Elizabeth walked up and kissed Greg so sweetly on the lips that it caused me to look away. She pulled away and smiled at Josh. “Oh, it’s nothing really. We just signed on the house we bought.” She turned, reached into a cabinet, and pulled out four wine glasses as Greg grabbed a bottle of wine.
Josh looked at both of them and then at me. The expression on his face was priceless. He was confused as hell.
“Wait. What house? Where?” he asked.
Elizabeth turned around and leaned against the counter. “Oh, the darling little cottage house we bought here in town. It’s about fifteen minutes from here.”
I watched as the smile spread across Josh’s face. I knew how close he was to his parents and how much he missed them. He hated living over an hour away from them.
“Y’all bought a house here?”
At the same time, Greg and Elizabeth both said, “Yep!”
“Holy hell! Mom, Dad…this is wonderful! Oh my god, I’m so damn happy. Wait…Mom, what about the law firm?”
“Well, since I now have two beautiful grandchildren, I’m going to need more time to be the best Grammy ever, so I decided to somewhat retire. I’m going to work from home, but I’m mostly just going to do consulting for the firm. I still own half of it, but I’m just becoming more of a silent partner in it.”
If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn I just heard my husband let out an eeeppp. He walked up and hugged both of them and then turned to me.
“Surprise number one?” he asked.
I nodded and smiled. “I wanted to tell you so bad.”
He walked up to me, leaned down, and kissed Libby on the forehead. Then, he kissed me and gave me that crooked smile of his.
I wanted him again, and he knew it.
“Oh, princess, I’ve got a few surprises up my own sleeve.”
I smiled and whispered, “Bring it on.”
Ells, Ari, Amanda, and I all sat on Ellie’s back porch as we listened to the music the DJ, Jack, was playing. I felt guilty that we were all drinking, and Ellie was sipping on lemon water.
I looked out and saw the guys, including Smitty and a few other friends of ours, playing tag football. I watched as Scott ran up and jumped on Jeff before he brought him down to the ground.
“Jesus H. Christ, if one of them gets hurt and ruins my twenty-first birthday party, I’m cracking heads,” Ari said.
“Hey, y’all,” Jessie said as she walked up. She started giving everyone a kiss on the cheek.
“Jess! Holy shit, girl. Long time, no see,” Ari said with a laugh.
Jessie sat down and let out a sigh. “Shit. I’m so damn tired that I can’t even think straight. Between still taking classes and working at the vet clinic, I hardly have any downtime. Shit. They have me working so much. I’m pretty much on call twenty-four/seven. Do you know how many damn times people call for me to come watch their dogs give birth? We live in the damn country. They are supposed to be country folk. What the hell?”
Ellie, Amanda, and Ari let out a laugh.
“How about Scott? How are things going there?” I asked.
Jessie’s smile faded for a quick second before she looked out at him while he was running around with the guys.
“I’ve never felt this way before. It’s…It’s…”
“Magical?” all of us said at the same time.
As we all let out a loud laugh, Gunner and Josh stopped and looked at us.
“What’s so damn funny?” Gunner called out.
Ellie smiled. “Just girl talk, babe, but you’re about to be—”
That was when Brad tackled the hell out of Gunner. Josh looked at me and smiled before he jumped on top of Brad.
Jessie let out a breath. “Yes. Magical. But I’ve seen so little of him lately. He’s been busy himself. Jeff and Scott decided to go in on a horse together…a racing horse of all horses.”
Jessie looked at Ari as she rolled her eyes.
“Scott had to leave for Kentucky twice this last month. I hate that we’re just starting off our relationship, and we barely see each other.”
Amanda smiled. “Well, when y’all do see each other, make it count, girl. Get your dirty on…like Heather here.”
I snapped my head over to Amanda. “Amanda! Oh my god!” I felt my face turning hot as I looked at Ells and Ari, who were just smiling. I glanced back at Jessie, who was also smiling. “Do y’all know?” I asked as I glanced back at Ari.
She shrugged her shoulders. “What? You’re like the most innocent one of the group. When you go all Fifty Shades on us…we have to talk about it.”
My jaw dropped, and I just shook my head. “I’m never telling your ass anything ever again, Arianna Johnson. Ever!”
After they all laughed for a good two minutes, Ellie turned to Jessie. “Just make sure y’all find time for each other, Jess. I know how much Scott loves spending time with you.”
Ari sat up and looked at Jessie. “Speaking of loves…has he yet?”
It was Jessie’s turn to turn red. When she nodded, we all let out a squeal.
“How?” I asked before I took a drink of beer.
“Well…he was nervous as all get out. We were just getting back from a picnic that he’d planned. Oh, it was so romantic.” She let out a sigh. “We were walking the horses and just talking, catching up on what was going on in our worlds, and Scott turned and asked me if I wanted to move in.”
Everyone let out a gasp.
“Oh my god! Oh my god!” Ari said as she sat up straighter.
“What did you say?” Ellie asked.
