***
By the time we pulled up to Emma and Garrett’s place, Ellie, Gunner, and his parents were all sitting on the front porch. Oh god. Ellie was holding a glass of sweet tea. For some reason, I needed a glass, like right now. What the hell?
“I’m so glad that Grace and Jack moved back here after Jack retired from the Army,” Jeff said.
“Yeah, me too. Shit, I want some sweet tea!” I practically yelled.
Jeff laughed and reached over for my hand right before I was about to jump out of the truck.
“Ari, wait. ”
I turned to look at him. “Yeah?”
“I just wanted to tell you what a lucky son of a bitch I am to have you love me. I’m so happy right now, baby, but I’m so afraid at the same time. ”
Oh. My. God. The butterflies were taking flight in my stomach.
“Jeff. . . ” It was all I could say.
I love him so much, I’ve always loved him, and I will always love him.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go get you some sweet tea. ”
“And apple pie…oh man, I hope Emma has some damn apple pie. ”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
GUNNER
Ellie and I showed up at 219 West before anyone else did. We went up to the rooftop lounge to get a few tables. Jack was DJing tonight, so I walked over to say hello to him. I felt my phone going off in my pocket, so I pulled it out to see that Jeff had sent a text saying they were parking. I leaned over to tell Ellie where Jeff and Ari were.
Ellie was on the phone, frowning, but then she said good-bye. She tried her best to smile at me.
What’s up?” I asked.
“It’s Heather. Gunner, I’m so worried about her. She just hasn’t been the same since last July. Whatever happened between her and Josh must have been huge. Did Josh happen to mention if they…if they…you know?”
“Slept together?”
Rolling her eyes, Ellie nodded.
“No, the only thing he told me was that he showed up to her house one morning, and she’d made it perfectly clear to him that he was not who she wanted. He said he left and has not seen her since. ”
Ellie let out a sigh. “I haven’t been able to get shit out of her, but I have a feeling something major has happened to her. She ended up taking online courses and has doubled-up on classes this semester. She’s probably going to be graduating next December if she keeps up this load. ”
“Ellie, sweetheart, please don’t worry about Heather. If she wants to talk to you, she will. Stop pressuring her into it. Was that her on the phone?”
“Yeah, and the first thing she asked was if Josh was going to be here. I told her he was and that Lynda was most definitely going to be with him. ”
Just then Ari and Jeff came walking up. Ari was glowing. It was nice to see her so happy after the funk she fell into after losing the baby. Jeff walked up and shook my hand.
“I’m still pissed at you, you bastard,” I said.
Jeff gave me a smile.
“What for, dude? You don’t own the monopoly on puppies. ”
“At least Gus will have a play-mate now,” I said as I looked over at Ellie, who was laughing at something Ari had said.