Page 87 of Rebel Heart
Unable to speak, I bowed my head in thanks.
My sister-in-law urged her husband to move past us, leaving Beau and me standing there.
That’s when I realized what I’d done. I tipped my chin up to find him staring at me with such concern. “Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry. I… I panicked and promised to go to the family’s Fourth of July celebration. But I know it’s not your thing, so I can just go by myself and do this?—”
“Jules, angel, breathe,” he urged gently.
I took a few settling breaths.
He cupped the side of my face and brushed away mytears with his thumb. “I’ll go with you. You’re my wife. This is our baby. I’m not sending you there to do this alone.”
I bit my lip, recalling how awful the scene with Tate was. “He’s so angry with me, and he’s not the one I’m most worried about.”
Beau offered a sympathetic look before he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me toward his chest. As I sobbed there, feeling such immense worry over what was to come, Beau stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head while he murmured soothing words.
It didn’t help me to feel reassured about facing my family’s reaction to the news I had to share, but it did ease some of the fear I had about how I’d get through this no matter how they responded.
Because my husband was going to be by my side through it all.
“I feellike the roles have been reversed.”
Beau’s voice, holding a hint of amusement, floated through the cabin of his car. I glanced at him and saw that, despite the lightness in his tone, he wasn’t trying to make light of anything. He merely wanted to ease the heaviness in my heart he’d seen for the last two days.
“What do you mean?”
He reached across the center console and took myhand in his. “I understand why you’re feeling so many nerves about this, but shouldn’t I be the one who’s more concerned? I mean, I’m meeting your entire family for the first time. Not just your parents.”
He had a point. If anyone should have felt discomfort about this, it should have been him. Beau probably did. But because he knew how much I was battling with everything ever since the encounter we’d had with Tate and Ava, I suspected he was doing his best to put on a brave face.
“Honestly, you shouldn’t be concerned. In any other scenario, if we were simply dating, and I brought you to something like this, there wouldn’t be a thing for you to be worried about. My family has done this five times already, and they’ve never been anything less than welcoming. I know because I was on that side of it before.”
Beau squeezed my hand. “Alright. So, let’s go in with a positive mindset. I’m not saying everything we have to share won’t come as a shock, but maybe it won’t be as bad as you think.”
I wanted to believe that.
Truly, I did.
And if it had been Wyatt or Cooper that had been there outside the doctor’s office two days ago having that reaction, I might not have been as concerned as I was now. Tate wasn’t generally a guy who got riled up like that, so it was anyone’s guess how the rest of the family would take the news. Even my sister was a wild card inthis situation, because she was fiercely protective of me. Of everyone she loved, really.
Wanting to offer him reassurance, I said, “Maybe you’re right.”
“Alright. So, are you ready to do this?”
I wasn’t. Not at all. I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment I suspected I’d see on their faces. But I answered, “Yeah. Let’s do it.”
Beau came around to open my door, and he linked his fingers with mine. If nothing else, we’d present a united front to my family, and hopefully, they’d be able to see that I was being cared for and happy.
We made our approach, the cars in the driveway indicating everyone else was already here. With Beau still holding my hand, we rounded the side of the house and followed the path that led to the backyard, where I knew we’d find my family waiting.
His fingers tightened around mine, and I wondered if that was an attempt to reassure me that everything was okay, or if the reality of this situation was setting in for him. For a guy who’d never really been interested in meeting anyone’s family, this was a huge step for him, too.
So, I came to a stop just before my family came into view and looked up at him.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I just want you to know that it means the world to me to have you here with me. Thank you for not making me do this alone.”
