Page 124 of Beating Heart
He’d texted me yesterday, and my phone had been dead, and I saw it late last night.
“I texted him back and said I was just giving him some time to figure it out, and I would be there if and when he needed me. I haven’t heard back, and that’s okay. I know he loves me, and that’s all that matters.”
“That’s the most important thing in life, honey. Surrounding yourself with good people. People you love and who love you back. It’s all about family.”
“Oh, boy,” Bridger groaned as he stepped into the kitchen and kissed my mom and me on the cheek. “Is this the family is everything talk?”
My mom swatted him with the dish towel as my father came around the corner and pulled Bridger into a hug. “We’ve got two of them here, Ellie. It’s a start.”
“Since when did you get so sappy, old man?” Bridger asked my father, and he rolled his eyes.
“Hey, I’m a man who’s crazy about his wife and kids. I have no shame in my game,” my father said, twirling my mom around in the kitchen. He hugged her from behind, and her head fell back in laughter.
“Can you two please keep it PG while your children are here?” Bridger grumped.
“Hey, hey, hey… I’m not the last one here,” Clark said, as he pulled me into a hug, even though I’d seen him last night. He was in the middle of hockey season, but he had a few days off this week, so he’d come home. Clark played for a professional hockey team in LA, but he was in talks to get traded to the local team in San Francisco. He’d always wanted to play for the Lions.
“Is that why you literally slammed the door in our faces? Because you wanted to make sure you weren’t last?” my brother, Rafe, grumped as he walked in with my cousin, Axel, who was still laughing as he paused and kissed me on top of the head before wrapping me in a hug.
Aunt Isabelle and Uncle Carlisle came strolling through the door, carrying little Melody in their arms. She was the cutest toddler I’d ever seen, and I scooped her right up, just as her father came in behind them. My cousin Archer was a big guy, all gruff and serious, but he was raising his little girl all on his own and doing a great job. I couldn’t wait for him and Nash to meet and bond with him over the single-parent thing. Although, Archer’s story with the mother of his child was a different one and was part of the reason he’d become so closed off.
“Everyone’s actually here on time?” my mother said, as she poured a glass of wine for me and my aunt. The guys made their way to the bar to get their drink of choice.
My parents’ house was a huge old ranch house that they’d completely renovated. I’d grown up here, and the memories inside these walls were endless. We had a stable with a couple of horses and land for days. I loved it here, but it no longer felt like home.
I couldn’t wait to get back to Magnolia Falls, and I was flying out tonight after dinner, because I was going to bring Cutler those unicorn Krispies for his Star Student Day tomorrow if it was the last thing I did.
It didn’t matter if Tara was there.
Hell, if it made Cutler happy, then I hoped we could all be there.
But her being there didn’t mean that I couldn’t be there, too. I’d formed my own relationship with that little boy, and he’d wanted those treats, and I wasn’t going to disappoint him.
“We’re still missing Easton,” I said, picking up my phone and seeing the text from him. “Oh, he said he’s running late, so we should start eating without him, and he’ll get here when he can.”
My mother shook her head and chuckled. “Someone is always late. It’s just usually Bridger.”
“Hey, I heard that. I was the first one here.” He came walking into the kitchen with a glass of whiskey in his hand. “But I’m starving, so he better hope we save him some food.”
“Please. Mom makes enough to feed a small country,” Rafe said, as my mother handed him the platter of grilled chicken breasts and steaks that my father had brought in from the grill. Everyone grabbed a plate of something, from salad to mashed potatoes to rolls, and carried it out to the table.
We always ate family-style at the big farmhouse table in the dining room. Melody wanted to sit between me and her father, and I started cutting up tiny pieces of chicken for her.
“Guess who I saw this morning,” Rafe said, as platters were being passed around the table.
“Who?” my father asked.
“Colon Waterstone.” The table erupted in laughter, because they loved to pronounce his name the wrong way. Collin never found it humorous, but that never stopped the boys from torturing him. “He was walking through town like he had a stick up his ass.”
“I thought I asked you to ease up on him. I don’t want to talk about him anymore. We’ve all moved on.” I shrugged. “So let him come home and see his family. You guys terrify him.”
“He still has two legs, so that’s me easing up on him.”
“Well, I never liked him. I didn’t want to say it to you, because you were marrying the dude. But let’s face it, he was a pretentious ass—” Bridger paused and glanced at our niece. “A pretentious assumption.”
More laughter bellowed around the table.
“I agree. You need a man who lights you up, Emmy. That dude was so boring and soft.” Archer rolled his eyes.
