What’s your favorite thing about Ren?
Easy: her gentle soul. She has such a beautiful sense of community, wanting to be involved, and not in a negative way but in a way that lifts up everyone. She loves saying yes, and when she gets involved in something, she puts her whole heart into it. It’s a very attractive quality to me, something that caught me right from the start.
“My parents actually still live in the same house I grew up in,” I say. “They never wanted to take away our childhood home. In the kitchen-pantry doorway, there are still growth charts climbing up the wall for each of us. My mom assigned us different colors so we always knew where each of us stood. She started measuring my sister Jen’s kids in the same doorframe.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet. Do your parents spend a lot of time at the shop?”
“Not as much anymore. They’re semiretired. They check in and help out when we need it, but it’s pretty much Jen and I who run everything.”
“And . . . Reid, is that his name?” I nod. “He helps out too?”
“For the meantime, until he gets back on his feet.” I don’t go into detail, and thankfully Ren’s parents don’t ask what happened. That’s Reid’s story to tell, not mine.
“It’s amazing how much you two look alike.”
“I thought the same thing,” Ren adds. “The first day I was here, I met all four brothers in the span of just a few hours, and I kept thinking I was running into different versions of Griffin.”
Her mom chuckles and then says, “And you two met . . .”
“I was the firefighter who rescued her from her car.”
Mrs. Winters puts down her scone, and Mr. Winters leans forward, a scowl on his face.
“Rescued her from where?”
Uh . . .
I turn to Ren—her eyes are wide with panic. I know I should cover for what I just said, but nothing is coming to mind. Did she not tell her parents about her moose encounter?
Shit.
Of course she wouldn’t want to worry them after her car accident in California, when they already weren’t happy that she’d moved out here.
Ren’s hand slips from mine.
“I’m . . . shit,” I mutter close to Ren’s ear. “I’m sorry.”
“You were in another car accident?” Ren’s mom asks, fury blazing in her eyes. “And you didn’t tell us?”
“It was the first day, Mom, and it was barely anything. Just a moose jumping out into the road. I avoided it and drove down a ditch, where I got stuck between two trees. I was fine.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Her mom looks like she’s about to cry, and I feel like I should leave.
“I’ll, uh, give you some space.” When I go to stand, Ren places her hand on my quad, forcing me to stay seated.
Keeping her attention on her mom, she takes a deep breath. “I didn’t tell you because I knew you would freak out. I wanted to start a new chapter in my life, and I knew if I told you, you would have been on the first plane out here to take me home.”
“Yes, you’re right about that.” Mrs. Winters now folds her arms over her chest, a mask of anger taking over her rather pleasant smile. “This is exactly why I didn’t want you moving across the country, because you clearly can’t take care of yourself—”
“Hey.” Ren sits up straight, her voice growing sterner with every word she speaks, showing a stronger side of her I haven’t seen before. It’s sexy. “I can take care of myself. I’m still living and breathing after the accident; I’m actually thriving here, and without any help from my parents. It was a bump in the road, one I didn’t need you freaking out about.”
“I could have helped you.”
“Yes, you could have, but I didn’t want your help, Mom.” Mrs. Winters’s face turns solemn. “And not because I don’t love you, but because I wanted to do this on my own.” Ren takes a deep breath and leans over to her mom, taking her hand in hers. “I love you dearly, but I also need some independence from you. And frankly, I’m glad I drove into that ditch, because not only did it show me that I could get through an obstacle on my own, but it was also when I met Griffin. It was the start of our friendship, a friendship that’s blossomed into so much more, and I wouldn’t trade that in for anything.”
I wrap my hand around Ren’s shoulder, her warmth spreading through me, to my very core, warming up the cold soul I’ve been carrying around for so long.
I wouldn’t trade that in for anything.
She’s so strong, confident, in us . . . in me. It makes me want to be the man she deserves, the man who doesn’t worry, who can live freely and give her my whole heart.
The man I want to be.
Her mom looks between us. “I don’t like that you didn’t tell me about the accident. What if something seriously happened to you?”
“Then I would have told you, Mom, but honestly . . .” Ren takes a deep breath. “You need to learn to let go. I’m a grown woman and can take care of myself, and I did after the accident. I love that you care about me so much, that you’re the loving parents any child deserves, and I’m so lucky to have you. But there also comes a time when you need to let go and let me live my life.” She leans forward and puts her hand on mine. “Let me be the one who takes care of someone now.”
Tears well up in her mom’s eyes, but the understanding is there as Gloria slowly nods her head, Harry’s hand wrapping around his wife’s shoulder. “I don’t want you hiding things from me, but I will tell you the fact that you’ve been so open and honest about Griffin makes me think I can learn to slowly let go.” She brushes a tear off her cheek. “You have never looked happier, Ren, which is all I want as a mother: for you to be happy.”
“I am, Mom.” Ren looks at me. “So happy.”
I walk along the harbor and into my parents’ backyard to a round of applause, accompanied by obnoxious cheering from Reid and Brig.
Word spreads fast. When my mom called us all to dinner, I should have known that she had one goal in mind: to talk about the new development in my life.
