His lips brush mine again. “I’m on board with that plan.”
We get in the truck, windows down, his streaming service playing Brendan Blake’s newest hit. Willow Creek is in its early-summer rhythm. Main Street has flowers everywhere. Kids are cluttering the sidewalk outside of The Honeyed Hearth.
I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
At the beginning of the year, I was surviving. Brennan takes my hand and places it on his leg. I squeeze it knowing I’m right where I’m supposed to be. With the man I’m supposed to be with.
My phone buzzes repeatedly in my bag. Without looking, I tell Brennan, "Guaranteed, it’s the girls.”
“What do my favorite feral women have to say?”
I pull out my phone and open our text chat only to burst into laughter.
Emery:
SCHOOL. IS. OUT.
Christin:
Congrats, Amy!
Maya:
What are your plans for the summer with our favorite hockey menace?
I smile wider.
Over the last several months, the girls have accepted Brennan. This might have to do with them coming for spring break to surprise me. I didn’t know they were in town until they knocked repeatedly on my door, determined to ensure the man I fell in love with all over again wasn’t the same Brennan McCallister who broke my heart.
I was so busy bubbling over with happiness, I barely had time to warn him.
Brennan showed up to dinner with wine, chocolate, and an invisible shield for the barbs flung at him. Emery flat out asked him his intentions like she was inquiring about the weather. Maya smiled sweetly and said, “We just want to be clear on expectations.”
Christin was quieter. Watching. Measuring. I’m not certain what creative hell she transmitted with her eyes, but I still can’t say her name without him shuddering.
I wasn’t surprised, as they threatened his manhood should he hurt me again. I giggle every time I recall Brennan’s mixture of awe and terror.
Maya spoke first once dinner was finished. “So, I think we’re good now. Mostly. So long as you don’t screw up.”
Brennan nods, “I’d sooner take another blow to the head again.”
Emery leaned back in her chair. “But just in case your understanding is fuzzy.”
Christin met his eyes then. Calm. Deadly. “We don’t make threats. We plan contingencies.”
He blinked. “Okay.”
Maya’s smile looks more like a lion salivating over its kill. “I’ve got friends in multiple countries who owe me favors. Let’s not forget my home base is Italy.”
Christin adds, “I know people who can hack every bit of your life. You’d be amazed what they can find.”
Brennan didn’t back down. “I’m glad she has that.” His eyes meet each of theirs. “From all of you.”
“Though,” Emery chirps, “Amy doesn’t need us to protect her.”
Maya raises her glass. “But it’s nice to have options.”
We all toasted, including Brennan. He announced, “If I hurt her again—and no I don’t mean by forgetting to vacuum the carpet—you all have my permission to come after me.”
