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“I don’t want you to get hurt, Ella.”
“I don’t want that either, but I refuse to spend the rest of my life wondering what could’ve been because I was so afraid to get hurt that I didn’t even try.” She swiped at her face, angered by the tears that wet her cheeks. Why was she crying?
Molly drew her into a hug. “Sweetheart, listen to me. No one wants you to be happy more than I do. I know how much you care for him. Anyone can see that. It’s just that he . . . Well, you may not be able to fix what’s broken inside him, sweet girl.”
“I can at least try, can’t I?”
“Of course you can. I just want you to be careful to protect yourself, and I don’t want you going to biker bars alone. You got me?”
“I’m thirty-one years old, Mom. If I want to go to a biker bar, alone or otherwise, I will.”
“I don’t care if you’re thirty-one or a hundred and one, you’re still my baby.”
“You’re pla
“You bet I am. This family would go to hell in a handbasket without me.”
“That’s the truth.” Eager to change the subject, Ella said, “What’s for di
“Roasted chicken and all the fixings.”
“Sounds good. What can I do to help?”
* * *
With the dogs ru
“Couldn’t help but notice you happened to be holding my little girl’s hand when you came into the house.”
Whoa, Gavin thought, we’re going to dive right into it, are we? “Yes, I was. She’s got very nice hands.”
“Everything about her is nice.”
“Yes, it is.”
“She’s far too good for you.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Heard you got arrested a couple of months ago. Any truth to that?”
“Yes, sir. I got into a fight with a guy in a bar who said we’d wasted our time in Iraq.”
“Huh. Well, I hope you punched his lights out.”
“I did. Mr. Abbott—”
“Since when am I Mr. Abbott?”
“Since I started dating your daughter. Sir.” Gavin stopped walking and turned to face Lincoln. “I want you to know that I care about her. I have for a long time, but it was never the right time.”
“And now is the right time?”
“I don’t know. What I do know is I can’t fight what I feel for her anymore. I’m tired of fighting, in more ways than one. I can’t go on the way I’ve been.”
“So you’re looking to my daughter to fix what’s wrong in your life?”
“No. I’d never do that to her. What you said about her being too good for me. You’re absolutely right. She’s too good for most guys. But she makes me want to be good for her. She makes me want to be a better man so I’ll deserve her.”
“Not much I can say to that except ask you to take care of her.”
“I will.” Gavin was determined not to screw this up, which was actually a huge improvement over the months he’d spent not giving a shit about much of anything. He’d been going along, doing his thing, ru
“Let me show you the trees I want to get rid of,” Lincoln said. “I’d like to turn them into firewood. I could use some of it here and send the rest up the mountain to Colton.”
“We can do that for you.”
They trudged deeper into the dense vegetation, where the height of the trees blocked the sunlight.
“I’m going to be keeping an eye on this situation with you and Ella. Just thought I should let you know that. You’re a good man, Gavin, and I think you might even be worthy of my little girl. But you’re going to have to prove that to me—and to others who’ll be watching, too.”
“I understand.” If Ella had been his daughter, and she was getting involved with the likes of him, he’d be concerned, too. But now Gavin had one more reason to make sure he did right by her. He liked and respected Lincoln Abbott. Letting him down was the last thing he wanted to do.
* * *
Ella helped her mother finish the di
Nolan was perfect for her in every way and was obviously crazy in love with Ha
“How’s it going?” Ha
“I’m good. How’re you feeling?”
“Much better now that I’m not puking all day. Once in the morning, and that’s that.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“Me, too. Now I can really enjoy being pregnant.”
Ella was struck by a pang of envy that made her feel ridiculous, especially in light of her conversation with Gavin about kids. It had taken a lot for her to admit to him that she’d once hoped to have a big family. That didn’t seem to be in the cards for her anymore, but that didn’t give her the right to be envious of her sister.
“I happened to notice Gavin’s truck in the yard.”
“He’s outside with Dad.”
“I didn’t see your car, and yet here you are. Which leads me to wonder if you came with Gavin.”
“Maybe I did.”
“Something you want to tell me?”
“Not if you’re going to tell me all the reasons it’s a bad idea.”
“I won’t do that.”
“Promise?”
“Yes, Ella,” Ha
“We’re . . . giving it a try, I guess you might say.”
“I’m happy for you. I know that’s what you’ve wanted for a long time.”
“Yes, it is.”
“The only thing I’ll say . . .”
“Ugh, I knew you’d have something to say.”
“Just be careful, El. That’s all. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“Does anyone think I want that? Honestly?”
“No, but . . . Sometimes love is blind. This is no time to put blinders on.”
“I know that. My eyes are wide open where he’s concerned. I’ve seen him at his best—and his worst.”
“I’m not sure that you have seen his worst.”
Ella wanted to ask her sister what she meant by that, but more than anything she wanted out of this conversation before Gavin returned. “You’ve done your job as the big sister. You’ve warned me.”
“Ella—”
“How’s the new house? All moved in and settled?”
Ha
“Did you decide on your colors?”
“Since we’re not finding out what we’re having, we’re going with yellow and beige.”
“That’ll be nice. Did you fill out the registry yet?”
“Last night. It’s so hard to decide on everything.”
“Make sure you send me the link so we have it when we throw your surprise baby shower.”
Ha
“Yeah?”
“I only said what I did because I love you so much. I love him, too. I’ll be pulling for you guys to make it work, and you know where to find me if I can help at all.”
“Thank you,” she said, genuinely touched by Ha
The rest of the family began arriving a short time later, filling the house with noise and chaos that was reminiscent of when they’d all lived at home. Noise was the one thing Ella remembered most vividly from those days. It was happy chaos, but chaotic nonetheless.
She looked forward to seeing everyone at their weekly Sunday di