AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oh, I wanted to throttle Henley! I was just about to snap at all of them when my mother put her arm around me and smiled. “Stop it, boys. Your sister is a big girl. We will discuss this at a more appropriate time. Get in your cars, and stop making a scene.”
She hustled me toward their car, even though I had come with Roxy and Henley.
“You knew?” I whispered toward her.
She nodded as she glanced my way. “Of course, I have known. I’ve been waiting weeks for you to announce it so I could talk to you about it.”
“Mom, why didn’t you say anything?” I asked her as I climbed into the back seat of my dad’s truck. He kept his face forward, and I could tell by the set of his jaw, he already knew too. Well, shit!
“Riley, I didn’t want to invade your privacy.”
“I’m sorry,” I said softly as I picked at one of my nails, and she turned to look back at me.
“Don’t apologize to me. I assume that Ethan knows now.”
“Yeah, he found out last night.”
She nodded. “Good. What did he say?”
“We didn’t get much time to talk about it, and he was pretty upset at first.”
My father glanced over his shoulder at me, and I held my hand up. “But he did say that he would be there every step of the way.” My father gave a curt nod as if that was what he had wanted to hear.
Holy crap! Like we all needed this drama today!
“I’m sure you two will work it all out. We will talk about this later,” my mother said, and I was glad we were putting the conversation to bed. As the procession started to leave the funeral home, I got a text message from Roxy.
Henley says he’s sorry.
Oh, he better find a way to make it up to me.
A moment later, she responded.He said free babysitting anytime.
Well, that didn’t seem like a bad trade.Fine, but I’m still furious with him.
The gravesite ceremony was quick and to the point, and before I knew it, we were resting roses on the casket and stepping away. Our family moved over to the side, and Ethan’s family slowly trickled toward us. When Ethan joined us, he stood behind me, his hand on my lower back, and I leaned into him slightly.
My brothers all but glared daggers at him, but I wasn’t sure he noticed as he put his mouth to my ear. “You are coming back to my parents’ house, right?” He winced as he glanced at the casket. “It’s always going to be my parents’ house even if she’s not there.”
“Yes, I will be there. Henley, Coral, and I are cooking.”
He nodded solemnly at me and then brushed a kiss over my cheek before he walked back to the town car they had come in.
“Is he going to marry you?” Wes asked as he blocked my view.
“No!” I hissed at him.
“Why not?”
“Look, Wes, I know all of you don’t think that I can handle this, but I can. So please do me a favor and back off. Ethan has a lot going on right now, and the last thing he needs is you all ganging up on him.”
“You damn well know that I can’tnotsay something.”
“You damn sure will keep your mouth shut! Today is not about me or what is happening. It’s about them losing their mother. So stick a sock in it, big brother, and let it go. When I need a knight in shining armor, I’ll let you know.” I stalked around him and went back to my parents’ truck as I rolled my eyes.
Henley, Coral, and I were busy heating things up and making sure the plates were out. I had tried to get Coral out of the kitchen, but she said she needed to be busy right now. I guess I could understand that.
Ethan came into the kitchen and stood watching us work. “What can I do to help?”
