Chapter Seventeen #3
When he reached into his pocket, he pulled out the necklace box for her.
“I saw this, and thought of you,” he admitted. “This is the promise so we can see it and remember.”
When she smiled, it made his heart happy. He missed buying his girl things.
As she flipped it open, she gasped.
“Oh, Ethan, it’s so pretty,” she admitted, touching the glittering stones.
“Red and gold,” he said. “Your two favorite colors. I figure when you wear it, you’ll think of our children, and maybe me.”
She stared up at him.
“I think about you all the time,” she admitted. “We built this world on our backs with effort. How could I not think about you every day?”
He helped her take it out of the box.
“Just keep thinking about me. Just remember that under everything, you were the person who saved me. Without you, Elizabeth, this man wouldn’t be here.
When Gene and I broke up, I was destroyed.
I’d put all my faith in that relationship and swore I’d never love again.
Then, you came into my world, and I fell in love with your charm, sweetness, and protectiveness. ”
And she’d fallen in love with his heart.
Ethan had a big one.
He protected it because it was fragile, but if you got past the wall, you saw the beauty of it all.
“I promise that I’ll always think about you.”
And Blackhawk knew if his wife made a promise, she always kept it.
No.
Doubt.
“Then my other wish came true. I wished I could win you back, and I did.”
She smiled at him.
“You absolutely did.”
Ethan helped her clasp the necklace, and it hung beside Callen’s rosary, and Ceit’s ‘heart’.
“What do you say to a few drinks?”
She laughed.
“A few? Oh, Ethan, I’m going to get shitfaced, fall-down drunk. That’s why we’re not the designated drivers. It’s been a long time coming since I was tipsy, and I feel like getting that and then some tonight.”
He grinned.
“Want a partner? I haven’t gotten schnockered in a lonnnnnnnng time.”
She snorted.
“Let’s go do it up, partner, and show Scotland how the Blackhawks do it.”
That worked for him.
Hand-in-hand, they walked toward the pub. As they reached it, Michael and Graham appeared, proving that they’d been following them.
“I was wondering where you were,” Elizabeth stated. “Want to get drunk?”
Michael laughed.
“Not something a mother says to her children daily, but sign me up. My mother has a wild streak.”
She snorted.
“It’s been a couple of intense weeks,” she stated. “I need a palate refresher. Booze all around.”
Sign.
Them.
Up.
Graham declined.
“I’ll be the driver,” he said. “Let everyone drink. Me and booze have a love-hate relationship. I’m off that wagon for the rest of my life.”
Besides, he needed to help his husband keep an eye on Elizabeth. If Michael was getting drunk, one of them had to keep alert.
After his explanation, Ethan and Elizabeth understood that.
“We can skip it,” Elizabeth offered.
He stopped her.
“My demons, Mom, not yours. I’d be fine, but I’m drunk on something else,” he said, pointing at his husband. “Besides, I want him drunk and disorderly so I can take advantage of him later.”
Michael laughed.
“Newsflash, Babe, I don’t need to be drunk. Feel free at any time to take advantage of me. I’m a whore. I’m definitely not saying no.”
He laughed.
“Good to know.”
Well, then, it was settled.
Once inside, they found Finn and Gabby having drinks. Finn had a soda, and Gabby had a fruity-looking drink. When they sat, all eyes were on them.
The pub was pretty full, but then again, it was evening, and people liked a nightcap.
God knew she did.
As the waitress headed their way, she took their order, and checked out Ethan.
No shock there.
She was accustomed to having women ogle her husbands. If she had a dollar for each time, she could have bought the castle herself with that pocket change.
When she headed away, Gabby laughed.
“Oh, she was making eyes at the man. This should end well,” she joked.
Elizabeth shrugged.
“I’m accustomed to it. I stopped worrying about someone stealing my man about seven kids ago.”
Ethan just laughed.
“First, I’m right here, and second, cheating on my wife isn’t something I’ve ever contemplated. One, because she’s sexy, and two, because I’ve seen her beat the living hell out of people for funsies. I’m not dumb. I like my face not broken.”
She snorted.
“I mean, that is a good deterrent. Then again, would I even have to do that?”
Michael smiled the second she said it. Oh, his mom just tagged him in.
“Nope. The first husband that makes Mom cry has a whole lot of other issues. Basically, a platoon. I’ll be at the front.”
Ethan pointed.
“Not shocked. Her badassery brought all the boys to the yard, and those boys are Marines.”
Yes, yes, they were.
As their drinks came, Graham had a beer and switched it with Finn’s drink.
“Hey! I’m the designated asshole,” he said.
Graham clued him in.
“You’re off duty. I’ll drive,” he said. “I’m not feeling the booze tonight.”
