Page 51 of Westward

ELIZABETH

“So how does it feel to have my brother so close, and Will living there?”

I turned to Felicity, grateful that she was the one who had broached the subject. It had been over a week now since the attack and consequent life change that Atlas and Will were dealing with, and honestly, Felicity didn’t know exactly how close Atlas and I were to each other. Because at this point, it was a little ridiculous.

A week. A single week in which I couldn’t stay away from him. Not that I needed to. Or perhaps that was a lie. We were going into whatever this was full tilt, and that meant there would be no going back.

Will was under Atlas’s roof, and while the whole town was grinning about it, practically salivating, wanting to know more, we were keeping it to ourselves. At least as much as we could. Atlas’s family had gone full Carter and truly came together to help Will settle in. I was pretty sure that Will had no idea what he’d been conned into and was just along for the ride. I might sleep under that roof, because I couldn’t help myself, but Atlas was the one braving the busybodies of Ashford Creek.

Of course, I had to deal with their looks for a whole different reason.

Namely, everybody and their mother knew that Atlas and I were together. What it meant to be together, no one quite knew but the two of us.

Not that the two of us truly knew what it meant either. Because we were doing a damn good job of focusing on Will, Atlas’s training, and pretending that we had everything handled.

We did not have everything handled.

“Elizabeth? Are you okay over there?”

I shook myself out of my internal turmoil and turned to Felicity. “What? What did you ask?”

She gave me a knowing smile. “I was going to ask how it felt to have my brother living so close, but maybe that was an answer in itself.”

“Felicity Carter, stop torturing dear Elizabeth.” Mrs. Carter came forward and wrapped me in a hug. I sank into her, my eyes prickling with tears as she held me close.

“I didn’t know you were coming tonight,” I whispered.

She pulled back and cupped my face. “I wasn’t sure either. But then I heard both my girls were going to be here, and I couldn’t help myself. It’s a girls’ night after all.”

Keely opened a bottle of sparkling wine, a grin on her face. The cork made a popping sound, and we all cheered as Mrs. Carter hooked her arm with mine.

“Okay, ladies, tonight you will call me Gwen. No Mrs. Carter, and no acting like I’m just the dear mom here. You’re stuck with me.”

“Mom. But how am I supposed to complain about my brothers if you’re in the room?”

“I don’t need any details, but well, I could give details about your father if you’d like.”

Felicity’s groan echoed throughout the room, and I held back a laugh, feeling lighter than I had in weeks.

Gwen Carter had always been a second mom to me. Far younger than my parents had been, she’d filled a spot in my life that I hadn’t known I had needed. And when Atlas and I had broken up, she hadn’t let me go. Our relationship had evolved over the years, and we were very careful about what we spoke of when it came to her son, but when it came to my life in Ashford Creek, she was always there for me. And I had tried to do the same for her.

As friends.

However, now that I was sleeping with her son again, things could get tricky.

“I’m so glad that you guys are here in the bed and breakfast. Promise is at home with the girls tonight, but since we have this space opened, it is a single glass of wine if you’re driving and painting. Promise is excited to see if this is something we want to offer more with a room rate.”

“I’m just sorry she can’t be here,” Teagan said as she walked into the room. “I’m sorry I’m late. Manager things.”

I met Gwen’s gaze, and she gave me a knowing look.

Teagan needed to get a new job or figure out how to make her manager not be an asshole. I wasn’t sure exactly if it was my place to say, but she didn’t look happy. Then again, I had been so wrapped up in my own world for so long that maybe I was missing things.

Or projecting.

“I’m glad that you’re here,” I said as I moved forward, tugging Teagan close.

“I’m surprised you’re here. Honestly, you haven’t really left your house recently.” She studied my face, and I knew she was trying to dig into my thoughts. I hadn’t spilled anything on my relationship with Atlas, or what I was feeling. Because if I did so, then it would be real. And with Atlas’s mother here tonight, I didn’t think it was going to happen, and I was grateful for that. I needed more time.