Ever again.
* * *
Ethan didn't speak for a whole minute. He absolutely couldn’t believe what Elizabeth was telling him. Yes, he wanted more kids in the worst way, but he had given up hope. When they didn't get pregnant the last few months, Ethan had just added it to the misery that was burying him.
Now, this too was lifted from his shoulders.
“We’re having another baby?” he stated again. “Together?”
That made her laugh. Between the look on his face and that insane question, she was entertained. “Well, since Callen has been taking one for the team, Cowboy, and using protection, that really only leaves one possible baby daddy in the house.”
He stared at her openmouthed.
“We’re having a baby.” This time, realization was dawning and it wasn’t a question, but a statement.
“Yes, Cowboy. Congrats. You knocked up your wife once more,” she teased.
When his eyes filled with tears, Elizabeth fought hard to not be too soft. Wasn’t that what he wanted?
“I love you,” he gushed, as he rushed at Elizabeth. Grabbing her, he pulled her into his body and wrapped around her tightly. “I’m going to be a father again!”
She started laughing, especially after he picked her up off the ground and spun her around. “Yeah, but I tend to feel a little sick when I wake up, so turning me like a top is probably a bad idea,” she stated. “Unless, you want to shower again right after the pukapocalypse.”
Immediately, Ethan put her down. Staring into her icy blue eyes, he ran his fingers lovingly over her lips, then cheek, and finally the pixie cut hair. “Today is one of the best days of my life!”
Not only did he begin the journey back to his life, his woman was having their baby.
Dropping to his knees, he lifted her shirt. “I love you already. You’re going to have an awesome life, I promise!”
Elizabeth dropped her voice low and teased him. “Daddy, you need to take mommy out for breakfast. I need to eat.”
He started laughing. “Okay, I get it. I’m back on feeding duty once more.” That was just one more amazing thing. His time could be filled with focusing on his child and wife, and not the emotional turmoil he was feeling.
Maybe fate was cutting him a break.
Finally!
When she grinned at him, his heart skipped.
“Damn right you are, Cowboy. Now feed us!”
Ethan Blackhawk would give her anything that she wanted at that point, just to show her how much he loved them both. “Let’s head into town.”
She laughed. “I have to shower first. I’m still a mess,” she answered.
Staring at her, he finally spoke. “I’ve never seen anyone look more beautiful in all my life, Lyzee my love.”
Her heart fluttered at his words. “Want to take a shower with me?”
Blackhawk grabbed his towel from the island and took her hand. “Yeah, I can do that.”
“No fooling around. I need to eat, and soon!”
He didn't have to say anything. Ethan was pretty sure that they both knew what was going to happen.
It was a damn good thing that he could be fast.
Or at least he could try.
* * *
When they pulled up to the building that had once been George LaRue’s place, they noticed that things had definitely changed. ‘The Barrel’ was gone, and in its place was some new age-y café. From the sign, Elizabeth could already tell that this was going to be interesting.
Even Ethan knew what she was thinking, so it must have been plastered all over her face.
Yeah, it looked like Baby Blackhawk was going to be eating something healthy today.
“Are you sure you want to eat here?” he asked, cautiously. Through both of her pregnancies, his wife had been a wild card. With CJ, she craved meat and with EJ, she could barely eat. For now, he needed to observe and take the subtle clues that she was giving out.
Elizabeth thought about it. This was Salem, so really, what choice did she have?
When in Rome…
“Sure. We can try it out and go from there.”
Ethan grinned at her and took his sunglasses off. At least he was going to be amused by what went down when their wait staff tried to feed her sticks and twigs.
This was going to be an adventure.
Once inside, they were taken to a set of café tables off in the corner. Elizabeth had to admit, the room was cheery and colorful, and that made her want to eat something. When her brother owned the place, it was a total greasy spoon establishment. At night it was a bar, and it often smelled that way the following day.
After the chipper waiter brought them coffee, he waited for them to make up their minds.
Elizabeth read his name tag. “Brandon, I don’t see bacon on the menu,” she began.
Ethan fought for composure. It was about to begin, and he was honestly looking forward to it.
God, he missed this part of his life the last four months.
“Yeah, we’re a vegan café. We don’t do meat, cheese, dairy or eggs, with the exception of crab, now and again. The owner believes that eating meat is bad for you.”
“Uh, then that’s not really vegan,” Elizabeth offered, starting to enjoy the banter. In the grand scheme of it all, she would eat wallpaper paste to have Ethan back.
The man stared at her impatiently. “What can I get you, ma’am?”
It was probably a good thing that she could handle black coffee. There was no way she was putting faux cream in her caffeine fix.
“Okay then. How about a muffin? Are they real or make believe too?”
Now, Ethan was cracking under the pressure to start laughing. He had to admit, his wife was taking it easy on the waiter. Apparently, the baby hormones were still manageable.
“They’re made with...” he began and was promptly cut off.
“Don’t tell me. It’ll ruin it. Just bring me a blueberry one, and I’m good. If you don’t have that, I’ll take a snozzberry one instead.”
