I’ll be training, just like I would if we hadn’t gotten married.”
“That’s not what I mean. Or, well, I guess, part of it. You’ll be gone a lot for training, then a week for the combine. It was hard on me and Charlie, and we’d had years of being together.”
“Yeah, but it was hard on you guys because you didn’t like being apart.” Brooke points her finger and waves it between Beck and Charlie. “Silas and I will find what works for us, but it’ll be a lot easier if y’all can letusdo it together.”
“Okay, so then you’ll move in with us when we get home and work through things as they come. But if I can say something?” Charlie stands now. “As hard as it is for Beck and me to be apart, I can’t imagine starting a relationship when he was going through the draft process. So, I’m not saying this to scare you, but you need to be honest with each other about how you’ll deal with it.” She wraps Brooke in a hug.
“We will.” Brooke looks at me, eyes a little watery.
Ryan clears his throat and looks at his watch. “We need to start packing up, kids. We’ll all miss our flights if we don’t get moving. Brooke, I’ll meet you back in our room.”
“Okay, Dad. I’ll be there in a bit.”
He taps his watch with his finger. “Not too long.” Then he walks out the door.