It looks like an intervention, with my family sitting around in a circle on the back deck, waiting for my arrival. Earlier today, we all received an emergency group text from my mom calling for all Knightlys to show up at the house at seven on the dot.
But instead of worried and concerned faces greeting me, there is a CONGRATULATIONS banner hung up behind them, a plate of cookies on the table, and beers all around—my favorite local brew—and are those IT’S A GIRL napkins?
“There he is, the man of the hour. Have a seat,” Reid says, offering me a chair and reaching to place a construction paper crown on my head.
I toss the crown at Reid. “I’m not wearing that.” I flop on the chair, relenting to whatever ridiculous shit is about to go down, and take the beer in front of me.
“That crown was made by your nephew, and you hurt his feelings.”
“That crown was made by you. I saw you in the back of the shop trying to staple it together earlier. Nice try, dickhead.” I slouch in my seat and get comfortable, scanning everyone’s gleeful faces. Well, besides Rogan. I’m not sure he knows what a gleeful face is. “And what’s with the ‘It’s a Girl’ napkins?”
“Because it’s a giiiiiirl you finally started dating,” Reid coos.
“There is something seriously wrong with you.”
“Settle down, you two,” my mom says. “We’re expecting company, and I don’t want any bickering to distract from what we’re celebrating.”
Company? Celebrating?
Oh hell.
“Mom . . .” I swallow hard. “What are we celebrating?”
“Your new relationship, of course! This is a special day, and we need to make it known.”
I shake my head and sit up in my chair. “We don’t need to make anything known. Can we for the love of Christ just act normal and—”
The doorbell rings from inside the house, and my mom starts clapping her hands while my dad abruptly leaves to answer it. “Oooh, they’re here.”
“Who?” I look over my shoulder. “Who’s here?” I turn to Jen, who gives me a pitying “I’m sorry” look. “Mom, who’s here?”
No one answers me. Instead, I hear the cheerful voice of Mrs. Winters being greeted by my dad.
Jesus Christ.
“Right out here.” The sliding glass door opens, and I turn to find Ren, a nervous smile on her face, her parents trailing behind her.
I could seriously die right now.
This very moment.
Die of utter embarrassment as, once again, everyone starts clapping.
Ren was nervous about me meeting her parents. Well, she had no idea what was in store for her when it came to my family.
I stand awkwardly as Ren shifts on her feet, hands clasped in front of her. We stare at each other as silence falls on the deck.
Do I kiss her?
Do I shake her hand?
Do I jump off the deck into the harbor to end my misery?
From the corner of my eye, I catch Rogan smirking and taking a sip of his beer. I know exactly what that look is. It’s the “I’m glad I’m not you right now” look.
Out of all my family members, he’s the one I’m most mad at; he could have tried to stop this, or at least taken down the godforsaken CONGRATULATIONS sign.
Finally my mom steps up and starts introducing everyone, going around in a circle while I stare at the ground, so humiliated that I can’t even begin to face Ren. Does she want to kill me? Does she want to run for the hills? I wouldn’t blame her.
The IT’S A GIRL napkins would get my ass moving immediately.
“Well, are you two just going to stand there and act like you don’t know each other?” my mom says after all introductions are over with.
You know, my dad could have done something to stop her, but as I take him in, take in the happy look on his face, I have a feeling no one is going to side with me on this.
“Kiss. Kiss. Kiss,” Reid starts chanting, and I shoot him a death glare before the chant can catch on. My eyes speak murder, and thankfully he’s smart enough to realize it.
Knowing this isn’t going to end until I say something, I step up next to Ren and take her hand in mine. My mom sighs, and Jen squeals; my dad nods in appreciation.
Clearing my throat, I address Ren’s parents first. “Mr. and Mrs. Winters, thank you for making the trip to my parents’ house for this extremely odd and embarrassing get-together. Please excuse the decorations; my family has issues. And as for everyone else, I’m going to say this once and only once. Yes, Ren and I are dating, and yes, you all must be chomping at the bit to ask unwelcome questions. That’s not going to happen. I really like this girl, and I don’t need you to scare her away with your antics. So please, let us just do our own thing without your interference.” I bring Ren’s hand up to my mouth and kiss it. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, I need to speak privately with Ren about something. Mr. and Mrs. Winters, make yourselves at home. My family might be overly invasive, but they’re good hosts. Ask them for anything.”
With that, I guide Ren through the sliding glass door, out of the front of the house, and down the side of the yard to my thinking spot, a large, flat stone I loved to escape to as a child. It’s far away from the house and will give us some privacy. I sit us both on it and let out a long sigh.
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea that was happening.”
Ren stares out at the ocean and doesn’t answer right away, making my nerves heighten. Is she mad? Hell, I will renounce my entire family at this point if they made her uncomfortable.
Although I wouldn’t blame her if she wanted a second to take all that in. To work out what she just went through. No one should have to blindly walk into a “congratulations for dating my son” party. That’s not normal. Nothing about my family is normal.
Finally, she looks at me. “So I really am your first since your wife?”
“Yes,” I say, unsure of where she’s going with this.
