Page 62 of Montana Silence

“Liam,” Noah called. “Let me go grab the ice, man.”

“You sure?”

He held up his keys. “Yeah, I got it. We need you to make sure everything else is ready. It smells amazing.”

“Thanks.”

No one even blinked at the sight of Liam and me together. I hadn’t thought they would, but it was nice to have the confirmation. Knowing something and feeling it were two completely different things.

Avery fussed again, and Evie sighed with a smile. “Let me take her. She’s probably getting hungry. I’ll feed her real quick before we sit down.”

I transferred Avery gently back into her mother’s arms and sighed. Having kids around brought back how much I missed that aspect of The Family’s compound.

Liam tucked his arms around me and pressed a kiss right above my ear. “Ready for dinner?”

I placed my hand over his and tapped twice.

In the dining room, Daniel helped Emma into a seat. “We’ll probably have to go to Seattle,” he said. “I know the FBI wanted the trial on the East Coast, but jurisdictionally, it’s a nightmare.”

Emma made a face. “I wish it would go faster. Now I’m not supposed to fly.”

Daniel grinned and kissed his fiancée. “It won’t take long.”

She glared back. “I still don’t like it.”

For the first time, I truly understood her. After what she’d gone through, she didn’t want to be apart from Daniel any more than I wanted to be apart from Liam. There was safety and comfort in knowing that whatever happened, we would go through it together.

The pile of desserts and side dishes was overwhelming. We had almost as much food as we did at Thanksgiving. Liam’s dining room table barely had room to fit everyone around it. A tight squeeze, but no one minded.

“This was a great idea, Liam,” Grant said. “Cori and I want to host as well.”

Grace raised her hand. “Yes! Rotating family dinner sounds amazing. And we can always go back to the lodge if we need to.”

“Well, thank you for coming,” Liam said. He took my hand under the table. “And I hope I didn’t screw up the lasagna too badly.”

Everyone laughed.

“I’m sure it’s going to be great,” Kate said. Noah returned with the ice, and we began to serve.

“I’m sure it will be too,” Lena called. “But if it’s not, you still won’t beat last Thanksgiving.”

A combination of laughs and groans answered her. I got the basket of garlic bread and the side of vegetables someone had brought. Liam had the lasagna, and when we walked in, it felt like one of those holiday movies where everyone was happy and smiling.

There were no problems like cults and trials and boyfriends getting attacked and trying to find a voice that liked to disappear.

“This smells amazing, Liam,” Grace said.

“Mara helped. I didn’t do it alone.”

I shook my head quickly. “Barely.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “I don’t buy that. You frosted so many cookies the other day I got ahead of schedule.”

That was fun. Lena was an easy person to be around, and if what I experienced was how she treated her employees, it would be a lovely place to work.

“Did Brynn come by for an interview?”

“She did.” Lena grabbed a piece of garlic bread. “She’s a bit green, but very sweet. I think I’ll give her a chance.”

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