Page 104 of Returning to Everton

“I’ll call and make a reservation,” Kayden offers. “Think noon will give us enough time to get out of here and get ready? I don’t know how long it’ll take to get Rowen to agree let alone get dolled up.”

“Yeah, that should be perfect,” I agree.

Once Kayden gets off the phone with the restaurant, we head inside to wait. We’ve got time still before Rowe gets done, but we want to be sure we’re there when she walks out. We’ve only been sitting there for fifteen minutes before we hear the door open and all of our heads snap over to see if it’s Rowe. Nate is the first to see her, because he got the best seat, and stands as soon as she walks in.

She sees us all here waiting for her and she gives us a watery smile before Nate walks over and wraps her in his arms. She clings to him as the twins and I make our way over to them. When I get close enough, I can hear her gentle sobs and Nate trying to console her.

“It’s okay Kitten. We’re here now. Let’s go home and we can talk about it okay?” he soothes her. She nods her head into his chest and we all file out of the office.

No one wants to leave Rowe, so we all pile in my SUV. Nate and Ayden sit in the back with Rowe between them, and Kayden sits up front with me while I drive us all to Rowen’s. It’s a quiet ride, with everyone lost in their thoughts. I pull into her driveway and we all just sit there for a minute before I finally open my door.

“Come on. Let's get inside,” I drag everyone out of their thoughts and we head inside.

“How are you feeling, Rowe?” Ayden asks her once we get inside and sit on the couches in the living room.

She looks up at him and everyone can see the fear in her eyes. “I don’t know Ayden. I’m scared,” she admits. “What if it’s something really bad? I mean it has to be right? Why else would he have me do a brain scan?” her voice gets higher pitch the more she talks. She’s about to start freaking out again.

“I know we keep saying this, but it’s going to be okay Rowen. We can figure anything out together. Do you want to talk about the possibilities now or do you want us to distract you until we hear from the doctor?” I ask her.

“Both?” she says like a prayer. “I don’t know how long I can hold up without a distraction, but I know we need to talk about the possibilities. I have a daughter to worry about. If whatever this is, is bad enough that it kills me, she’ll be all alone.”

“No, she won’t, Rowe. She’ll never be alone again. Just like you won’t. What did I tell you Monday night?” Nate demands. “That little girl may not have my blood or my last name, but she’smine,” he argues. “And I will be there for her forever, no matter what. If god forbid, you die, we will all take care of her,” he vows, the twins and I voicing our agreement.

She sniffs and wipes her eyes. “Thank you. All of you. It means a lot to me that y’all care about her so much and you only just met her. If we hear from the doctor that that’s a possibility, I’m gonna write a will giving custody of Violet to you guys. Is that okay?” she asks uncertainly.

“It’s more than okay, Sugar. We would be honored to raise your daughter for you. But it’s not going to come to that,” I insist.

“Damn fucking straight it’s not,” Nate growls.

“Alright, calm down. That was the important stuff you wanted to talk about, right Rowe?” I ask her. When she nods her head, I go on. “Good. Now Operation Distract Rowe is back on,” I declare and get a small chuckle out of her.

“How are you gonna manage that?” she asks me.

“Easy. We’re going to lunch. Go get all dolled up. It’s a fancy lunch,” I inform her.

She lights up a little at that. “Are we going to The Emerald Star?” she asks excitedly, or at least as excitedly as she can get considering the circumstances.

“That’s right! I made us reservations,” Ayden puffs his chest out, proud that it was his idea to take her there. “How do you know about that place? It’s new, only been open about a year,” he asks confused.

“Quinn told me about it. I’ve been wanting to try it. I’ve never been to a fondue restaurant before,” she admits. “How fancy is it? I hope I have something to wear,” she asks, worrying her bottom lip.

“I think you have something laying on your bed that would be perfect,” Nate assures her. Her eyes get a little brighter and she runs off to her room.

“Reservation is at noon! So, don’t take too long!” Ayden calls after her. We all chuckle as we watch her go, throwing a thumbs-up behind her.

Since none of us really have nice clothes and let’s be real, none of us want to leave Rowen’s side, we just conjure our clothes on and wait for Rowe to get dressed in the dress Nate made her and do whatever makeup she decides to do. When she comes back out, we all suck in a breath. She looks fucking amazing!

The dress is a navy floral lace with a plunging V-neck and spaghetti straps. The top clings to her body, while the bottom flows out from the waist, with the back being longer than the front. She has her short blond hair curled in loose ringlets. She’s absolutely breathtaking. We all stand there with our mouths hanging open like morons before Nate finally snaps out of it and walks up to Rowen.

“You look amazing, Kitten,” he tells her as he runs his fingers down her cheek.

“Thank you, Nate. The dress is beautiful,” she says then kisses him on the cheek.

“Any time, Kitten. You ready to go?” he asks.

She smiles and nods. “Yes. Y’all look so handsome all dressed up,” she kisses each of us then we all head back to the car.

I drive us to the restaurant while Ayden and Nate sit in the back with Rowe again. Nate won’t leave her side, and Ayden called Rowe, so Kayden got stuck up front with me again. When we get there, the guys good-naturedly fight over who gets to walk with Rowen. She laughs when they start a mini tug-a-war with her.

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