Page 25 of The Awakening
“Listen, you may be newlyweds, but you will not ruin my Christmas supper. March.” She pointed to the stairs. “If the two of you think you’re going to be disappearing during the New Year’s Eve gala like you did tonight, think again. I will be watching you like a hawk.” She pointed at Gavin and then pointed to her eyes. Her frown turned into a smile as she turned to walk down the hallway.
“Boundaries aren’t big in your family, are they?” Ellie asked as she walked ahead of me out the door.
“Well. No.” I shrugged as I followed her.
“Maybe you should change the lock on the door because it seems to me there are keys floating around.” Ellie looked over her shoulder and sashayed down the hallway.
“You telling me there will be more reasons to lock the door?”
She turned and reached for my hand. “You can count on it.”
Chapter Sixteen
Gavin
New Year’s Eve had become a special night for my family over the last few years. Mom had taken to hosting a gala to raise money for different projects in the community. My usually levelheaded mother buzzed around the house like a queen bee raking her hive.
Tonight was the big event, and everyone had their instructions, but the ball didn’t start for a few more hours.
There was a knock on the door, and Tyler ran to get it. When he came back into the room, his face was ashen. Our uncle stepped through the door just behind him, wearing a scowl.
My father stood from his armchair. “Adam, what brings you here? Surely this is classified as slumming it for you.” He walked over to Uncle Adam with his hand extended. Adam brushed past him linking his thumbs in his belt loops.
My mother’s brother hadn’t darkened the door of this ranch in at least a decade. A sinking feeling in my stomach told me I was probably the cause of his visit.
“Good to see you, Brian.” He turned to my brothers and me and nodded. “And you too, boys. Color me impressed that you’ve all managed to marry off on the brink of forty. That’s why I’m here. To see Gavin’s marriage certificate. Tyler’s marriage was odd, Rob never could stay away from Jessica. But you, Gavin, you’re the wild card. You always have been.”
The sinking feeling turned into a thud, but I wouldn’t let him ruin the night for us. “Adam, I’m sorry, but we won’t be entertaining this today. It’s New Year’s Eve, so whatever business you think you have here will have to wait.” I walked up to the man, never breaking eye contact, and waited for his response.
“Gavin, are you telling me you’re refusing to produce a marriage license so I can see the legitimacy of your nuptials?”
I cringed internally at the use of that word. Maybe it wasn’t so much the word but the way it dripped like venom off his tongue.
My father stepped between us. “Adam, come say hello to Sandra. I’m sure she’d love to see you.” He led Adam to the house but looked over his shoulder and gave the three of us a look that screamed fix this or else.
“What are you going to do?” Tyler asked when my father had gone inside.
“I don’t know,” I replied, rubbing my palm against the scruff on my face.
“Go get the marriage license. Simple as that.” Rob looked between Tyler and me. “Guys, it doesn’t matter how Gavin got to the altar, just that he did. Adam doesn’t need to know that you only got married to keep Ellie safe.”
My father appeared seemingly out of nowhere. His eyes were dark, and I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. “Your mother is making Adam feel welcome. Why? I’ll never understand.” He turned and headed out of the room again.When he got to the doorway, he turned and waved for us to follow, then continued without waiting for us to comply.
The second he was out of earshot, I turned to my brothers. “Look, no matter what happens, he doesn’t find out about why I got married. Deal?”
They both nodded, and we followed Dad out of the main house and over to Rob’s.
“Close the door, Gavin.” Dad’s words were short. It was winter. Did he really think I would just leave it hanging open?
“Gavin, I need to know. Is this marriage on the up and up?”
“Absolutely, Dad.” Lying through my teeth didn’t usually work out well for me. But it hadn’t been going too badly over the past month. Ellie and I were getting closer. What had started out as a lie was feeling more like the truest connection I'd ever had with a woman. That had to hold some promise, didn’t it?
“I’ve made a few calls. Why is it that nobody ever saw you and Ellie together? Not even late-night meetups at the cabin. If she’s due in May or June, you would have had to be together in September.” He walked over to the couch, sat, and waited for a reply, never taking his focus off me.
“You had someone watching the cabin? The entire time? You never trusted me, did you?” Walking over to him, I crossed my arms and waited. The deflection was a Hail Mary, but I had to try something to get the focus off my relationship.
“Of course I trusted you, but as much as I hate to admit it Adam’s right about you being a wild card. You weren’t completely reliable after you lost your business. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to impact my business.”
