Page 11 of Falling for Ezra Thomas
Chapter Seven
Lorelai
Sitting in a roomfilled with every member of the Thomas family is always intense. The love that fills their home is undeniable. Each woman who steps into the role of girlfriend and future wife is wrapped into the fold as tightly as the King of England’s firm. Vivien sits beside me, bouncing her leg with anticipation. Beck has his usual scowl etched on his face, but the rest of the family is confused.
Well, that isn’t entirely true. Rafe and Silas know what is about to happen as well, which is probably the most logical explanation as to why they chose the seats on either side of Ezra—defensive positions to protect their brother from the onslaught of questions that will be hurled at him once he admits what he’s done. Emma and Ella share a glance, and Ella has an uneasy hesitation about her as she fidgets with the hem of her shirt.
“Ezra, what is this impromptu family meeting about? And this late at night?” Mr. Thomas asks. His gaze locks on mine. I don’t blame him. It makes sense for everyone else to be in this room,but me? Thesisterof a future family member? It makes a little less sense. Not that their stares are cruel or mean in any way. They’re merely confused, and…yeah, I don’t blame them.
Ezra ruffles his already messy hair and looks to me one last time for support. I smile and nod before taking Vivien’s hand. This is going to get loud fast. In the end, this family will throw its full support behind Ezra, but it’s going to be a massive shock at first. And a lot of questions in rapid fire succession. And some annoyance and anger.
“Well, I know you’ve all been wondering about some stuff,” Ezra says.
“Yeah, like why you up and kissed—” Lev elbows Maverick in the gut, quieting the youngest Thomas brother. Lev gives him the sternest side eye glare I’ve ever seen.
“Ezra?” Mrs. Thomas’ lower lip trembles. She knows. She’s a mother, and she knows something is coming that will rock her world, turn it upside down, and maybe stomp on her heart. She’s already been through it with Silas, and thinking about that breaks my heart for her.
“I put a lot of thought into a decision that I made, but unfortunately I didn’t put as much thought into how I would tell you all about it. I’m sorry for that, but I’m trying to make that right now. A couple months ago, I joined the Army. I’ll leave for basic training in a few days.”
Silence fills the room. It’s the sort that’s so dead, so empty that you hear your own blood rushing in your ears. A breath seems like it might break the quiet, so you hold it in, waiting. Ezra’s eyes hop from one brother to the next, but they’re all too stunned to speak.
Except Silas, who never was one to let a quiet moment go to waste.
“Somebody say something,” he drawls. “It isn’t like staying quiet changes anything.”
The floodgates open and all those questions bombard Ezra at once. He tries to field them all, but at this point, the only thing he can successfully do is shrink into the sofa and wait them out. His mother is crying, but she’s trying to hold it in. Mr. Thomas squeezes his wife’s thigh and pulls her onto his lap to comfort her, while the brothers range from angry to excited to confused. All except Beck, Rafe, and Silas, who already knew.
Lev pins Silas and asks, “Is this what you knew? You’ve been acting sketchy around the town house.”
Silas leans back and tucks Ella against his chest. “Yeah, but I couldn’t spill his news. It was up to Ezra to tell everyone.”
“When do you leave?” Novan asks, his hands clasped in front of him.
“In a few days, like I said. I can write and call, but it’ll be on a schedule,” Ezra says.
“And after basic training, where will you go?” Griffin asks. He’d been ready to head back home now that the holidays have passed. His packed suitcase was sitting at the door when we arrived at the Thomas house. If nothing else, Ezra is great at procrastination.
“I’m not sure. Probably Columbia, South Carolina based on what they’ve told—”
“Columbia?” A sob follows Mrs. Thomas’s outburst, prompting Ezra to drop his head in shame.
“Honey, it’s not like he has a choice in where they send him. And it’s not that far away.” Mr. Thomas pats her back and wraps his arms around her. “Ezra, why did you wait so long to tell us? This all feels so rushed, when we could have had time to let it sink in.”
Beck huffs but says nothing. Vivien sighs and purses her lips before nudging him. He frowns and sits forward after the gentle reminder that he should have his twin’s back. “He made a choice that was right for him, and he didn’t know how to tell everyone.Let’s face it, this family makes it hard to branch out and do our own thing.”
“That’s not fair, Beck,” Wilder says. “No one ever said—”
Beck waves his hand and the cranky side of him emerges. The same way it always does when Ezra is coming under attack. “Yeah? You try going off and doing something on your own and see how they like it. Oh wait, you did. How’s Chatswain City treating you? How about you, Silas? Did you enjoy your mission trip? Griffin, you’re always on the road playing agame.Let’s not pretend that Ezra is the first person who made a move without running it by everyone first.”
“You don’t have to be a jerk about it, Beck.” Lev’s soft tone eases some of Beck’s tension, but not enough to hide that he’s terrified of Ezra leaving. “I get it, okay?” Beck seemingly understands what Lev is saying. He’s done it once already, waited while his twin did something he thought was crazy, but Silas came back. They always come back home, and it gives me hope that someday even Ezra might settle back in Coldstone Creek. Maybe with me.
Case stands and crosses the room while extending his hand to Ezra. Ezra stares up at him with narrowed eyes but accepts his brother’s hand all the same. Case jerks Ezra to his feet and into a bear hug. “I’m proud of you, kid.”
“Kid? You’re not that much older than me, Case.” It’s just what we all needed to lower the temperature a little, take a breath, and focus on the future instead of what we can’t change.
Finally, the rest of the brothers give in to reality. Ezra is leaving, and there is nothing they can do about it but pray for his safety and enjoy what time they have before he leaves.
“I’ll stick around until you leave,” Griffin says. “Won’t be too hard to get the time since training doesn’t start for a few weeks.” Soccer is all Griffin ever wanted to do, and with Beck’s reminder that he’s rarely home, it seems he’s softened toward Ezra again.
