“But we protect our own,” she said as if repeating someone else’s words.
“The Kelly mantra. See, you remember more than you think.”
“Don’t f**k with the Kellys,” she said and then her eyes widened as the expletive rolled off her tongue. She slapped a hand over her mouth and stared at Garrett with shocked eyes.
He threw back his head and laughed. “Got it in one, sweet pea. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Ethan stood just outside the door, listening to Garrett and Rachel talk. Then he heard Garrett’s laughter and then astonishingly Rachel’s as well. The sound hit him where he lived, put a chokehold around his throat until he struggled to breathe. There wasn’t a more beautiful sound than her laughter, but he hadn’t been the one to coax it from her. Garrett had. Just as he always had.
He willed the bitterness, the old feelings of insecurity and jealousy to leave him. They’d never brought him anything but misery. Him and Rachel both. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t allow that back into their lives. He’d sworn on Rachel’s grave that if he had a chance to do it all over again, he wouldn’t give in to the jealousy that nearly ate him alive during their marriage.
“Why do I have blood on my clothes?” she asked when the laughter died away.
“Just an accident with the IV,” Garrett replied. “Want me to get you something clean to wear?”
There was a brief hesitation, and Ethan couldn’t stand outside any longer. He walked into the room, making sure his face didn’t reflect the dark train of his thoughts.
When she looked up, he forgot all about everything else except the way she lit up when she saw him. Garrett got off the bed and turned to face Ethan.
“I’ll go get her something else to wear if you want.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. Check with Maren. She said she had a clean gown she could wear when she woke.”
Garrett nodded and started to move past him, but Ethan stopped him.
“Thanks, man.”
Garrett didn’t react, just nodded and moved past as if it were nothing. As if Rachel’s laughter hadn’t about put Ethan on his knees.
Ethan moved forward to take Garrett’s place on the bed. “Garrett been taking good care of you?” he asked as he settled into place.
She smiled and nodded. “He said you wouldn’t be long.”
“I wouldn’t have left, but I needed to see Sam and Donovan off.”
“Off? Did they leave?”
He nodded. “They went ahead of us. Cole and Dolphin needed medical care, and Sam and Donovan are going to break the news to Mom and Dad. As soon as Maren gives the okay for you to travel, we’ll go back too.”
“I want to go home,” she said softly. “I don’t like it here.”
“I know, baby. I want you home too. You can’t imagine how much I want you back in our house, where I can hold you and take care of you.”
She stared up at him with wide brown eyes. There was a certain amount of trepidation in her gaze, and she licked her lips as if she was struggling with what she wanted to say.
“Is there something wrong?” he asked.
She gave a short negative motion with her head. And then words, so sweet, like a cool northern breeze blowing off the lake. “You could hold me now.”
It was almost his undoing.
“Ah baby.”
He turned and reclined beside her until she was tucked solidly against his chest. Then he wrapped his arms around her, one sliding underneath her head as he gathered her close.
Her heart beat against his chest, fluttering like a baby bird. She gave a contented sigh that he felt all the way to his soul.
Life didn’t get any better than this moment. It would never be sweeter, and he’d never hungered for something more.
Garrett walked in a second later, but when he saw them, he dropped the gown on the end of the bed and quickly retreated.
She could change later. For now Ethan was reluctant to disturb the wonder of having his wife snuggled deep in his arms.
CHAPTER 13
MARLENE had just set dinner on the table when she heard the front door open and the sweetest words filled her ears.
“Ma, we’re home! Where are you?”
She turned just as Joe and Nathan rounded the corner, both grinning like idiots, with bags slung over their shoulders. They let them fall to the floor about the time her mouth did the same.
“Nathan! Joe!”
She dropped the casserole dish on the table and flew around to hug them both. Joe gathered her in his arms and swung her around, and she was promptly swept into Nathan’s as soon as Joe let go.
“My boys, oh my God, what are you two doing home?”
“Hey, Dad,” Nathan said as Frank got up.
Frank enfolded both the boys in a hearty embrace. When he pulled away, his eyes were suspiciously wet.
“What the hell are you two doing home? Why didn’t you call us?”
“We weren’t sure we were going to wrangle the leave,” Joe said. “We tried to get home for . . .”
“We’d hoped to get home on the sixteenth,” Nathan said quietly .
“That was good of you,” Marlene said. “I’m sure Ethan would have appreciated it.”
“Where is Ethan? We stopped by his house on the way in but no one was home.”
Marlene exchanged a look with Frank.
Nathan and Joe didn’t miss it.
“What’s going on, Mom?” Nathan asked.