Chapter 22 Jules #2
My niece didn’t need any of the confusion, so I merely said, “Rosie, this is Beau. Beau, this is my adorable niece, Roselle. We all call her Rosie.”
Beau lifted his hand and touched Rosie’s. “It’s nice to meet you, Rosie. I’m a big fan of sparklers, too.”
“Can you say hi to Beau?” I asked her.
“Hi, Beau.”
She barely got the words out before she was squirming in my arms, ready to be put down.
I set her on her feet, and she took off to where it seemed someone had set up a bubble machine for her.
I watched her for a few seconds before shifting my attention to my family, nearly all of whom had their eyes on us.
Beau and I made our approach, and everyone stood to greet us. I took that to be a good sign. I reached out to my parents yesterday to let them know I was going to be bringing someone with me, but I hadn’t given them any specifics. I didn’t think it was the type of thing to do over the phone.
“Hi, Jules,” my mom greeted us with a smile on her face as my dad stepped up beside her.
“Hi, Mom. Dad. I’d like you to meet Beau. Beau, this is my mom, Evelyn, and my dad, Malcolm.”
Beau immediately extended his hand to my dad. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“Likewise,” Dad replied, shaking Beau’s hand.
After he had a pleasant exchange with my mom, I looked around the space and took in the rest of my family.
Except for Ava, who appeared tentative but supportive, and Skye, who looked beyond excited about this as Rosie had been to see me, the rest of my family was either curious, unreadable, or downright angry, in Tate’s case.
He, unfortunately, had information the rest of them didn’t.
Deciding it was best to rip off the bandage, I extended my hand and pointed to each person as I introduced them.
“Beau, this is my grandfather, Larry, and my grandmother, Wendy. And this is my oldest brother, Wyatt, his wife, Rhea, and their son, Jack. This is my brother, Cooper, his wife, Skye, and their newest daughter, Lillian. We call her Lily. Rosie’s their daughter, too.
This is my brother, Liam, and his wife, Layla.
That’s my brother, Tate, and his wife, Ava.
And that’s my sister, Ivy, and her husband, Marco. Everyone, this is Beau.”
He dipped his chin in greeting and said, “It’s very nice to meet all of you.”
“Beau?” Ivy said.
“Yeah,” he replied.
My sister wasn’t looking at him, though. Her eyes were on mine as she repeated, “Beau?” Tipping her head to the side, she asked, “Is this the same Beau you told us about on your birthday?”
Beau’s body tensed beside mine.
On the bright side, at least it was the same Beau. But it didn’t take a genius for me to determine just how quickly this conversation was going to dissolve into chaos.
“Yes. This is him.”
“Wait a minute,” Wyatt cut in. “This is the guy who’s ten years older than you.”
I held Beau’s hand tighter and corrected him. “Nine.”
Wyatt’s eyes flared as Cooper added, “The same guy who was the reason you were in tears on your birthday?”
I could feel Beau’s head snap in my direction.
Crap.
I had been hoping nobody would remember any of this. Everything had just gone from bad to worse.
I swallowed roughly. “Yes, this is him.” I glanced up to see the questions and concern and horror in his stare. He had no idea about what had happened on my birthday, and I hadn’t given it a second thought coming here. “But Beau and I have talked and worked things out.”
My eyes moved through the group, and where there was still a lot of hesitation and caution in everyone’s face but Skye’s, Tate had his arms crossed over his chest, his brows raised, and an expectant look pointed my way.
I inhaled deeply and let out a long breath. “I have something else I’d like to share with all of you.”
“What is it, Jules?” Liam asked. My sweet brother, the one I was closest to. If anyone was going to have some understanding, it’d be him.
The words were right there on the tip of my tongue, and I wanted to keep them there forever.
But I knew I couldn’t. I had to tell them the truth.
So, leaning my weight into Beau, I shared, “A couple of weeks ago, I learned I was pregnant. And just a few days ago, Beau and I got married. This man is my husband.”
The response to that news was more than I could sift through.
Several gasps of shock filled the air. My mom had covered her mouth with her hands as tears filled her eyes.
As I had suspected they would, Cooper and Wyatt looked murderous.
Tate hadn’t changed his expression at all.
Liam looked like he’d been stabbed through the heart, and Ivy was…
Ivy was quietly assessing the situation, her eyes narrowed solely on Beau.
My dad was a mix of looking like Liam as well as Cooper and Wyatt.
As for my siblings-in-law, Rhea was shocked and slightly nervous judging by the way she was watching Wyatt.
Skye was certainly still happy, but she realized Cooper was a ticking time bomb.
Ava was precisely how she’d been from the start.
Marco appeared to be concerned, and his expression mirrored my dad’s.
