Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“He who? What was she talking about?” Ethan asked his wife.
Faith squeezed his hand in warning. “Tess thinks she’s in love with Todd Morgan.”
“He’s eighteen!” Ethan bellowed.
“Not quite yet. Seventeen and he’s just going to be a senior this year.”
Ethan scowled, not liking seventeen any better than eighteen. “She’s a kid.”
“I was sixteen when you lured me onto your bike,” she reminded him.
Ethan winced. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Evening, everyone.” Nash interrupted, walking up to them, Kelly by his side.
“Ahh, the man who hates formal affairs made it. And I’m so grateful.” Faith hugged them both, then pulled Kelly away to discuss details of the evening.
Ethan talked with Nash, the brother who once couldn’t stand the sight of him. For fifteen minutes, they discussed things personal, professional, and later, sports-related. It was so normal. Ethan couldn’t believe the new normal they shared.
“Hey, brothers.” Dare strode up to them.
“How’s it going?” Ethan asked.
“Pretty damned good, actually.” Dare shook his brothers’ hands.
“For a cop, you dress up nicely,” Nash said.
Dare shrugged. “Faith insisted on tuxedos, right? Besides, how can I propose to Liza if I’m not in my formal best?” he asked with an excited grin.
In that smile, Ethan saw shades of the kid brother he remembered. Lately, the sparkle in Dare’s gaze had been genuine, no longer a cover for old pain and guilt. Yep, he’d come a long way too. Liza was damned good for him, just as Kelly was for Nash.
“Congratulations,” Ethan said, slapping Dare on the back.
Nash did the same. “I just hope she’s still deluded enough to say yes.”
Dare glared at him, but Nash followed up the comment by pulling his baby brother into a hug.
“I have news too,” Nash said after a few minutes.
“Well?” Dare asked. “You going to share?”
“Kelly’s pregnant. Looks like we’ll be having kids close together,” Nash said to Ethan, beaming with pride. “It’s so early we’re only telling you guys for a while.”
The congratulations and slaps on the back began all over again. Then they talked some more before dispersing to find their better halves.
Ethan glanced around, more settled than he’d ever been, and he remembered the day he’d pulled up on this long driveway, thinking he couldn’t outrun his past. He’d been right. But all three of the Barron brothers had done something better. They’d made peace with it and with each other, enabling them to open themselves up to the future and all Serendipity had to offer.
And that was the greatest gift of all.