Page 23 of Love You Already
That silence lasts all of two seconds before Beckett chuckles. “Of all the people in the entire world, you married our Rosie. How did it happen anyway? You said it wasn't intentional. How do you not get intentionally married to someone? Especially to Lachlan “Loch Ness” Masterson.”
I turn to look at my husband. Nope. Still strange to say.”Loch Ness?”
He blushes under my stare. “A few of the guys said I was a monster on the ice my first year in the NHL. My captain at the time said Lachlan and Loch Ness were close enough he'd stick to calling me the monster I was.”
Nodding, I turn back to my family. Nate sits quietly as always, his shoulders bunched like he wishes he could be anywhere else but here. That's not technically true. He doesn't want to be anywhere. He's probably off in his head planning what parts he needs to fix.
Beckett, unlike Nate, bounces in his seat as he bites his tongue. I can see him doing it from the clench of his jaw. I'd be worried he was mad if his eyes didn't scream absolute joy. This face is the same as his Christmas morning one. That eager energy is only barely contained as he waits for Daddy to make his ruling.
“Well, I can't say that I ever expected Rosie to be the one to get married first. She's my most stubborn, right up there with this guy,” he waves his hand at my oldest brother. “Can't say she chose badly, though. Could have been one of those snaggle toothed men who used to follow her around the circuit like lost puppies.”
“DADDY! That's enough of that.” I point from my eyes to his. “You are treading on rocky ground. You want to know how we got married or not?”
He nods once, then waits patiently as Lachlan and I go back and forth telling our story. The three men across from us remain stoic as we dive into the tale. We blur out the parts of us doing the sideways shuffle, but otherwise we're upfront with them about how this accidental marriage came to be. When we finish, Becket immediately bursts into laughter. Daddy quickly follows him, and even Nate wears something as close to a smirk as I've seen him show in years.
Of course they find it hilarious. If this were anyone else in my life, then I'd feel the same way. But it's not anyone else. It's me. And as much as I can see the humor in it, I feel a bit adrift knowing I married a complete stranger.
Thankfully, Lachlan wasn't some asshole in disguise or anything. The charming man I remember from our night in Vegas lives on. If anything, he's even kinder than I remember. Yesterday in my office he was clear that he'd do whatever needed to be done to make me feel better about all this. He is all in on making sure I'm ok and that I lead the charge.
“Ok, ok. Now that I've gotten all that out of my system, I suggest you two make a plan of what you're going to do next. I'm not a fan of divorce, however, given this situation, I can see how it might be needed,” Daddy said.
“Or you could get an annulment.” Becket adds his idea in as he wipes the tears trailing down his cheeks from how hard he was laughing.
I shake my head at them both. Not because I don't agree with the idea. It's more that I can't believe they're acting carefree about all this. They have always been super protective about my choices.
Nate picks up on my confusion. As he does best, he stares me down. With as few words as possible, he explains what I need to hear. “They care. But you're home. You're safe. We got your back. We love you.”
Tears well, though I stop them from spilling over. A hand lands on my knee under the table. I look over to see Lachlan staring me down with an intense frown. I've never seen him look formidable. If he made this face on the ice, it's no wonder they would call him a monster.
“You good?” His voice is a whisper as he leans closer.
I nod as I wave my hand around my head. “Just a lot going on.”
“Makes sense. We have a lot going on out here. I can't imagine what you're thinking about it all.”
The men across the table all stand at once. “Well, since this is really just between you two now, we're going to go about with the chores. You telling the town?”
“Absolutely not, Daddy. Could you imagine the field day they'd have with this? He's my boyfriend for now. Then if we do the... the other stuff —”
“A divorce or annulment,” Beckett kindly adds with a smirk.
Rolling my eyes, I continue. “Yes. If we do those, then I'll be able to just say we broke up. I won't have to tell them anything other than we met and have been kind of long distance. It's not like I've done a ton of dating since being back. The story could hold true as long as Lachlan hasn't been too promiscuous.”
Before Lachlan can say a word, Beckett jumps in again. “Yeah, right. This guy is like a nun. Never pictured with women. A beast on the ice, but otherwise private as hell. Makes sense that he'd be your type.”
I groan as I lean around the table to punch his arm. Jerk deserves it for how much amusement he's getting out of this. He and Bridgett are always carefree about stuff. Speaking of...
“Where's Bridgett this morning?”
My sister wasn't always on the ranch, but she would have wanted to be here for this. If not for any other reason than she'd have wanted to be a part of the laughing portion of the morning.
Beckett's smile drifts away. “She's out at the stadium taking photos for the school. They needed some shots for the seniors.”
I tilt my head as I try to figure out why her being at the school would have him this upset. There isn't anything wrong with Bridgett's photography skills. Nothing that would warrant her twin getting angry.
Daddy ignores the tension in the room as he walks around to Lachlan to talk sports. He may not be a hockey guy, but Daddy loves a good show of athleticism. Bull riding, football, hockey — doesn't matter so long as it's a performance worth watching. I'm sure he'll be converted to a Coyote fan by the time this all blows up.
Beckett heads for the back door as Nate slips around the table to come hug me. “He's mad about Whitaker.”