Page 78 of All Roads Lead to You

“Amen,” Levi muttered fervently. “A—the hell—men.”

Izzy fluttered her hands. “Oh yes, let’s do that. But I want to organize it.”

“Sweetheart,” Chase said patiently, “it’s not an event, there’s nothing to organize.”

“And I just told Bill,” Finn added. “Drop a word to him and the whole town will be there.”

He wanted the town to be there, he realized. He wanted his brother and Levi there. He wanted Izzy and Indigo and Gus and all the people who were important to him to be there.

He wanted everyone to be there. Because this was a goddamn celebration and it had been too long since he’d had anything to celebrate. He had a baby coming, and soon they’d be a family together, and the thought made him…

Yeah, okay. It made him happy. And he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been simply…happy. Without any complications or expectations. There had been moments out in the bush or with the horses when he’d been content. Peaceful. But he hadn’t felt like this, where thinking about the future made him feel hopeful instead of…well, nothing.

Beth laughed, warm and free, and he thought if sunshine could be turned into a sound, it would be the sound of Beth’s laugh. It lit up those dark places in his soul.

He looked at her, unable to drag his gaze away. She was glowing, her hair in that messy bun he found so sexy and the green of her eyes enhanced by her dress. Her lush mouth had curved into the most gorgeous smile as Izzy excitedly gave her yet another hug, and there was nothing fake about this smile, nothing forced. As if she was as genuinely happy about the future as he was, and that made him happy too—that being with him was something that pleased her.

It’s her. She makes you happy. Go on, admit it.

Well, and what if she did? He could allow that, couldn’t he? It wasn’t love and it never would be, because he’d given his heart to one woman already and she’d taken it with her when she’d died. He couldn’t give away what he didn’t have.

So yeah, Beth did make him happy.

And he was fine with it. Absolutely fine.

“She said yes, I take it?” Chase asked from beside him.

“What do you think?” Finn watched his lovely fiancée, unable to look away as she stood there glowing while the other two women asked her excited questions.

“And you’re okay with it?”

Finn knew what his brother was really asking him.Are you okay with getting married again? After Sheri?

“Obviously I’m okay with it.” He kept his voice very neutral. “I wouldn’t have asked her if I wasn’t.”

“But you thought it all through, right?”

Yeah, they were not going to have that conversation here. They were not going to have that conversation at all.

Finn turned and looked at his brother. “It’s okay, Chase. I’m fine.”

But Chase’s gray gaze was far too perceptive, far too knowing. “Are you though? Have you talked about it with her?”

“No,” Finn said far more sharply than he’d meant to, his patience thinning.

Chase opened his mouth, obviously wanting to say more, hesitating then shutting it again.

Good choice.

Finn took a breath. “Let me have this moment, Chase, okay? I just…want to be happy without all that other shit getting in the way.”

His brother nodded slowly, then glanced over to where Beth stood. “Sure. But make sure she knows where you stand.” He looked back at Finn again and he was not smiling this time. “Because she looks really happy, and I’d hate to see her get hurt.”

“She knows,” he said flatly. “Don’t worry, I told her.”

Yet this didn’t seem to make Chase any happier. He only gave Finn an oddly assessing glance before nodding and moving over to give his congrats to Beth.

She reached up to give his brother a hug, then glanced over at him and smiled, green eyes dancing, and Finn felt an echo of that strong, powerful emotion he’d experienced the night before twist hard in his chest.

---