Chapter 55
LIAM
Ihelped Charlie with the fire. As it crackled when the new logs were added, an ember spat right onto my pants. I groaned and smacked it away, but the damage was already done. I could feel the little round, black hole right on my ass crack.
London burst out laughing. “Are you so much of a liar that your pants are on fire even when you’re not talking?”
Liv chuckled but pointed the top of her beer at her sister. “Quit being so mean to him. You heard what Charlie said. It’s nice when we’re all talking without being at each other’s throats. That’s why we left the games behind.”
I smirked. “Yeah, stop being so damn mean. They just fed you. The creature can’t be hangry again already.”
She reached out and smacked me, barely restrained laughter crinkling the corners of her eyes. “Your pants were literally on fire. This has nothing to do with being hangry or the creature. I mean, come on. What do you want from me?”
“Some compassion,” I said. “For a start. And maybe some new pants.”
As I held my eyes latched on hers, a thousand things I wanted from her sped through my mind, but I didn’t say any of them out loud. Even then, a silent beat passed between us and I swore she knew every little thing I was thinking.
Eventually, she broke eye contact with me when Olivia cleared her throat, drawing London’s attention to her. “We’ve got some stuff to make s’mores if anyone is interested. Want to help me bring it all out?”
London chuckled. “Only in Texas will a person be offered s’mores even after they’ve had dessert.”
“That’s what makes it the best state,” Olivia replied without skipping a beat. “People around here have the freedom to do their own thing without their neighbors peering in on them over the walls.”
“Look at my cowgirl,” Charlie said jokingly, but I could also hear real love in his tone. “When I met her, she thought New York was the best thing since sliced bread.”
“Are you kidding?” she teased as she stood up. “I didn’t eat bread when I lived there. Let alone the processed, pre-sliced stuff.”
He laughed. “You said it, not me.”
She winked and motioned for London to follow her, but as they started walking away from the fire, a shrill wail started up inside the house and Olivia broke into a jog.
Charlie checked his watch. “Lizzie must be thirsty. It should only take them seven hours to give her some water, with London being in there with them.”
I chuckled, watching as London sped into the house after her sister. They paused just inside the door though, talking for less than ten seconds before Olivia raced in one direction and London took off in another.
Charlie frowned. “Olivia must really want a s’more if she sent London to get the stuff from the kitchen while she takes care of Elizabeth.”
“London would never go in there and wake her up more than she already is,” Abi said protectively. “We have nothing but respect for her routines and rhythms.”
Charlie lifted his palms in surrender. “Of course, but she also loves s’mores.”
“Fair enough.” Abi giggled, rising to her feet and starting toward the house. “I’ll go see if she needs help carrying it all.”
As she disappeared, Charlie waited until she was out of earshot before he pretended to wipe sweat off his brow with the back of his forearm. “Whew. I was worried for a moment there. Those girls are crazy protective of each other.”
I laughed. “They always have been. They’re super close. I think it’s pretty cool, though. My sister and I are the same way, but we don’t go making as much effort as the Walkers to see each other as often as they do.”
Cody suddenly got a strangely constipated look on his face as he looked at his brothers around the fire. “It just occurred to me that we’ve never had to make any effort to see each other. We’re all just always here.”
Colt sighed loudly. “I know. I’m stuck with all of you. Forever. It’s been a real thorn in my side for over thirty years now.”
“You mean since you’ve been born?” Wyatt said, totally deadpan. “If it helps, I feel the same way.”
They bantered back and forth like that until London and Abi came back, with Liv hot on their heels. Charlie hooked an arm around his wife’s hips when she got back and inclined his head toward their bedroom window.
“Is she okay?” he asked. “I’ll answer the next call to duty.”
Olivia smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. “She should be fine now. She was just thirsty and pretty angry that her blanket was caught on her foot. As soon as I moved it, she settled down.”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead before he let go of her. “Well, I get pretty annoyed when a blanket’s caught on my foot. Maybe she got that from me.”
Olivia winked at him. “She definitely got her stubborn streak from you. That’s for sure.”
He laughed. “Only from me, huh?”
I smiled as I watched their exchange, but what interested me more was how closely London was watching them—without even rolling her eyes once. She sat down next to me, a little closer than she might’ve in the past, and let out a quiet, but audible sigh.
“Better you two than me,” Mason said with a grin when Charlie and Liv separated. “I love sleep too much, man.”
Wyatt muttered, “Me too,” just as Cody piped up, “I think it’s different when it’s your own kid you’re waking up for.”
Colt challenged him on the statement immediately. “How is it different? Waking up is waking up, no matter what you’re doing it for.”
