“I think you’ve trained Brad well enough to finally take over from you, Father, when and if he can ever rip the reins from your hands.” Ethan’s words were delivered in the same tone his father’s had been. To anyone listening, it sounded as if they were just teasing each other, but he and his father knew differently, as did the rest of their family.
Ethan had only challenged E.G. twice in his life. The first time he’d been ten and the second had been the day he walked out of this house to join the Army, but never had he done so in public.
Don’t let him do this to you, Ethan. You’re a better man than he is.Annabelle’s words came back to him, and she was right, he was a better man.
He looked across the table and met her gaze. Her eyes told him she was right there, at his side. All he had to do was reach across the table and her hand would be in his if he chose to. It was enough—he didn’t need the physical touch, he felt her presence and that made him strong.
“Yes, Brad is not my eldest son, but he understands what’s required from him, and I have great hopes that he will follow admirably in my footsteps,” E.G. said, still smiling, although this one didn’t show his teeth. “We have a name and responsibilities to uphold, Ethan, and I know you like to play with your helicopters, but it’s still my hope that one day you’ll come home and work alongside your brother to continue my legacy.”
“Your son is a decoratedveteranof the Iraq war, Mr. Gelderman. I hardly think that’s ‘playing with helicopters’.”
“Annabelle,” Ethan said quietly after she had finished. “It’s okay.” He loathed anyone talking about what he’d done in Iraq, because he had been no different from any other soldier, no matter their rank or duty. They were all there doing what they had been trained to do.
She flashed him a brilliant smile, then continued talking. “He flew into places you could only ever have nightmares about, Mr. Gelderman, places he could have been killed in.”
“Annabelle, enough now.” Ethan tried again, thought he knew there was little hope of success. Her eyes were flashing and she was primed and ready to take on his father.
“He saved one of our friends, a doctor, and if it wasn’t for him I doubt Jake would still be with us. So if that, in your opinion, Mr. Gelderman, is playing with helicopters, then I say thank God he did.”
It was a strange feeling having someone go to bat for him in front of his family. Hope and Taylor had learned early on not to, simply because their father wasn’t interested in anything they had to say, because in this house his word was law and not to be disputed.
“Annabelle, leave it now,” he said, trying to draw her eyes back to him, but she didn’t budge. Her gaze remained focused on his father. He shouldn’t feel warm all over, shouldn’t have to fight the smile that kept wanting to appear, because she was defending him in front of his family.
“I thought you said Ethan was off tripping around the world, E.G? Don’t believe you ever mentioned he was serving his country.”
Bob Hancock, an oilman like Ethan’s father, was addressing him. He and E.G. had been friends for many years. The man was seated three down from Annabelle, but he’d heard the conversation.
“Well, now, I’m sure I did, Bob.”
His father wasn’t looking quite so happy now. His smile had slipped, and his eyes were narrowed.
“No.” That was from another of his father’s friends. “Don’t believe you did, E.G.”
Ethan could no longer be hurt by his father, and it shouldn’t annoy the hell out of him that he hadn’t mentioned that Ethan was serving his country, but it did. Most parents would be proud, but not E.G.
“Ah, well, let’s see now, I’m sure I remember mentioning it when he first enlisted.”
Ethan had never seen his father look uncomfortable, but he was definitely that right now, especially when all the conversations around the table had stopped and all eyes were focused on him.
“This man, like many others, is a goddamn hero,” Annabelle said, her voice rising with each word. “I would think, as a parent, that you would be proud of that. If he was my son, I know I would be.”
Silence fell after she finished speaking. Annabelle was furious, her eyes narrowed and glaring at his father, breath rapid, and Ethan wanted to lift her across the silverware and kiss her senseless and then shake her hard to shut her up. He didn’t like being the center of attention, especially not here in his father’s domain.
“Well, damn me, boy, let me be the first shake your hand. Anyone who serves this country deserves that and more.” Bob Hancock rose from his seat and reached across the table, and Ethan could do nothing but stand and accept the hand he offered.
“I’m proud of you, nephew, and I hope you’ve always known that.”
“Thanks, Uncle Mitch.” Ethan took his uncle’s hand next.
“Me too, Ethan.” Taylor was next.
“Ethan.” The next hand belonged to his future brother-in-law.
They kept coming. Some got out of their seats to come to his side, women kissed his cheek, and by the end he was seriously uncomfortable with all the acknowledgments. His father had remained silent, his expression outwardly calm, as had his mother and Brad, and he’d expected nothing more from them, but Ethan had a feeling his father would have something to say about this, something loud and long, because no one embarrassed E.G., and especially not in front of the people he’d worked so hard to impress.
Annabelle was sipping her wine, and when he looked at her, she raised her glass and then turned to talk once more to Uncle Mitch, leaving Ethan to work through what the hell had just happened.
The rest of the meal passed without any further outpourings of emotion, Ethan was pleased to say. He watched Annabelle lift another mouthful of her chocolate and cream mousse to her lips, and lick it off the spoon while she talked to Uncle Mitch. Totally unaware of what she was doing, she placed her lips over the tip of the spoon and he nearly groaned as desire shot to his groin. He had to look away, because he’d never be able to leave the table without embarrassing himself otherwise.