“You never even went out on a date?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Why not?”
This is not the conversation I was planning on having with her today . . . or ever, for that matter. How can you tell someone that you believe in a curse that was cast upon you, a curse that maybe even took your wife away from you?
It’s absurd.
Ridiculous.
And yet oddly I think she needs to know where I’m coming from, why I was so hesitant around her at first.
I pull on the back of my neck, feeling awkward as shit. “Have you heard about the Knightly curse?”
She slowly nods. I should have known. There is no way she could have lived here for a few months without hearing about it. Most likely from the same girls who told her about Claire.
“I don’t know much about it, though.” She turns toward me. “Can you tell me more?”
“I really don’t want to, but it’s probably necessary at this point.” I lean back on my hands and look out toward the ocean, the laughter of our families mixing together in the distance. “It was for Brig’s twenty-first birthday. We were down in New Orleans, drunk off our asses, and got mixed up with the wrong person. A palm reader. Pretty sure she was into some shady black magic type of stuff. I can’t remember too much, but what I do remember is her casting some weird spell on us. I honestly didn’t think much about it—I’ve always been super skeptical of that kind of shit.”
“What kind of spell was it?”
“Something about broken love and it not being cured until our minds matured. Honestly, I tried to block it out until a few days after we got home. I was changing smoke detectors for Senior Row, and I got a call from Claire’s phone. It was one of the EMT guys I worked closely with. Claire had had a massive heart attack.” I shake my head as the memories wash over me. “She was so healthy and young. The curse—it was all I could think about as I went through the steps of grief. Broken love. That’s exactly what the curse foretold and what happened to me. So I’ve spent the past two years keeping as far away from women as possible. I didn’t want to inflict my curse on anyone else. But then you drove down a ditch.” I dryly chuckle. “I had no clue you were going to flip my world upside down.”
“And that’s why your family’s so excited? Because you’re finally letting yourself live again?”
“I guess so. Jen’s been a huge advocate for me moving on, never believing in what happened to us in New Orleans, chalking it up to four drunken idiots. She’s over the moon that I’m finally giving in and letting you into my heart.”
Ren’s face softens, her body leaning in toward mine. “I’m in your heart?”
I bring my hand to her cheek and rub my thumb over her soft skin. “Yeah, you’re in there, and it’s terrifying, because I don’t want anything to happen to you. I don’t want . . .” I can’t even say the words; they get caught in my throat.
She tilts her head into my touch. “Griffin, you can’t let a drunken moment dictate your future. You realize that, right? You can’t live in the past.”
“Easier said than done, but I’m trying for you.”
I’ll put everything on the line to try for her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
REN
Why am I so nervous?
The man went down on me in the middle of the beach, butt-ass naked.
There should be no reason for nerves, but still, here I am, shaking in my heels as I wait for him to pick me up.
In the hallway mirror, I check my lipstick one last time.
After another long, private conversation with my mom about boundaries and “setting me free” from her worrying, I was able to establish some much-needed privacy for myself. It was a hard conversation, heartfelt, but necessary. My dad, the silent type, just hugged us after all was said and done, happy that we were able to work through everything.
I said bye to my parents this morning, both of them excited about my new life and the pseudofamily that’s taken me in. Not to mention my mom is obses
sed with Griffin and made me take pictures with him so she could show all her friends back home.
I might have secretly asked her to send me those pictures so I have them whenever I need a little Griffin fix.
His picture certainly helped my first-day-of-school jitters this morning. Before the kids showed up in my classroom, I was a ball of anxiety, but his smile helped me calm down immediately.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons I’m so nervous—the fact that just a picture of him can put me at ease says a lot. I’ve fallen for this man, hard, and I have a feeling that tonight is going to be no less than magical.
There is a knock at my door, startling me away from the mirror. With a deep breath, I open the door to find Griffin on the other side, wearing a light-blue button-up tucked into the waist of his black pants, sleeves rolled and pushed up to his elbows. The blue in the shirt makes his eyes pop, capturing me right away.
He gives me a slow once-over, a sexy grin tugging at his lips as he appreciates my navy-blue dress with the keyhole neckline. “You look sexy as hell, Ren.”
“You don’t look too bad yourself.” I step into his embrace, grip the back of his neck, and move my lips against his, deepening our kiss with one swipe of my tongue.
He groans and quickly pulls away, a determined look in his eyes. “None of that, Miss Winters. I’m taking you out on a date; there will be no tongue fucking until later tonight.”
I chuckle and let him grip me around the waist, guiding me out of my house. I lock up quickly. “Tongue fucking? You’re so eloquent and romantic.”
“There is way more where that came from. Just wait.”
He helps me into his truck and shuts the door for me. While he rounds the hood of the car, I can’t help but think how lucky I am that I started a new life in this charming town and just so happened to fall into the arms of the sexiest, sweetest man I’ve ever met.
Griffin hops into his truck, roars it to life, and puts on his seat belt. He sets the music—the Lumineers—and pulls out onto our street.
“Where are we going?”
“The Lighthouse Restaurant,” he answers with a smile.
“The Lighthouse? I haven’t been there yet.”
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