“Not just yet,” Beau said softly. “I’ve got to meet Zane. And I want you to come with me. It’s just to Moonshiners.” Before Ethan could argue, Beau put his hand up to silence him. “We don’t have to be obvious, but I’m not going to let you hide from everyone. One beer, that’s all I ask.”
Beau thought for sure Ethan was going to say no. In fact, the silence that lingered between them for long, agonizing seconds had sparked the disappointment in his gut. And then, before he could say anything more, Ethan nodded his head.
“One beer. I’ve got to go home and shower first. I’ll meet you there.”
Beau studied Ethan for a moment, wondering if he was just agreeing in order to placate him. Even if he was, Beau had to trust him this go round. If he didn’t show up, Beau would be at his doorstep, and they’d hash it out then.
Beau nodded his head in agreement, placing another gentle kiss on Ethan’s lips.
“I’m gonna head home and shower too. I’ll see you there.” Without waiting for Ethan to respond, Beau turned away. He only stopped when Ethan’s strong hand circled his bicep.
“Pack a bag,” Ethan said with a wicked grin. “I expect you to stay at my house tonight. And this time you won’t have the option of walking away.”
Beau smiled back, realizing exactly what Ethan was saying. If he didn’t intend to show up, he wouldn’t have made plans for after.
For now, he was going to celebrate this very small victory.
Chapter Twenty
When Ethan stepped into Moonshiners a solid hour later, he was wondering what the hell he’d been thinking when he agreed to this. The only positive was that it appeared it was a Walker reunion. Despite his opposition to calling negative attention to his family, Ethan still felt more comfortable when they were around. They were his family, and family was like a security blanket of sorts.
All of his brothers and their significant others were there. Even his cousin Jared had graced them with his presence. Had Beau known they’d be there? Was that why he suggested they come?
“Hey, Mack,” he greeted the bartender as he approached the bar. “Can I get a Heineken?”
“Coming up, E.”
While he waited for Mack to pass along his beer, he took inventory of those who were in the small bar, other than his brothers. Luckily, aside from his family members taking up half the available space, the place was relatively empty for a Tuesday. And it didn’t slip past him that Beau wasn’t there yet.
“Here you go,” Mack said as he passed the beer over.
“Thanks, add it to my tab?”
“Already done.”
With a simple nod, Ethan headed toward the back where the pool tables took up most of the space. And where the two felt-covered tables weren’t sitting, his brothers were.
There was a round of greetings from his brothers and Jared, a couple of hugs from their wives. When everyone went back to what they were doing, Ethan joined Kaleb and Zoey sitting at one of the tables beside the pool table that Travis and Gage were at.
“Hey,” Zoey greeted with a giant grin.
“Hey, back. Where’s Mason?” he asked, referring to his nephew.
If it were possible, Zoey’s face lit up even more. “He’s with Lorrie and Curtis. They wanted some alone time with him tonight.”
Ethan couldn’t say he blamed them. He had been meaning to stop by to see the little guy. For the first month after Mason came home from the hospital, Ethan had made a point to go by at least once a week. When he finally felt as though he’d worn out his welcome, he had cut his visits back. Now he was going through withdrawals.
“When are you gonna stop by and see him?” Kaleb asked, motioning toward the empty chair near the wall before tipping his beer bottle to his lips.
“Whenever I’m invited,” he said gruffly. He had made a point not to let on just how much he enjoyed spending time with the baby, but he had a feeling Kaleb and Zoey knew just how infatuated he actually was.
“Well…” Zoey said with a smile, glancing back and forth between Kaleb and him.
“Well, what?” Ethan asked as he turned the chair around and straddled it, resting his forearms on the back and letting his beer bottle dangle from his fingers.
Casual. That’s what he was going for. Never mind the fact that he found himself watching the door for Beau to arrive.
“We were wondering…”
Again, Zoey let the sentence hang, and Ethan wanted to pull the words out of her mouth, but he could tell she was hesitant.
“Spill it, woman,” Kaleb encouraged her, laughing before downing what was left in his beer bottle.