“What about you, Liam?” Charlie asked. “I know how all these knuckleheads feel about it and I’ve seen Abi these last few days, so I don’t even need to ask, but do you want kids one day?”
I speared a marshmallow onto a stick before lifting my gaze away from the flickering flames to look at him. “For sure. I’d love a family of my own. I won’t even mind the pajama drill. I know it’s probably exhausting, but I also think it’s an honor to get to do it, you know?”
“Now here’s a man who understands.” Charlie smirked at his brothers. “See, Liam gets it.”
I chuckled. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I do want to be a great husband and father someday. I think it’s all part of being a good man and I wouldn’t want to miss a single moment with my family anyhow. That’s the dream, you know?”
I deliberately hadn’t looked at London at all while I’d said any of this, but I saw Abi nudging her from the corner of my eye. Risking a glimpse that had the ability to break my heart if her face was saying something I didn’t want to see, I quickly moved my eyes to hers.
To my utter surprise, she didn’t look disgusted or scared at all. Possibly for the first time ever when people were talking about having kids and building families, London seemed contemplative.
Hope soared through my chest, but I snuffed it out fast. Just because Elizabeth had been working her magic on London’s heart for the last day didn’t mean she actually wanted a family now.
It was entirely possible that this was just a hormonal or natural consequence of seeing her sister’s baby for the first time in a while.
After another hour or so, the Andersons called it a day. They all had to be up and at ‘em by four a.m., so they usually turned in earlier than the rest of us. Olivia glanced at her sisters as she got up with the brothers.
“I think I should head inside too. Lizzie might’ve inherited her daddy’s stubborn streak, but she also got his internal body clock. She doesn’t usually sleep much later than he does.”
Abi rose to her feet and gave Liv a quick hug. “I want to see if I can catch Simon before he nods off. It’s weird being without him for so long and I had an idea for the next Fit Guy pitch earlier while these guys were talking. I want to run it by him before I forget.”
Olivia groans. “That big brain of yours never turns off, does it?”
Abi flushed and flashed her a playful smile. “It does sometimes, but I doubt you want to hear about when and how that happens.”
“Definitely not.” Olivia giggled and linked her arm with Abi’s, but before they could ask London if she was joining them, I leaned closer to her.
“I’m going to stay out here and wait until the fire burns out. Do you want to join me?”
“Sure.”
She said goodnight to her sisters, and as they walked toward the house, she propped her elbows on her knees and made a bridge with her fingers to rest her chin on. Staring into the fire, she let out a happy sigh.
“That was a fun night, huh?” She paused. “Do you know that the first time I came out to the ranch, I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to live like this? It always smells like cow poo and there are so many insects.”
“I think your exact words were ‘country hicks who think it’s fun to drive an hour to buy bread and milk.’” I smiled. “I also recall you saying something about no one telling them that Wi-Fi wasn’t just a type of cattle feed.”
She groaned and dropped her forehead into her hands as she chuckled. “That’s true. I did say that. God, I can’t believe you remember.”
“Of course, I remember.” I remember most things you have strong opinions about and I happen to love your sense of humor. “I have a mental rolodex of the insults you dish out about people behind their backs in case I ever need to use them against you.”
“Why haven’t I thought of that?” She laughed again and finally sat back up, half-twisting in her seat to face me. “How’s Isabella?”
“You already asked me that, but I guess I didn’t give you a real answer.” I shrugged and drew in a deep breath. “She’s okay. Still trying to bring peace to the Jones clan. How about you? How has your time been without me the last day and a half?”
“Well…” She trailed off. My eyes stretched wide open when I realized she actually seemed to be searching for a genuine answer rather than just some sarcastic retort or jab. “I actually missed you.”
It was like I could feel the trepidation in her words. She’d admitted that to me and she was terrified I was going to poke fun at her for it. I didn’t blame her. Both of us tended to mask every real emotion with sarcasm instead of just being honest with each other.
Deciding to save it this time, I smiled and made a confession of my own instead. “Yeah, I missed you too.”
“I guess I just didn’t realize how much I rely on you emotionally and now… physically too, I suppose. It was weird not having you close by. I didn’t like it.”
“Neither did I.” A quiet fell between us, only the sound of cicadas and the last cracks of the fire filling the air for a few long beats.
I could practically hear the gears in her head turning, the internal wrestling match she was having with herself as she considered the consequences of what she’d just said. Personally, I was suddenly feeling a little less confident myself.
We were right on the precipice of saying things we couldn’t take back. Neither of us seemed all the way ready to say all the things that were hanging between us, unspoken.
Finally, I rubbed my palms along my jeans, drummed out a beat, and then stood up, reaching a hand out for hers and praying that she would take it. “Come on. It’s time for a night adventure. Are you game?”