Chapter 28 #2
“No way. Grace. This is…holy…”
But he doesn’t finish, because she tugs him down for a quick kiss.
A collective chorus erupts behind us:
Cas: “Too long.”
Dex: “Way too long.”
Jace: “Tongue? Did I see tongue? Caleb, buddy, we need to talk.”
Jude: silent death glare
Ethan: “Grace, we said no making out under Mom’s roof.”
Grace flips all five brothers off without missing a beat.
Lily gasps.
Josh tries, and fails, not to laugh.
We’re still teasing them when the door opens again.
Asher steps inside, leaning heavily on crutches, his leg wrapped in a thick cast from thigh to ankle. Behind him, Leona walks in on sharp heels, slim, polished, and looking like she took a wrong turn on her way to New York Fashion Week.
“Asher!” Lily rushes to him, hugging him carefully.
He winces but laughs. “Good to see you too, Lily.”
We all shuffle into the dining room. The long table is covered in red and gold, candles glowing, bowls and platters steaming. Everyone squeezes in.
Grace sits between Caleb and Penny.
Asher sits with Leona curled tightly against his side.
I’m next to Ethan, Mia on my other side.
When everyone is seated, Josh stands, clears his throat, and starts the Christmas blessing. Laughter dies, the family listens to him with a reverence that always warms me.
But the moment he finishes and everyone digs back in, after a while, Asher wipes his mouth and pushes up a bit straighter.
“I, uh… want to say something.”
Forks pause midair.
All eyes turn to him.
He exhales, bracing.
“I consider you all my family,” he begins, voice unsteady. “I practically grew up with you. So I wanted to share this news here… with the people who matter.”
Grace straightens.
Ethan frowns slightly.
Jace smirks like he knows a bomb is coming.
Asher squeezes Leona’s hand.
“Last night… I asked Leona to marry me.”
Silence.
The kind that has weight. The kind that shifts the air.
Leona’s smile is tight but triumphant.
Grace chokes.
Not a soft cough, she full-on sputters her drink across her plate, doubling over, face red. Caleb wraps an arm around her and thumps her back.
“Oh hell,” Jace mutters. “Did you knock her up?”
“JACE HAWTHORNE!” Lily smacks the table. “You watch your manners!”
But Asher lifts a hand.
“No, it’s okay,” he sighs. “And… yes. We are, in fact, having a baby.”
Gasps ripple around the table.
Lily covers her mouth, eyes filling. Josh stands, moves straight to Asher, and pulls him into a careful hug.
“Oh honey,” Lily whispers, hugging Leona next. “Congratulations.”
Everyone gets up, everyone except Grace.
She stares at her plate, frozen. Then she stands abruptly, her chair scraping hard against the wood.
“Excuse me,” she whispers and bolts.
Caleb curses and runs after her.
The family watches them go, unsure. I swallow hard, my chest pinching at the heartbreak on Grace’s face.
After a beat, we gather ourselves. We congratulate Asher again. We ask Leona questions, names, due dates, all the little details.
Grace and Caleb rejoin us after a while, and Grace walks up to Asher, looking him in the eyes. “Congratulations, Asher. I’m happy for you.”
Asher nods. Grace turns and takes her place at the table.
Eventually, lunch winds down. Asher and Leona leave early because she isn’t feeling well.
When the table is cleared and everyone helps clean the kitchen, Josh claps his hands together. “Board games?”
Jace groans. “If it’s Monopoly again, I swear…”
“It’s Monopoly,” Lily announces brightly.
We all drag into the living room. The board is set up. Ethan sits beside me, thigh warm against mine. Mia curls in my lap, clutching the new doll Grace got her.
The family is screaming about fake money when I feel a hand squeeze my shoulder.
I turn.
Grace.
“Summer…” she whispers. “Can you…can you look at something?”
“Everything okay?” I ask softly.
Ethan lifts his gaze, instantly alert. “What is it?”
Grace hands me her phone.
My stomach drops before my brain can catch up.
On the screen:
A local newspaper headline.
And under it, a photo—
Kevin.
Me.
Mia.
That old staged Christmas card picture, the one where my smile didn’t reach my eyes.
Beneath it, a candid shot of Ethan and me slow dancing at Midnight Rodeo, his hands on my waist, my forehead against his cheek.
Then the headline hits me like a punch:
Montgomery Heir Left Her Husband for a Cowboy — Took Child Away From Her Father
A roaring fills my ears.
My vision tunnels.
Black spots bloom at the edges.
I can’t breathe.
