Page 40 of Ever After All

A moment later, he had his coffee, and my mother was seated again. “So how much longer do I get your sweet face in town?”

“If you’re gonna call me ‘sweet,’ I may have to leave sooner,” Griffin quipped.

I grinned over at him. “She just called me a good boy. You can handle being called sweet.”

Griffin kicked my calf and took a swallow of coffee. “I’m leaving in the fall.”

My mother nodded. “Good.”

“Good?” I prompted.

She smiled at us. “I knew he wasn’t going to stay. He’s not done firefighting. And it fits for him to go to Willow Brook. We need someone there. He can do the firefighting, and when he’s ready, he can help with the brewery there.”

“I can?” Griffin prompted

My mother laughed softly. “Well, yes. A lot is going on with the expansion, the restaurant, and eventually the brewery location that will be there. You can’t fight fires forever, but you can do that for a couple of years, and then when you get over your death wish, you can be in charge of the brewery there. I know my boys, and you all have different personalities, but you are the most like Wyatt.” She cast me a quick smile.

Griffin nodded thoughtfully, tracing his fingertip around his mug on the counter. “Maybe. For now, I like fighting fires.”

“And you’ll get to run a whole crew there. That’s a good deal,” I pointed out.

“So what’s up?” Griffin asked next.

My mother looked between us. “I’m sure you already know the whole story.”

Griffin quickly read the look on my face. “Well, good. It’s always nice to have the whole truth out there.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Wyatt

A week later, I was reminded of Griffin’s observation. Rosie’s brother still hadn’t told her. I fucking hated that I was waiting.

It wasn’t my secret to tell, but I also didn’t want to keep anything from her. Things with us were good. Really good. We’d spent every night together since we decided to stop sneaking around even though she was still wearing her wedding ring tucked under her shirt.

One night, I let my fingertips trail down the soft skin of her neck and along the slender chain of her necklace. I caught the ring in my fingers. It was cheap and thin. I wished I could remember actually picking it out. All I had were little snapshots of that night. I recalled her holding her hand up as we laughed together.

“Everyone knows we’re married now,” I pointed out.

She rolled her head to the side, smiling at me. “I know. I thought maybe we’d wait until we were sure.”

“When will we know that? Because I know. I’m sure.”

I literally felt the vulnerability that flickered in her eyes in my own heart. She took a quick breath. I rolled over to face her more fully, smoothing a loose lock of hair off her cheek to tuck behind her ear. “Tell me what you’re worried about.”

She let out a disbelieving laugh. “Um, I mean, everything?”

“Sweetheart, I don’t think you worry about everything. I’ve seen you at the hospital. You are super-efficient, unruffled, and totally in control of one crisis after another.”

Her lips curled in a soft smile. She lifted her hand to trace over the fairly fresh scar from the fish hook in my shoulder.

“You’ve seen me at the hospital once.”

“I’ve seen you more than that,” I pointed out. “I haven’t personally been injured that often, but I’ve stopped by here and there. You know what I mean.” My voice was low.

Her chest rose and fell with the slow breath she took. “My dad was devastated when my mom died. And honestly, that’s something I worry about. What if the same thing happens to me? Or just anything? Lots of things can go wrong in life. I don’t understand how it’s so easy for you.”

“What’s so easy for me?”

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