Page 14 of The Awakening
Dad swirled the ice in his glass. “Is there anything we need to know about this girl?” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the arm of the chair. His top priority had always been our family’s reputation, and he preferred to stay ahead of any issues that could arise.
Oh, you mean, like the identity of her crazy father?
Or his equally insane community of followers?
If not them, maybe her rifle toting pack of brothers…
Then again, there was her ex-fiancé. I hadn’t met him, but I was pretty sure he was a huge piece of shit.
And then there was the pregnancy. She was carrying a baby that wasn’t mine.
I shook my head. “No. Yes, she’s young, and yes, she’s pretty. But Ellie is my wife, and she will be treated as such.” Standing, I looked pointedly at each of my parents and my brothers, waiting for their smart comments.
My father motioned to the chair. “Gavin, sit down. We’re not trying to give you a hard time. We’re just happy to have you home. It’s been a long time since all you boys were here together.”
My brothers nodded in agreement. I wasn’t trying to make things difficult, but I wouldn’t put up with any backhanded comments from my father. He had a knack for almost destroying lives. He did it to Tyler after he met Kate, and he had made Rob’s life pretty miserable when he chased Jessica away all those years ago—although if that hadn’t happened, Rob wouldn’t have Addie.
My father leaned back in his chair, his eyebrows raised like he was waiting for me to explain. When it was clear, I wasn’t going to he continued. “What possessed you to marry this woman without so much as a phone call to your mother and me?”
“She’s pregnant.”
“Is it yours?” My father’s voice dripped with disdain and while I’d like to have smacked the smug look off his face, that wasn’t the kind of progress I hoped to make with him on this visit home.
“Yes.” I couldn’t tell them the truth. They wouldn’t understand. Based on the long list of questions and the skeptical looks, they were already worried about how my marriage was going to affect their reputations. “Don’t worry, Dad, Ellie’s harmless. Our marriage won’t do anything that might hurt your precious ranch.” I’d had just about enough of the line of questioning for one day, so I stood, excusing myself for my mother’s benefit, and left the room.
I hauled our bags in from the truck, placing them in the room that I’d share with Ellie, the one that had always been mine. While I was sure she would have appreciated a room of her own, that would have raised too many eyebrows. I stopped to stare out the window, which overlooked the backyard, feeling like a teen again. I studied the vast space, imagining all the buildings I could fill it with. It was that open space that had made me want to be an architect in the first place. I could still picture what the neighborhood of my design would look like from this vantage point.
The massive window had always been my own makeshift design board. I’d spent many days and nights seated by it sketching out ideas in my various notebooks.
There was a knock on the open door, and I turned just as Rob greeted me with Tyler hot on his heels.
“Might as well come in.” As if I had a choice, they’d already welcomed themselves into my space. I turned back, looking at the expanse of the yard. What a waste those years had been. I’d lost my company and the life I’d built for myself. And I was a fool for not predicting it.
I sat on the corner of the king-sized bed. The size could have been considered excessive for a teenage boy, but once the three of us were over six feet, we each got an upgrade.
I didn’t really want to hear them out. But I’d already made that clear with my exit, and that hadn’t done the trick, so there was no point in trying to get rid of them again. Ever since the gala when my business had tanked, they’d been more like helicopter parents than brothers. Hence the reason I lived in Montana. To get some distance from them, from everything that had happened. That hadn’t worked out too well. All I’d managed to do was come home a month early with a wife who was nearly half my age.
Tyler crossed the room and sat down in the chair beside my window. “So, things got a little interesting in Montana.”
I rested my elbows on my knees and looked up at him. “You could say that.” If I kept my answers short, maybe they’d get bored with this conversation.
Rob joined me on the edge of the bed. “Mom said you introduced Ellie to her as ‘Ellie Bowers’. Is Hank Bowers’s daughter?”
Nodding, I kept my mouth shut.
“Was this a rescue, Gavin? I know all about Hank Bowers and the ‘community’ he operates out there. Ellie’s what? In her early twenties? That’s prime marriage age for that lot.” Rob folded his arms across his chest and studied me. He was too perceptive. I wouldn’t get away with lying about this.
“Yes, it was.” I rubbed a hand over my face. “Look, I don’t want mom and dad to know, Ellie has been through enough embarrassment over the entire thing, so please don’t say anything. Dad would have a field day with it if he found out.”
Tyler leaned forward. “What’s the plan, then? How long will this go on for?” He was the practical one of the three of us. If I gave him the chance, he’d think through this situation and figureout all the pitfalls and roadblocks we’d encounter along the way. But I wasn’t in the mood to even consider all of that. Ellie and I had done what we’d done, and I had zero regrets, even if I hated all the questions.
“I don’t know, until she’s safe, I guess.”
“Could you make it work? When Kate and I met, we—”
I cut him off. I knew his story. Had seen it play out firsthand, but he was getting way ahead of the situation. “Tyler, I hardly know her. She showed up in my cabin a couple of days ago. I can’t imagine we’ll live a long and happy life together.” Or, at least, I couldn’t let myself imagine it. She’d made her intentions clear. This marriage was nothing more than a stepping stone for her.
I flopped back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Counting the logs used to build the room was something I had done in my youth when I was frustrated, and there I was doing it again. The question was, were my brothers frustrating me or was it the situation with Ellie that had me all twisted?
