Page 19 of Hearts of Fairlake

I closed my eyes and nodded, torn between the love being shown to me and the instinct to want to keep him away from something I knew would be uncomfortable for him. At the same time, I had always told him that sometimes you had to get through your discomfort to find something better than what you had now. In many ways, he was offering something that meant as much to me, if not more, as our wedding.

"Okay," I said softly. "Then sometime over the next couple of days, I'll call the mayor and tell him I'll do it...and that you're going to join me."

"Do you think he'll let me?"

"You may not be by blood, but you're legally an Ender."

A low rumble came from his chest again. "Think your dad will hear?"

"Probably," I said, feeling a flicker of amusement at the idea. It died within moments, though, as I nuzzled him. "Butreally, having you up there is what I'm thinking about most. Thank you."

"Of course," he said softly, arms tightening around me as we grew quiet. I was left serenaded by the sound of his breathing and the comforting beat of his heart.

ETHAN

"Bro!" I called across the stretch of lawn that could use mowing. "Don't you put that in your mouth!"

Even though I couldn't hear it, I could see Colin sigh as he held up his hand. "It's a slug!"

"I know it's a slug, and if you eat it, it's going to be gross."

"No way!"

"It's going to taste like your brother's diaper."

"Gross!"

"Exactly. Don't do it."

Colin considered it for a moment before I watched him stare at his hand with a look I was intimately familiar with. He was going to do it the minute he thought I wasn't looking. Bri once joked that although he took a lot from Adam, Colin had decided in the womb that he was going to find all the genes in her that were shared with me. He decided that carefully laid out rules, even well-explained and justified, were not for him.

Beside me, Devin chuckled. "You’d better hurry. I've seen that look before."

"I know," I groaned, pushing out of the chair, only to stop when a new voice rang out.

"Colin. Put it down," Chase rumbled from his place at the grill, and to my annoyance and envy, I realized he wasn't even looking up from the sizzling meat. As much as I loved my far more charming and personable ways, I had to admit there were benefits to being a grumbling grump like Chase and Trevor.

Ugh, Trevor. I'd think about him later when I was sleeping on my sister's couch.

To add to my annoyance and envy, Colin pouted as he flung the slug into the nearby tall grass past the border of Devin and Chase's yard. With a sigh, I dropped back into my lawn chair to glare at Chase, who seemingly ignored everyone else. What would I give to have that level of authority? How degrading was it to be constantly undermined by a kid who struggled to tie his shoes? And how did someone like Chase, who wanted to neither lead, follow, nor deal with people at all, somehow have an air of natural authority around him? And with kids, no less, something he and Devin had long since agreed they wouldn't have!

With a huff, I realized Devin was smirking at me, and I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"Don't worry, I've thought it before," he said, sipping his beer. "More than once, actually."

"I was thinking he could use a ‘kiss the cook’ apron," I said airily, grabbing my beer before it got too warm.

"You were thinking he's Dad material."

"You know, if you keep reading people's minds like that, the church will hear about it."

"Mhmm."

"Alright, maybe I thought it for a moment. Just weird since you two aren't having any."

Devin chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, I like to think of him as Daddy more than Dad.VeryDaddy."

I grinned as I heard Chase return to reality with a sputter. "As a matter of fact, anything that horrifies or embarrasses Chase will make me feel better, so yes, thank you."

---