His best friend knew why.
“I can skip it too.”
Graham patted him on the back.
“It’s all good, Laddie. Drink up. You have a good time. My fun is later when I watch all you idiots stumble into the castle. I am NOT cleaning up puke. There’s your one warning.”
Elizabeth toasted them.
“Here’s to our family who has seen us at our best and our worst, and can’t tell the difference.”
Blackhawk clinked his glass off of hers, and was amused.
Wasn’t that the truth?
As they kicked back the beers, Elizabeth looked around the pub, taking it all in.
Honestly, she was impressed that other than a few looks, no one was saying shit to them. No one had called the media, that she could tell, and it appeared they were having a peaceful dinner.
As they were waiting on their food, they put in another order for a round, and that was when she saw people approaching.
Uh-oh.
As the two older men headed their way, she saw Michael go on alert.
“Incoming,” he stated, putting his beer down to protect his mother and father—if need be.
Thank God the cops were already at the table with them, because he would punch a bitch for starting shit.
As they reached the table, the one man was curious.
“Are you the owners of the castle?” he asked.
Elizabeth stared at him.
“What castle?” she asked, playing dumb.
The man looked confused.
“Uh, Ravensmire.”
She shrugged.
“Who wants to know?” she asked. “Because asking random people if they own things is a bit…weird.”
The man laughed.
“Ah, Lassie, this whole thing is weird. We never thought we’d see that castle come back to life. We just wanted to thank ya, that’s all.”
She pointed at Michael and Graham.
“I don’t own it. They do.”
Both men stared at Graham.
The whole time, he was silent. Oh, and Elizabeth knew why. He’d suffered without Michael and made himself a little bit of a reputation.
“You do?” he asked Graham.
He nodded.
“Part of it, and part with silent partners.”
The man looked over at his friend.
“Are they American? Like her?” he asked. “Because we want it to stay protected.”
Graham handled it.
“The other owners have relayed their belief that it should stay true to its origins. They’ve rehabbed it back to what it would have been when Duncan Granndach would have had it—minus actual electricity and a state-of-the-art kitchen.”
The men seemed to look calmer.
“Really?” the one asked.
Graham nodded.
“Yes. My husband and I are overseeing the construction. It has been restored with the stone floors, the tapestries, and all of the artwork has been hung. What wasn’t put in storage will be donated to the local historical society. Ravensmire is going to be open to tours around Christmas.”
The men looked pleased to hear that.
“Thank you, Laddie. Please tell the other owners that we appreciate them respecting our castle.”
He nodded.
“I’ll pass that along,” he offered, knowing he didn’t have to since two of them were sitting right there. “I’m sure they’ll be glad to hear everyone is happy with that decision.”
The two men headed away.
“People love that place, huh?” Elizabeth asked.
Graham nodded.
“Yeah, they do. Before it was bought, no one could afford the renovations. The town had to either sell it or find the money. Callen and Chris dumped a whole bunch of money into it.”
She was curious.
“I know I’m going to regret this, but how much is a ‘whole bunch’?” she asked.
When he told her, she stared at him.
“Yep. I was right. I regret it.”
Ethan just laughed.
“I mean, to put it into context, Elizabeth, that was what Callen got for his last film, and Chris is worth about one hundred times that.”
She didn’t want to be reminded.
When their drinks were put down, the waitress put a drink in front of Graham.
“I didn’t order this.”
She pointed.
“The two men over there sent it over.”
When they looked, the two men were making obscene gestures at Graham.
It was clear they’d been privy to the gossip or his number on the bathroom stall wall. That was exactly why he’d gotten a new number.
“I’m sorry,” Graham said, going red.
When Michael went to get up, Elizabeth put her hand on his arm.
“Nope. You don’t send a big Marine to handle this. You send someone else.”
Mainly, a mother.
Oh, and she was a mean mother when need be.
He protested.
“I’m not going to let them talk shit about my husband,” he said. “Finn, get ready to arrest me. I won’t even put up a fucking fight,” he said, cracking his knuckles as the two men were laughing up a storm.
“Nope,” she said again. “To truly humiliate them, you send a mom,” she said, pushing her chair back. “Finn, I will put up a fight because I like being a fucking spectacle,” she said, as she stood up. “Ethan, get ready to bail my ass out.”
Finn stared.
“Why do I think this is about to be bad? I don’t think she was kidding.”
Gabby just laughed.
“Oh, because it’s about to be bad—for them.”
They all watched as she went over to the table. As she did, the men said one thing.
“Oh, a woman is fighting for that cum dumpster’s honor.”
And that’s when she leaned down, said something, and both men went red. As she spoke to them, she pointed back at Graham and said something else.