Now, he really looked confused. When he had to look at the board with the muffin flavors, Elizabeth wanted to laugh. If she tried to explain it would be lost in translation. It was best to let this one go.
Ethan was barely able to focus on ordering. He picked a coconut one because after all, he was on vacation and this was as close to the beach as they were going to get.
“You stayed calm,” he stated, taking her hand in his. “I loved the snozzberry comment. That’s one of my favorite movies,” he offered, sipping his black coffee, just in case the creamer was too bizarre for even him.
“It’s one of mine too. We’ll have to make some popcorn later and curl up on the couch to watch it. As for pissing off people, I’m trying not to rile up the locals too much. The last thing we need to do is point out that Elizabeth and her Indian are back in town.”
Yeah, they stirred it up plenty last time.
“Point taken.”
Ethan could tell something was bothering her. “Want to get it off your chest?” he asked.
“I want to bring something up that has been bothering me, but I’m worried it will ruin your day, make you mad, or sad.”
He stroked her cheek. “How about we make a deal? From here on out, we tell each other the absolute truth. We don’t hide anything, even if it may hurt. Keeping things in is far worse. Look at how damaged I was over you not touching me, when it was just you afraid to draw attention to my scars.”
Elizabeth stared into his eyes and took a deep breath as she prepared to jump right in. “I know that the killer took your ring, and it hurts you to see it, but it hurts me that you’re not wearing one. I feel like you gave up on our marriage. I feel like you didn't want the world to know that you’re married to me anymore.”
His heart skipped as he stared down at her finger, only holding the one she and Callen shared.
“I took mine off to keep your heart from hurting, but we’ve had four months. You haven’t even broa
ched the idea of buying a new one.”
“I’m sorry, Lyzee. I didn't know…”
She shrugged and stared down into her coffee. “I know that ring will never bring up good memories, but it still meant something to me. It stood for us, and that we were an unbreakable, unified front. Now, I feel like you’re ashamed of me. Maybe you don’t want to wear a ring because I let you down, or because I was arrogant and failed you. ”
He was appalled at what she thought to be fact. “Baby…”
“No, please. You said honesty, and I want you to know how I feel inside. I know it’s silly, because it’s just a ring, but to me it’s a symbol. Like our badges, it has power. It stands for something and helps hold us together as a couple.” She ran her finger over the place that once held their wedding band. “I hated taking my wedding ring off. It killed me to do it. It was just one more way that Patrick Parrish destroyed us. It was like conceding a victory to him.”
He didn't know that she felt this way.
Ethan couldn’t look at his wedding band, because of what it reminded him of, but he never thought to think how not replacing it would affect her. “I didn't know, Lyzee.”
She stared into his eyes and fought the emotion. “Now you do, Ethan.”
Well, he told her to stop babying him, and this was the first test he was going to have to face. “We can go shopping and look for new ones.”
Elizabeth was willing to give him some time. “When we get home we will. You don’t have to rush into it. I understand that it hurts you.”
Yeah, and it hurt her too.
Blackhawk was willing to carry this one for her. “It does, but I didn't know that it bothered you this much. You’ve carried my heart for months now, Elizabeth.” He lifted her chin with his fingertips. “Now, it’s my turn to take care of my wife and child.”
“I have no doubt that you will, Ethan.”
“I would rather die than hurt you like this ever again,” he murmured. “I got so lost in the pain that I forgot that my partner was by my side. I wasn’t alone, Elizabeth. You were suffering with me. I forgot that we were in this together.”
Immediately, tears filled her eyes. She needed a minute to compose herself, or she would be a hormonal mess. “I’m going to get a paper. They usually list things that are happening in town. We might be able to find some fun things to do while we’re on vacation.”
He watched her walk away as the waiter brought their muffins. “Anything else, sir?” he asked.
Blackhawk shook his head. “No, we’re good.”
His eyes never left the woman he loved. He knew deep down in his heart that he needed to make this right.
Immediately, he would start working on it.
For her and for him.
Elizabeth fought the tears and was able to calm down. She was relieved that finally, she was able to get that burden off her chest. It had been weighing her down for weeks. Every night, she would go to her jewelry box and hold that ring in her hand and pray. Sometimes, she would wear the wedding band on a chain around her neck, just to believe that her marriage was going to hold up under the crushing weight.
Glancing over at her husband, she could see the happiness coming back. His face wasn’t etched in granite. He was grinning and at peace as he drank his coffee.
The honesty thing was going to work for them.
She could already tell.
As she bent down to grab a paper to carry back to the table, there was a familiar voice from behind her. It brought back memories, and once she recognized it, she almost wanted to laugh.
“You have to be new in town. I would remember that fine derrière if I saw it around.”
Before she turned around, she quipped right back, “Obviously not, since you dated the woman attached to it for almost a full year, Tony.”
When she turned, his face showed both horror and surprise.
“Holy shit! Lyzee?”
“You guessed it.”
Tony was completely surprised. The woman before him looked completely different. Where before she had always been gorgeous, now she was incredibly sexy. Gone was the long hair and in its place was a sexy little pixie cut. The eyes were still the same, but the body… not so much. Elizabeth had filled out the lithe frame and gave it some incredibly dangerous curves. Now, she was making the jeans and cowboy boots a thing of pure beauty and every man’s fantasy.
