Page 67 of Ethan

He should have known it wouldn’t stay that way.

****

Naomi changed three times before Ethan knocked.

She finally settled on a pale-yellow blouse and dark jeans, her brown boots, her hair down. Simple. She wasn’t trying too hard.

“You look beautiful,” he said when she opened the door.

“You say that every time.”

“Because it’s true every time.” He offered his arm, she took it, and they walked down the stairs to his truck.

The drive to his parents’ place took about ten minutes, winding through the property along a road she hadn’t been on before. The cottonwoods along either side were starting to turn at the edges, the first hint of fall coming in despite the lingering summer heat.

“Are you nervous?” he asked.

“A little.”

“Don’t be. They already like you.”

“They met me once at the wedding reception.”

“My mother has talked about you several times since then. Trust me, she likes you.”

That helped more than she expected.

The Harrison ranch, his parents’ place, was bigger than she’d expected, a sprawling log home that sat back from the road behind a row of old cottonwoods. Ethan pulled up and cut the engine.

“You’re quiet,” he said.

“I’m fine.”

He looked at her for a moment, then got out and came around to her side.

Ada met them at the door before they’d even knocked, pulling Naomi into a hug like she was already one of hers.

“I’m so glad you came. Come in, come in. Supper’s almost ready.”

She was pulled through the door before she’d had a chance to say a word.

The house was full of noise and the smell of something wonderful coming from the kitchen. Cole was in the living room with his wife Aftyn, who stood and hugged Naomi warmly. Seth and Ryan were on the sofa, Ryan tucked under Seth’s arm, and Seth raised his glass at Naomi with a grin.

Gus appeared from the kitchen, dish towel over his shoulder, and shook her hand with both of his.

“Good to see you again, Naomi. Glad you could make it to the table this time.”

Dinner was loud, warm, and wonderful. They talked over each other, laughed at old stories, and argued good naturedly about nothing important, and Ada kept filling everyone’s plateswithout asking. Gus sat at the head of the table looking at his family like a man who knew exactly how lucky he was.

Sharing a meal with Ethan's family, Naomi felt a profound sense of belonging she had never experienced before. And underneath all of it, quiet and persistent, something ached.

She looked at Ada cutting pie in the kitchen, humming to herself, and thought about a little girl pressing her nose against a shop window. About a grandmother who cried quietly because she couldn’t afford a dollhouse. About a mother who left her and never looked back.

She looked down at her plate. She was fine. She was happy. She had everything she needed. She just hadn’t expected it to hurt like this.

She was quiet on the drive home.

Ethan didn’t push it at first. He drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the console between them, and let the silence sit. But after a few miles he glanced over at her.