Page 59 of The Defiant Curse

Graham made them both a cup of tea so they could wind down for the night. If Elizabeth was going to bed early, that likely meant she would be up early, so they would be turning in too.

“What should I do?” Michael asked.

He was confused about what he was asking. Someone had to help a husband out.

“About?”

He shared what he was thinking.

“I don’t think she is going to make it through this alone, Graham, and I don’t think we can get her there. Her heart…it’s hurting. I really wish one of them would have come with her, so they could be there for her. I can only do so much. It’s not like I can cuddle her after sex.”

Graham dropped the mug, and Michael caught it.

“Pardon, HUSBAND?”

It made him laugh.

“You know what I meant. I’m not suggesting that. She’s my Mom, and that’s gross.”

And never happening.

Graham would lose his freaking mind before that went down.

Instead of going there, because clearly, he was overreacting about it, he tried to help his husband through this, like a good partner would.

“What do you propose?” he asked.

He knew.

“Before she left the States, she and Ethan had a falling out, of sorts. I think he needs to know she’s okay. I think he needs to know she’s good.”

Well, there was one HUGE problem with that.

“If you let him know, he’ll know where she is, and Gene specifically said don’t do it. I know you want to help her, but we’re in a very precarious position here. Did she ask for them?”

He shook his head.

“Well, then…”

He was aware.

Only, what was good before might not be what is good now.

He was staring at his phone.

“Why don’t you call Gene, and tell him she’s here, and to pass a message on to Ethan. Tell him to share that she loves him and misses him. That way, you’ve conveyed her feelings without betraying her need for hiding or getting us fired.”

Well, that couldn’t hurt.

“They can’t fire us. We own half the castle,” he said, amused. “You need to stop worrying about that. Once a Blackhawk, always a Blackhawk. They won’t vote you off the island. I should know, my ex-fiancé betrayed them through me and my phone, and they never told me to leave.”

He was trying, but learning that took time. It was always one of his fears.

Now that he had family, he didn’t want to lose it.

Michael considered his suggestion.

“I mean, I could do that. She does miss and love him, so it’s not a lie. She was distraught over the issue.”