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“Jesus fucking Christ,” Ethan groaned as he brushed his hands through his sand-covered hair. “I’ll never hear the end of it, will I?”
“Hey, Eth,” Matty stood before him, bending down and wrapping Ethan in a solid hug.
“Hey,” Ethan sighed against his shoulder. “What’s up?”
“Not much. You?”
Before Ethan could reply, Avery blurted,
“Ethan drew me a heart. In the sand. Over there.” He pointed at the large heart in the wet sand, his smile competing to outshine the sun.
“Fuck me!” Austin grinned before he knuckle-slammed Ethan, admiration on his face. “Way to woo your man.”
“Thanks,” Ethan grinned, cheeks flushed pink.
“What does it say?” Matty asked as he scrunched his nose, stepping closer to the outline of a heart in the sand.
“You’re the light, baby,”Austin read aloud, a puzzled frown between his black brows. “What the fuck, dude?” he grinned at Ethan.
“I know, right?” Avery cooed, making googly eyes at his boyfriend. “Isn’t it just spectacularly romantic in a Captain Wentworth kind of way,” he continued, a dreamy look in his love-drunk eyes.
“Captain who?” Matty asked, raising an eyebrow at Ethan, who looked slightly confused.
“Captain Wentworth,” Avery groaned, nearly melting into the sand. “Seriously, you guys. He’s only the dreamiest male protagonist ever in English literature…” He pretended to swoon into Ethan’s lap, a slender hand against his forehead.
Ethan leaned back on his elbows, tangling his fingers through Avery’s hair. He failed to bite back a loud laugh as Austin chased a screaming Matty around the beach, making kissy faces while yelling“Captain, my Captain.”Cassie started barking enthusiastically as she chased after the two of them. Reaching for the cooler, Avery got out a cold beer, handing it to Ethan, before once again settling his lovely head back against his boyfriend’s thigh.
EPILOGUE
Matty – Four years later
“I NEVER INa million years thought I’d say this, but it feels… okay to be back in Eden, Eth.” They were lying in the cornfield behind Ethan’s house. Well, it wasn’t exactly Ethan’s house anymore. He still lived just outside of Boston, in his small bungalow with Avery and their endless shelves spilling over with books. Their home office was a joke—half-graded history papers and sketches scattered everywhere. How they’d managed to fit in two desks was beyond Matty’s comprehension, but they both insisted that they worked better sitting across from each other.Working, my ass.
But it was a cute fucking bungalow, and they could afford the mortgage between them with Ethan working at a school in Boston with dyslexic kids and Avery writing articles for various magazines. Mostly anthropology these days. And William loved their garden. He and Cassie could spend hours playing, before he retreated to the tree house thatUncle Ethanhad built him in an old walnut tree.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Ethan smiled as he squinted at the cloudless Texas sky, freckles exploding across the ridge of his nose. “It ain’t so bad as long as you’re here, too, and I don’t have to stay for good,” Ethan winked, a broad smile coasting across his face.
They were back in Eden for the Fourth of July. Matty was staying at his mom’s house with Austin and their foster son William—Ethan and Avery had arrived only just yesterday in time for the barbeque tonight at the Bishops’ house. They often did that, he and Ethan, coordinating their visits. It was always more fun to be back in Eden when he’d get to hang out with his best friend. They tried to get together at least once a month, Matty sometimes taking the trip to Boston for a baseball game, or Ethan driving down to Grant’s Harbor for the weekend.
It still made his heart swell when he thought of that day when Ethan had shown up in Grant’s Harbor out of the blue. Some days Matty almost forgot that there’d been a time when he didn’t have Ethan in his life or that they’d been separated for three years. Everything was just so natural when it came to their friendship. So effortless. So real. Always had been.
“Yeah,” Matty sighed, his gaze tracing an airplane. “Your folks seem happy.”
“Yeah, they are,” Ethan grinned. “I think Dad is loving his new life as a cowboy.”
Dan Bishop was no longer working construction. He’d taken a job at the Peterson farm, responsible for the horses. Ryder had gone off to college and the twins had graduated high school, now working in Waco at a large auto repair shop. Matty knew that it meant a lot to Ethan, no longer having to worry about his family. Matty sensed a change in his best friend. Like a weight had been lifted off Ethan’s shoulders and he finally allowed himself to live his own life without the constant guilt of not being back home.
Home.Well, Grant’s Harbor was home now, wasn’t it? Still, a part of Matty would always be linked to Eden. His mom and their newfound relationship and her settling into her new role as a grandmother. His fond childhood memories—because there were some—of him and Ethan roaming the country roads on their bikes, tongues pink from cherry popsicles and grass staining their knees. In many ways, things had come full circle after his father had gotten his sentence. Twenty-five years. Twenty-five. Matty didn’t know if it was a fair sentence. Who was he to judge? How did you even measure out all the hurt and neglect in years? All the beatings and the hateful slurs. All the broken bones and the hungry nights. You couldn’t. You shouldn’t. It didn’t matter anyway. He’d made peace with that part of his life a long time ago, focusing on the silver lining instead. Austin, William, Millie, Will. And Ethan.Always Ethan.
“Life’s pretty good, ain’t it?” Ethan turned to him, a content smile bursting from the corner of his mouth.
“Yeah, it is. It’s real good.” Matty paused briefly, taking in his best friend. Ethan’s hair had grown quite a bit, auburn locks covering his ears. Not shoulder-length like Avery’s but still… “Do you think Avery’s the one?” Matty asked, his gaze connecting with Ethan’s.
“I’d like to think so, yeah. I mean, I really love him, you know. We work well together. He gets me. I mean, it’s not like you and your baby daddy,” Ethan pushed at Matty’s shoulder teasingly, a broad grin lighting up his face. “Compared to the two of you, constantly sucking each other’s faces off…”
“You’re such a liar, Eth. You’re so whipped. I’ve seen the way you look at your man. Like he hung the fucking moon.”
“Shut up, dude,” Ethan grinned, looking pretty content with the idea of being whipped.Fuck, now Matty had the image of Avery in his head, holding a whip. Shit!“Enough about me. What about you? How’re your men doing?”
