Page 150 of Nobody's Girl

Jess smiled at him as her cheeks went pink. “Oh, Griff.”

He kissed her cheek, drawing her mother’s attention. “So, this Montana Matrix, tell me what the company’s about, Griffin.”

“Well, it’s pretty exciting, cutting edge kind of stuff. We were a cattle company, you know, all about the meat and little else,” Griffin told her. “A few years ago, my father stumbled onto something even more profitable. It seemed we had some great bloodlines that other ranchers all over the world were willing to pay high dollar for. So we got into the breeding business and found that was a huge pain in the rump roast.”

“Ha, rump roast,” Ethan laughed. “You’re a funny fella, Griffin.” Mrs. Flannigan had to give Ethan a smile as he passed her a plate he’d already filled for her. “Here ya go, Mrs. Flannigan.”

“Thank you, Ethan. You have lovely manners,” she remarked as she picked up her fork. “So you went out of the breeding business then, Griffin?

“No, we went tech with it, extracting our prize-winning bulls’ sperm and shipping it wherever anyone wanted it. And it turned out that many want it. Jess can gain a wealth of education from working for our company,” Griffin said, then kissed Jess’ cheek again. “And I really love this girl, Mrs. Flannigan.”

“You both glow,” Mrs. Flannigan said, then looked around the table where only their son was absent as he had a baseball game he was attending that night. “You all are glowing. You men must be magical. All of my daughters look happier than I recall seeing them look before.”

Cait ran her hand across Phoenix’s cheek, the light reflected off her diamond wedding band. “I am happier than I’ve ever been.”

Phoenix left a little kiss on her lips. “Me too, Mrs. Nelson.”

Kel giggled as she watched her younger sister look at her husband. “I can’t believe you two did that without telling a soul,” Kel commented.

“They’re pretty sneaky,” Ethan said. “Not a peep out of either of them.”

Phoenix looked at Mr. Flannigan and said, “Sir, I’d have waited to ask for your permission, but I was champing at the bit to get a ring on Cait’s finger and make it all official. I’ve never known something was so right until I met your daughter.”

“Aww,” Jess said as she laid her head on Griff’s shoulder. “That’s so sweet.”

Cait smiled at Phoenix as she said, “It is, isn’t it?” Then she shook her head as if clearing it. “Oh, and he has a dog too! We’re going to get him from his neighbor’s whenever we find a house of our own. Isn’t that exciting?”

“A dog?” Mrs. Flannigan asked. “What in the world do you need with a dog?” She’d never allowed her children to have pets of any kind. She didn’t see the use in it.

“Oh, he’s the sweetest thing,” Cait said. “Mom, I dare you not to fall in love with him once we bring him to our home.” Giggles erupted out of her. “Our home! That sounds so weird!”

Phoenix just laughed and pulled her in for a hug, leaving a kiss on top of her head. “It doesn’t sound weird at all. It sounds right.”

Griffin and Ethan exchanged glances. Both of them felt a little cheated that Phoenix had made such a huge step, leaving them out of what he was doing. They both felt a bit badly about merely moving in with the women instead of making the grand commitment Phoenix had.

Griffin took Jess’s hand under the table and whispered, “You’re not upset that we’re not married, are you?”

“God, no!” Jess blurted out, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Care to elaborate, Jess?” Kel asked, then took a bite of the roast. “Mmm, great roast, Mom.”

“Thank you, dear,” Mrs. Flannigan said. “So, what was that about, Jess?”

“Um, uh,” her cheeks grew red as she mumbled.

Griffin saved her as he took the attention away from her. “I asked her if she was upset about us not getting married. Because we could.”

“Us too!” Ethan quickly added. “I’d marry Kel in a heartbeat. I would!”

Mrs. Flannigan put down her fork as Kel watched her mother with increasing worry. “Ethan, Griffin, I want you both to know that I am trusting you to make good decisions where my daughters are concerned. That said, I don’t think it’s wise to rush into something as important as a marriage just because someone else did it. I hope all goes well for Phoenix and Cait; I really and truly do. But I think each of you will know when the right time for you to make things permanent occurs. Don’t rush or hold back. That’s my advice.”

“And sage advice it is,” Ethan agreed, then took Kel’s face between his palms. “But I want everyone at this table to know that I love this woman with all my heart.”

Kel blushed and smiled. Shyly, she said, “Oh, Ethan, stop.”

“Never,” Ethen said with a laugh. “I’ll never stop proclaiming my love for you.”

His words had everyone laughing, and the mood had changed drastically from when they first let out the big news. It seemed they could expect quick heat from Mrs. Flannigan, but she was fairly quick to cool too. Things would work out; all of them had faith in that.