This was the last thing that he expected today.
Ethan took that moment to make his appearance. He had been watching and listening from their table not far away. “Hello, Tony. I don’t know why I’m surprised that you’re hitting on my wife. It seems to be a bad habit of yours.”
He stared at the man.
“Good to see that Salem has pretty much remained the same,” Ethan added, dropping his arm over Elizabeth’s shoulder, protectively. “Why don’t you close your mouth, Tony, and join us at our table for coffee?” Ethan offered.
Elizabeth was amused by the entire thing. Tony had quite possibly the worst timing in the entire world, and this was just more proof of it. To break the ice, Elizabeth hugged her old friend. Taking him by the hand, she pulled him along. “How are you, Tony?”
He sat and pulled off his cowboy hat. “I’m a little surprised, that’s all. I didn't expect to walk in, get my coffee, and find you here.”
She grinned. “To be fair, I didn't expect to be having breakfast and have someone tell me my ass was fine.”
Blackhawk took a sip of coffee. “Technically, I do tell you that pretty much every day and sometimes twice after dinner.”
She winked at him.
“How long have you been here?” he asked, ignoring the large Native man beside him. The two really didn't have anything in common, except the woman they both were crazy about. It didn't end well for Tony, and Blackhawk had won that round.
There were still bad feelings between them, and neither man was backing down.
“We arrived last night.”
“Are you vacationing?” he asked, accepting coffee from the waiter.
Elizabeth could sense the tension from her husband, as he hoped that she didn't share too much information. When she took his hand and squeezed, he relaxed. “We’re taking a vacation and spending some time away from the kids for Valentine’s Day.”
Tony sipped his coffee. “Yeah, Doc mentioned that you were popping those kids out like crazy.”
Elizabeth took a bite of her blueberry muffin in an attempt to feed the fetus that was growing deep within her body. “Yeah, well we love kids.” She didn't plan on telling anyone that they were pregnant again, until they could break the good news to Callen. He deserved to know second.
Ethan took her hand in his and kissed across her knuckles. “We love having a tribe,” he added. God, he hoped that this baby was going to be the girl he desperately wanted.
Elizabeth directed the questions back at the most obvious thing that she and Ethan had to be thinking. “How did you get to be sheriff? Last I heard, Chris Santana had the job when I left.”
Tony tipped his hat and grinned wickedly. “I was just the man for the position, ma’am,” he drawled. “I’m bringing sexy back to the job, since you left.”
It was hard for Blackhawk to not picture himself beating the man into a bloody pulp outside the café. Then, it occurred to him that he hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Immediately, he smiled.
This was one more sign that Ethan was coming back. He wanted to commit homicide when men were sniffing around his girl.
Good to know.
Elizabeth snorted. “Yeah, okay, Tony. How did you really get the job?”
He sighed. “Okay, well Chris was offered the mayor position when the council couldn’t fill it. You were their first and only choice. He really wasn’t into being sheriff. When Sara died, I think she took a little piece of his heart with her.”
Didn't she know how that felt?
Elizabeth suspected that Chris and Sara had a little thing between them, and th
at her murder forever broke a piece of him. In fact, she could relate, since she carried that death on her shoulders too.
“How long are you in town?” he asked. “We’re about to kick off the Spring Fling festival. We’re running it early this year, since it’s been so damn nice out. You should check it out.”
Ethan considered it. “We’re here until Sunday.”
“That’s the first day. You can at least get some really awesome barbeque and maybe hop on a few fair rides.”
Elizabeth liked the idea of that. “Maybe you and Callen can be my official dates.”
“Who is Callen? And if you need a date, I’m available,” Tony teased.
Ethan practically growled.
It was music to Elizabeth’s ears. She hadn’t heard him respond like that in a while. It made her want to do cartwheels.
“Callen is my brother,” Ethan stated.
Taking it one step further, Elizabeth added the truth. “I’m also in a relationship with him. Ethan’s my husband on paper, and Callen’s my unofficial one.”
Tony looked appalled, then fascinated, and then finally the joking began. “So, you’re bed hopping with two Native men? That’s priceless.”
She happened to agree and refused to be anything less than proud of that fact. “I believe it is.”
Tony had so many questions, but he could tell by Ethan Blackhawk’s face, now wasn’t the time. “What are your plans today?” he inquired.
Elizabeth popped the last piece of her muffin into her mouth. “We’re going to grocery shop, take a walk, and have copious amounts of sex on our couch.”
It was funny how the man started choking on his coffee.
Ethan winked at his wife. “That’s the perfect day, if you want my opinion.” In the back of his mind, he was already planning on sneaking out tomorrow to get a Valentine’s Day present for Elizabeth. Ethan would need Callen to run interference. Already, he knew what he needed to do.
“I better get back to work,” Tony stated, as he pushed away from the table.
Elizabeth knew that they freaked the man out, and that gave her a deep sense of satisfaction. Tony liked to flirt and rub Ethan the wrong way, and while she promised not to baby him, she didn't plan on not defending him like crazy.
Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) Page 8