Chapter 15
Rowan should have taken time off before now. The past several days had flown by. Each day he found himself with more energy, a better appetite, and laughing more than he had in years. It could be from the time off, or more likely, it was because he spent his time off with Nellie.
They’d had a date night and hung out with his family and friends. They’d spent time with Sue Ellen, her kids, and Gator. They’d even taken a ghost tour with Skeeter and Mary.
They’d lived in a bubble, or so he thought until he was talking to his brothers while Nellie was with his sisters-in-law for some girl time that night. Stone had laughed when Rowan told them about the bubble.
“It’s not a bubble. It’s love,” Stone had said. “It changes everything, bro.”
“I don’t do bubbles. It’s real,” Hunter had replied.
Forrest had pulled him aside and talked to him privately about how he felt toward his wife, Jordana. There were several things that rang true for Rowan and had caused him to really evaluate his feelings. Which, he’d been doing until Blackbeard, Forrest’s goat, rammed him in the balls.
Now, Rowan lay in bed with Nellie in his arms as the morning sun broke the horizon. They couldn’t get enough of each other, but they both seemed to be held back by something. They were combustible together, yet stopped short of sex every night.
Rowan had an idea why that was after talking to his brothers last night.
He’d denied it when Damon had pulled him aside and told him to stop screwing up.
Ro had asked Damon what he had meant and Damon had told him that it was clear Rowan loved Nellie and he needed to tell Nellie because they were perfect for each other.
However, now he looked at Nellie in his arms and knew Damon and all his brothers were right—he was in love with her and he wanted a future with her.
This wasn’t a one-night, one-week, or even one-month fling.
This was so much more than that. Wilder and Kane had told him that when he met the one, he would know.
Well, looking at Nellie, he knew. This was forever.
Nellie’s lashes fluttered as she snuggled against him. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?”
Nellie nodded against the crook of his arm. “I think I found a cure for my insomnia. Orgasms and snuggles.”
Rowan chuckled and pulled Nellie closer to him.
“I didn’t know I could feel so much in so short a time.
” He kissed the top of her head and felt anxious that she might not feel what he did.
Yet he also felt relieved to finally have words for what he was feeling.
Even if he didn’t say those three special words.
Nellie moved so that she lay half on top of him and looked down at him. “I feel ashamed to be developing these feelings—these wants, these desires—when my sister is going through everything. But, Ro, I feel it too.”
“There’s nothing shameful about falling in love,” Rowan said as he brushed back her hair from her face.
“I want more, Nellie. I know I called you my girlfriend, and I meant it. But I want you to know it’s more than that.
I want a real relationship. Not for only right now, but for when everything with your sister is over.
I still want to be with you. I know that means some serious talks since my career is very time-consuming and you live in Holland Springs—”
Nellie cut him off with a kiss. Rowan placed his hands on her hips and shifted her so that she was on top of him.
“I want that future with you too, Rowan. And Holland Springs, well, let’s say I’m not too happy with how I’ve been treated there recently.
It’s a talk for the near future. Right now, I’m happy here in Shadows Landing with you. Let me show you how happy.”
Nell rose onto her knees and pulled off his T-shirt that she liked to sleep in and rocked her hips against his erection.
“Nell, how far do you want to take this? I want all of you, but I won’t do anything you don’t want to.” Rowan held his breath as Nell rocked her hips again. He would stop if she wasn’t ready, although it would hurt as much as Blackbeard ramming his balls. He’d do whatever Nell wanted.
“I don’t want to stop this time, Rowan.”
Rowan let out the breath and sat up, capturing her lips with his as he splayed his hands across her bare back. In one swift move, he had her on her back and was pulling her panties off as she worked on ridding him of his boxer briefs.
“I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you,” Nellie confessed as Rowan grabbed a condom and placed it next to him. He would use it, but he had plans to give her at least two orgasms before he got to that point.
“You’re all I could ever want,” Rowan confessed a moment before he slid down her and tossed her legs over his shoulders.
Her groans, gasps, and screams only spurred him on until she was breathing hard and completely relaxed. Then he crawled back up her body, kissing along her stomach, her breasts, her neck, and when he thrust inside her, he proved to her how much he wanted her.
Rowan was making lunch for Nellie, Gator, Sue Ellen, and the kids when a knock sounded at the front door. Gator answered and Rowan glanced over to see Bex walk inside.
“Hey everyone!”
“Aunt Bex!” the kids shouted as they leapt up from where they had been watching a movie and each grabbed one of Bexley’s legs.
Bexley laughed and hugged them back. The Morettis had met Sue Ellen and the kids the day after the party and the kids thought the big, rough and tumble men and women of the Moretti family were real-life superheroes.
The Morettis instantly took Sue Ellen and her family under their wings.
Bex’s mother and aunts had made the kids some special Italian treats and now they had the hearts of Tally and James.
They were the grandmas the kids deserved.
“Is everything okay?” Sue Ellen asked cautiously as Bex walked, with the kids clinging to her and giggling, towards the kitchen.
“We need to talk, but I also come with a dinner invitation for tonight.”