“Well, at first, I was shocked. I mean, that’s a huge step. I asked him if he was sure we were ready for that, and he just busted out and said, ‘Jessica, I love you. All I want to do is spend every waking moment with you.’ And I started crying. I told him…yes!”
“Did you tell him you loved him back?” Amanda asked.
“Yes! I told him I loved him, too, and that I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it.”
Ari and Ellie got up and started jumping up and down, which caused Jeff and Josh to do the same thing. Scott turned, looked straight at Jessie, and smiled. I could see the love in his eyes when he looked at her.
“Y’all don’t think it’s too soon? My father does. He wants me to get my own place.”
“No! It’s not too soon at all. You both love each other, and this way, you will get to see each other more often. Plus, that damn house needs a woman’s touch for Christ’s sake,” Ari said before she downed another beer.
Ellie laughed. “Ari, you’re on your way to getting drunk.”
“Fuck yeah, I am!”
After another hour passed, I watched as Gunner, Jeff, Josh, and Scott all got plastered. Brad was the only one who wasn’t drinking. The plan was for all of us to just crash at Ellie and Gunner’s place, but Brad had told Amanda he felt like one of them should stay in control.
Gunner and Josh had made a dance floor, and Ari and Jeff were cutting up to Shania Twain’s “If You Wanna Touch Her, Ask.”
Then, “Buttons” by The Pussycat Dolls started playing. I grabbed my drunk husband and led him out to the dance floor. When we started moving together, I felt when his dick instantly got hard. As he moved his hands up and down my body, I ached to feel him inside me.
He leaned down and moved his lips up against ear. “I want you so f**king bad. Let’s sneak away, baby.”
I smiled at him as I took his hand. I started to lead him away, but then I saw Sharon and Grace walking up to Ellie. The expressions on their faces gave me chills.
Something’s wrong.
I turned and smiled at Josh. “Baby, hold on to that thought for just one second. I think something’s wrong.”
I glanced back up to Ellie and Jessie. As I headed over to the back porch, Josh followed me. I got to Ellie right when Sharon put her hand on Ellie’s shoulder.
Ellie turned to them. “Oh my god. Alex.”
Grace shook her head. “No, sweetheart, Alex is fine. Jenny is playing with her in the house right now.”
Confused, Ellie glanced between the two of them. “What’s wrong? The look on your faces is scaring me.”
Grace looked out at Gunner. “Ellie, how much has Gunner had to drink?”
Ellie snapped her head over to Gunner as tears began building in her eyes. She looked back to Grace. “A lot.”
Grace was trying so hard not to cry.
Sharon grabbed Ellie’s hands. “Baby girl, listen to me, okay? Something has happened.”
Ellie started to cry as she looked up at Grace. “Jack?”
“Jack is fine, sweetheart. It’s…it’s…” Grace couldn’t finish her sentence.
Sharon took a deep breath as I put my arm around Ellie. My heart was beating so fast that I could hear it.
“Ellie, Gramps had a heart attack. Jack is with him now, and they’re in an ambulance on their way to Fredericksburg as we speak.”
Ellie’s whole body went limp, but Josh was standing there, and he grabbed her before she could fall.
Josh looked at Jessie and me. “Girls, I need you to take Ellie inside.”
Ellie was crying hysterically now. Jessie, Sharon, and I all wrapped our arms around Ellie, and we led her into the house.
When I turned, I saw Josh talking to Grace. He started to walk toward Gunner with Grace following behind him.
After we got Ellie into the house, we sat her down on the sofa. When I looked out the window, Josh was talking to Gunner while Grace was standing next to him. Jeff put his hand on Gunner’s shoulder right before Gunner fell to the ground.
He buried his head in his hands as he started crying out, “No,” over and over again.
I put my hand up to my mouth and shook my head.
Oh, God, please no. Don’t take Garrett away from us. Please.
Epilogue
Fours Hours Later…
I’d been trying to call Scott for three hours. I still wasn’t sure if he knew about Gramps. When I finally got a text from him I let a sigh of relief.
Scott: I’m home. Just meet me at the house.
I was surprised that his text actually seemed coherent.
When I’d told him I was going to the hospital, he was so drunk that he could hardly talk. Scott’s brother, Bryce, had been standing there with the girl he’d been hanging on all afternoon. Bryce had assured me he would get Scott home, so I’d decided to head out with Heather and Ari.
When I pulled up to Scott’s house, my heart started pounding in my chest. There was a BMW in the driveway.
Is that Chelsea’s car? Oh god, please be Bryce’s car. Please.
As I glanced over toward the garage, I saw Scott’s truck.
Fuck. I hope he didn’t drive home when he was drunk.
I walked up the steps and put my hand on the doorknob. Why do I have the sickest feeling in my stomach? I turned the knob and stepped inside. I started to make my way upstairs. I could just barely overhear someone talking. The voice was coming from Scott’s bedroom.
No. Please don’t do this to me.
As I walked down the hallway, I heard a girl moaning out in pleasure. Reaching for the bedroom doorknob, I slowly turned it as I pushed it open. I took one look inside, and I saw a girl riding someone fast and hard.