“Summer?” Ethan says sharply, cupping my face. “Baby, hey. Hey, look at me.”
I can’t.
I’m falling.
His voice cuts through the panic.
“Tell me three things you can see.”
I try.
Try again.
“Table… couch… tree…”
“Good,” he whispers. “Now three things you can touch.”
My hand finds the chair.
The coarse fabric of my sweater sleeve.
His warm palm.
“You,” I choke out.
The roaring fades.
My heartbeat steadies, barely.
Cas snatches the phone from Grace, reading the article with a dark glare, jaw flexing.
Penny and Lily sweep Mia out of the room, babbling about a craft project they “forgot to finish,” trying to shield her.
Ethan pulls me against his chest, holding me together with both arms.
And all I can think is…
It’s starting.
Kevin started the war.
Did they pay the newspaper to publish this on Christmas Day? I always knew they didn’t have a heart, but this is more than that, this is meant to hurt me, the mother of his child, their daughter…
As of today, my biological family is dead to me.
I cling to Ethan’s voice like it’s the only solid thing in the room. My breathing finally evens out, but my hands still shake as Grace gently takes her phone back, guilt flooding her eyes.
“I didn’t… I just thought you should know,” she whispers.
Before I can answer, Cas stands abruptly, jaw hard, nostrils flaring like he’s ready to march to the newspaper office and burn it down himself.
“Absolutely not,” he mutters, grabbing the phone from Grace again. “They don’t get to do this. Not today. Not ever.”
Penny places a calming hand on his arm, but her eyes are blazing too. Dex is already pacing, fists clenching and unclenching. Jude looks like he’s doing math, rage plus strategy divided by homicide.
And in the middle of all of it, Ethan kneels beside me like I’m the only one in the room.
“You okay, Summer?” His thumbs wipe under my eyes, even though I didn’t realize I was crying.
I nod, but it’s a lie, and he knows it.
He stands and takes my hand, tugging gently. “Come on.”
“Where?” My voice is barely a sound.
“For air,” he says softly. “And peace.”
The moment we step outside, the cold hits my cheeks, sharp, grounding. Snowflakes drift down lazily, the whole ranch quiet except for the distant wind rustling through the trees. Ethan slips his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him as we walk.
The world feels gentler out here. Quieter. Less cruel.
We make it a few steps before my voice cracks. “They’re painting me like I’m… like I’m some cheating villain.”
Ethan stops walking. Turns to face me fully. “You listen to me, Summer Montgomery.” His hands slide over my cheeks, warm and steady. “People who matter know the truth. And the ones who write garbage like that? They don’t deserve to know you at all.”
A trembling breath leaves me. “But Kevin…”
“Kevin is a coward hiding behind lawyers and headlines. He clearly knows you’re the better parent for Mia if he is stooping this low.”
“But he’ll twist this,” I whisper. “He’ll say I ran off to play house with a cowboy. He’ll say…”
“Let him,” Ethan says quietly. “Because I’ll be right there proving every word is a lie.”
Snowflakes melt on his lashes. His breath clouds between us. His voice is low, rough with protectiveness.
“You didn’t leave your ‘husband.’ You escaped a man who broke you.
And you didn’t kidnap Mia, you took your daughter out of the emotionally abusive environment you grew up in.
” His chest rises sharply. “And if the world wants a fight, they can fight all of us. You hear me? Every Hawthorne in that house would burn the world down before they let you or Mia get hurt.”
A small laugh slips out of me. “I noticed.”
“Grace nearly tackled me when I took too long to follow you out the door.” He smirks. “You’re one of us now. That comes with… enthusiastic levels of overprotection.”
Snow crunches under his boots as he steps closer, pressing his forehead to mine.
“I hate that you saw that article today,” he murmurs. “Christmas should be joy and ugly sweaters and Jace cheating at Monopoly.”
“He does cheat,” I whisper.
“He absolutely does.” Ethan smiles softly. “And tomorrow we’ll tell my lawyer. And we’ll handle it. But tonight…” He brushes my hair back, fingers gentle. “Tonight is Christmas. And you’re here. With me.”
My throat tightens. “Ethan…”
“Yeah, Venus.”
“I’m scared.”
“I know.” He kisses my forehead. “But you’re not alone.”
He takes my hand again, lacing our fingers. We start walking toward the barn lights glowing warm in the distance, snow settling on our hair, our clothes, on the trail behind us.
I’m still scared, so scared, but I also know I’ll fight this with everything I’ve got, and Ethan will be right there with me.