Rowan looked to Nellie who gave a little nod. “Nell and I are in.”
Gator and Sue Ellen did the same. “We’d love to,” Sue Ellen told her. “I just need to find a sitter.”
“The kids are invited too,” Bex said. “Mom and my aunts are making them a special dinner and dessert.”
“Yay!” the kids cheered.
“But, you can only get it if you go back to watch the movie and let me have an adult conversation with your mom. Deal?”
The kids were already scrambling back to the living room. “Deal!” James Avery called out as they crashed onto the cushions Rowan had set out for their floor movie watching party.
“What’s happened?” Nellie asked.
“Peter and I finished going over the financials for the accounts you gave us and also the ones we have a warrant for. We just turned it over to our federal prosecutor. Sue Ellen, there’s enough evidence from the accounts and the surveillance of the strip club and dry cleaners that Ingram is in deep trouble.
Bribes, payoffs, illegal gambling, and money laundering.
The prosecutor is looking over everything, but it won’t be long until they arrest Ingram or until it’s not a secret that he’s being investigated.
That makes him more dangerous for now. He’ll want to inflict as much damage as he can and I believe he’ll blame you and your sister,” she told Sue Ellen.
“I won’t leave her side,” Gator swore as he put his arm around Sue Ellen.
“Same,” Rowan promised. “Or, if I have to, I’ll have one of my brothers with her.”
“My family is here for couple of days, so they can help too if you’re called into the hospital,” Bex told him. “The good news is the end is in sight. It just might be a bumpy ride to get there.”
Sue Ellen nodded and Nellie leaned into Rowan’s side for support. “Thanks for telling us. We’ll see you tonight. I believe it’ll be the safest place in the state to be,” Rowan said with a little chuckle to hopefully get Nell and her sister to relax a little.
“And the best tasting,” Nell added, obviously trying to calm her sister. “Come on, let’s watch the movie.” Nell wrapped her arm around Sue Ellen and drew her back into the living room after Bex left.
“This would have already been over if Ellie would’ve let me feed Ingram to the gators,” Gator grumbled. Rowan smiled both at the idea of letting the gators have a snack and at the sweet nickname Gator had given Sue Ellen.
“How is Sue Ellen doing?”
“She’s the strongest person I know. And what a great mother.
Those kids adore her.” Gator leaned across the island and dropped his voice.
“The first night I heard her crying in the middle of the night. I went to check on her and she pretended everything was fine and apologized if she woke me up. I was never so insulted. As if I would be upset because she was crying. Ingram did a number on her, that’s for sure.
She can’t get over the fact that I cook, help with the kids, compliment her, or thank her if she does anything around the house. Ingram is only good for gator bait.”
“You’re a good man, taking care of her and the kids like that. I know you’re showing them the love they never got.”
Gator frowned and Rowan didn’t know why until Gator got up and moved around the island so he could whisper to Rowan.
“I wish I were a better man who deserved someone like Ellie. I held her while she cried that night and I’m afraid I can’t ever let her go.
But I’m not like you. I’m not a well-respected surgeon.
I monitor and handle alligators. She deserves more than that. ”
“I think it’s up to Sue Ellen to decide what she deserves. By the way she’s looks at you, I think she’s already decided.”
“Naw. That stuff doesn’t happen to a man like me,” Gator said, blushing.
“Gator, what kind of man do you think you are?”
“I broke with my family’s traditions and went out on my own. I’m the failure of the family. I finished college and started my business. I work in conservation, am an independent consultant, and then there’s the business to remove gators for the town. I’m not a fancy professional.”
“Really?” Rowan asked, leaning against the counter. “I didn’t know you were an independent consultant, too. I knew some about the conservation, but figured it was just volunteering.”
“Nope. I work with scientists, colleges, and the state to monitor the alligator population and the marsh’s ecosystem. I have countless studies published, but that’s just in ecology journals. No one reads those. It’s not like it’s surgery, or being a judge, or being a politician or lawyer.”
“Gator,” Rowan said seriously. “I think the weight of your family’s expectations is hindering your ability to see what an accomplished guy you really are.
On top of that, you’re a loyal, dedicated man who will love that family the way they need.
You’ll support them, encourage them, and protect them while never raising a hand to them.
Those kids already worship you, and I’ve heard Sue Ellen talk to Nellie about how safe and happy she is at your place.
If you’re in the same boat as I am—head over heels in love with a Hale sister—we need to figure out a way to keep them in Shadows Landing. ” Rowan winked and Gator laughed.
Sue Ellen and Nell looked over and smiled at them before turning back to the kids.
“Ellie mentioned how much she’d wanted to be a teacher, but Ingram wouldn’t let her. I wonder if there’s an opening at our school and what she’d need to qualify for it?” Gator asked and Rowan nodded.
Why hadn’t he thought of that? Shadows Landing schools were small—so small that kindergarten through twelfth grade were all on the same piece of land. “When you ask, see if they need a school psychologist.”
Gator grinned and smacked Rowan’s shoulder. They were a team now. A team dedicated to getting the women they loved to want to set down roots right here in Shadows Landing.