They all got into the camper. After such terror, Annabelle was surprised to hear both herself and Cooper laughing at the banter between Jake, Newman, Buster and Ethan on the way in to Howling.
“You’ve always wanted to say, ‘nice shooting, Tex,’ McBride, and you finally got your chance.”
“Yeah, and it sounded real smooth, don’t you think?”
It was almost unreal. Not long ago she’d wondered if she’d ever see these people again, and now she was laughing with them.
“You doing all right, sweetheart?”
She was on Ethan’s lap, his arms holding her steady, her cheek resting on his chest.
“I am now.”
“Me too,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head.
They all met at The Hoot. Soon word of what had happened had spread around town, and the café began to fill up with concerned people. Jake’s parents, Macy and Billy, Cubby’s mother and Declan O’Donnell, they just kept coming. Macy handed Billy to Cooper upon her arrival so she could slip into the kitchen and help Buster, and there he had stayed. Annabelle watched as her brother began to relax in the company of his friends. No one was judging him for what he had become, and for that, she was grateful.
Soon delicious smells were coming from the kitchen and plates of food started to appear, carried out by Macy. Annabelle still hadn’t left Ethan’s side, even though she was continually hugged and kissed. She was once again sitting on his lap and just didn’t seem to have the strength to move, which was crazy, because before she’d become involved him, she hadn’t relied on anyone and had always been strong.
“Why can’t I walk away from you?” she said, looking up into the blue eyes of the man she loved.
“You want to walk away from me?” He ran a finger down her cheek.
“Not like that,” she said. “I mean now. I can’t seem to leave your side, even for a few minutes. It’s weird. I just need to be here, close to you.”
His smile was soft and only for her.
“It’s called love, baby, and we’ve got it.” He kissed her softly while around them their friends talked and laughed and comforted her brother.
“Yes,” she said, touching his lips as he lifted his head. “It is.” Then she took one more look around at her friends before she let him kiss her again.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Why am I nervous?”
Today was Branna and Jake’s wedding, and Ethan was standing beside his nervous friend. Dressed in a deep gray suit with a white shirt and steel blue silk tie, he looked handsome if a little pale.
“Because you know Branna is way too good for you and you’re scared she’ll realize that before she says ‘I do’.”
Jake snorted at Ethan’s words. They were facing the rows of white chairs that were filing with guests, and the long red carpet that soon Branna, Annabelle and Macy would walk down. The day was clear and blue and the sun sat high in the sky, with a slight breeze coming off the lake at their backs. It was an idyllic setting for a wedding.
“Where’s Buster?” Jake asked, looking around him for his other best man.
“There.” Jake pointed to a rapidly approaching Buster Griffin. Dressed like Ethan and Jake, Buster was running.
“Where the hell have you been?” Jake demanded when he arrived.
“Forgot the ring,” Buster wheezed, holding the golden band out before him.
“Well, fuck,” was all Jake said as he looked to the end of the red carpet again.
Ethan listened as Buster explained how he’d forgotten and that it was actually Jake’s fault as he’d been icing their wedding cake and had forgotten to put the ring in with his clothes when he came to Jake’s last night.
Lifting a hand as Newman took his seat, Ethan waved to his friend. This was his place now, here with his girl and these people. He and Annabelle were getting a handle on this relationship stuff, and the battle of wills was evening out slowly as Ethan wrestled her for the right to have her own way in everything. She was spirited, determined, and had the most beautiful soul of anyone he knew. Annabelle had fought to be independent, and fought to raise her brothers, and slowly she was realizing that she could relinquish some of that control to him.
They were healing each other. They talked for hours about everything and anything, and Ethan could feel himself changing as he opened up about his family and the feelings he’d kept locked away inside him.
He didn’t need to be the eternal nice guy anymore, not with Annabelle. She’d told him that if he wanted to yell a time or two then she was happy, as she liked to yell a time or two herself. She loved him no matter what he did or said, and the power of that love awed him. Since she’d told him the way she felt, she’d never stopped, and hearing the words still made him warm all over. To have another person love you, body and soul, was an amazing thing, and something he’d never experienced before she came into his life.