Of everyone, Layla was the only one who gave me a nod of approval and a smile.
She stepped forward and extended her arms. “Congratulations, Jules.”
Tears threatened to fall as the tip of my nose began to sting. “Thanks, Layla.”
My sister-in-law held on for an extended time before she loosened her hold and congratulated Beau just the same.
“Thank you,” Beau said in response as he hugged his new sister-in-law.
After she stepped back, positioning herself lovingly at Liam’s side—he couldn’t seem to look at me—my dad’s voice cut through the tension. “Is this some kind of joke?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m eleven weeks pregnant now, and the baby is due on February 2nd.”
“And you’re married?” he pressed, the disbelief in his tone undeniable.
“Yes.”
His eyes darted between us. “How long have you known each other?”
“We met at the beginning of May. Beau was at Westwood’s, and he bought some cookies from my bakery.”
“May? Jules, that’s… You’ve only known him for just over two months?”
I nodded.
Beau cut in. “For what it’s worth, sir—”
“No,” my father clipped, holding his hand up. “No, I can’t listen to this. There is no explanation you could give me that would ever make this okay.”
“Dad,” I said, suddenly becoming the one in disbelief. I suspected they might not take things well, but I didn’t imagine he’d be downright rude.
He looked at me, shook his head with such disappointment, and walked off.
My stomach dropped, tears spilling down my cheeks. I looked around hoping for some additional support. There was none to be found.
“Liam?”
He finally lifted his eyes to meet mine, and seeing the raw devastation in them was worse than if he’d slapped me across the face.
I couldn’t hold his stare, so I went the opposite route. “Wyatt?”
“Yeah?”
“Please,” I begged. “Please say something.”
“I’m not so sure I should do that if I want you to ever talk to me again,” he fired back, his chest heaving.
“You’re my brother. I would never stop speaking to you.”
“Are you sure? Because right now all I can see is a man my age who preyed upon my baby sister. She’s pregnant and married, and this is the first time any of her family is meeting this coward. How could you be so stupid, Jules?”
A growl ripped from Beau. “Okay, we’re done.”
“Excuse me?” Evidently, Cooper was now ready to get involved.
Beau, despite being ganged up on, didn’t back down. “I get this isn’t easy for anyone here, but I’m not going to tolerate anyone speaking to my wife like that.”
“Your wife?” Cooper scoffed. “You’ve known her for two months. She’s been ours for twenty-five years.”
Apparently, Beau could level a lethal stare just as cutting as the rest of them. He leveled that stare on Cooper and fired back. “And yet, after all these years of knowing the brilliant, kind, wonderful woman she is, you don’t think she deserves to be treated better than this?”
My heart squeezed.
Beau wrapped his arm around my shoulders and looked down at me. “I think we should go, angel.” His voice was so soft, so tender. Like he realized I was seconds away from having a total meltdown.
I nodded my agreement. Nothing good was going to come of us staying here.
We moved to leave, and Wyatt said, “So, that’s it? You come here, dump this news on us, and walk away? You got my sister pregnant and married her without even meeting her family. Now, you’re taking her out of here because you don’t like that we’re rightfully beside ourselves over this news?”
Beau stopped, held on to me, and looked back at my family.
“No. Based on what Jules told me about all of you, I expected there’d be some hurt feelings, and I was more than prepared to deal with whatever backlash came my way.
I would accept all of it, because it’s warranted, and it’s obvious you love her.
But when I slid a ring on her finger a few days ago and made her a promise, it became my responsibility to look out for her best interests.
Having her brother call her stupid doesn’t fall into that category. ”
“But you believe letting her get married without her family there is in her best interests?”
Beau shook his head as my heart hammered.
“We got married the way we did because she was terrified of disappointing all of you. Because she did things differently than all her siblings. And now, I can’t say I don’t understand where she was coming from.
You don’t like me, that’s fine. But I’m not going to stand here and watch you treat her like garbage. So, yes, we are leaving.”
Applying light pressure to my back, Beau urged me forward. We’d taken two more steps in that direction when my dad called, “Jules?”
I stopped moving. “Yeah?”
“You don’t have to leave. He can go if he wants, but you don’t have to leave. This is your home.”
An unbearable ache formed in my chest and throat and belly. “It certainly doesn’t feel like home anymore.”
“Jules?” my mom called. Her voice was pleading with me. “Please?”
I shook my head. “He’s my husband, Mom. He’s the father of my baby. I love you. I love all of you. But I choose him. And I dare you to tell me that any of you would’ve chosen differently in your own situations.”
Turning, leaning into Beau’s warm embrace, I allowed him to escort me out of there. And I couldn’t ignore the sound of my mom’s sobs following me out.