Page 170 of Forever To Me

Eli sighs, finally stepping forward and shaking my hand. “Welcome to the family, son. Hope you like unsolicited song requests at Thanksgiving.”

Violet glances at me. “Still time to run?”

I grin at her. “Not a chance, Red."

Violet throws her hands up. “Can we please talk about us now? Maybe about how Walker and I are happy and just want to live a normal life?”

Silence.

Her mom tilts her head. “Right. Yes. That’s why we’re here.”

But Eli is still staring at me, arms crossed, stillprocessing all of this.

I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. “Would you like a drink, sir?”

He lets out a long, heavy sigh. “Yeah. But only if you sing me a song first.”

Violet lets out a horrified groan. “DAD.”

But the man just grins at me. “Worth a shot. Come on, kid."

The grill sizzles as I flip the steaks, the smell of charred seasoning and firewood filling the air. Eli stands next to me, beer in hand, looking out over my backyard like he’s been here a hundred times before.

“This is a hell of a setup,” he says, nodding in approval. “Big yard, a nice grill, a fire pit. You ever think about getting some chickens?”

I glance at him. “Chickens?”

Eli shrugs. “You got the space.”

“I run a bar and raise a teenager. You really think I need chickens on top of that?”

He takes a sip of his beer. “Could be fun. I mean, you already have like a million goats.”

I shake my head. “You and Mack would get along with your love of farm animals.”

Eli smirks. “Oh, I know we will.”

Maggie’s laughter rings out from the porch, where she and Caroline are parked in their chairs, drinking iced tea and swapping old stories.

“Walker, you should’ve seen her back in the day,” Maggiecalls out, jerking a thumb toward her sister. “Caroline was the golden child, always had her life together, always followed the rules.”

Caroline scoffs, crossing her arms. “That’s not true.”

Eli smirks. “Caroline, honey, you packed emergency snacks for our wedding day.”

Caroline waves a hand. “And were you hungry that day? No. You’re welcome.”

Maggie sips her tea, eyes twinkling as she gazes at me. “Underneath all that brooding and guitar playing, you’ve always been a family man.”

Caroline hums in agreement. “She’s right, you know.”

I shake my head, but there’s warmth in my chest because, damn it, they’re not wrong.

A while later I look around for Mack and finally find her. Inside the house, she and Caroline stand around, laughing in the kitchen, their voices getting louder.

“What the hell are they up to?” Eli mutters, craning his neck.

I poke my head inside just in time to see Mack holding up a wooden spoon like it’s a microphone, grinning wildly at Caroline.

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