Ella was already on her way to the window. Curious, A.J. followed his sister to get a view of the “guy” Ana knew.
Owen was outside talking to both Beckett and Grant, standing in front of Beckett’s sheriff’s truck. “What . . .?” He raced a hand over his hair before reaching for his hat on the floor.
“Your brother called me right after I dropped you off at the airport, and he convinced me to get my head out of my ass—his words—and get on the first plane down here.” She lifted both shoulders. “There were no flights, so Adriana suggested Owen fly me here. You know, since he has a pilot’s license.”
“Right.” He shook his head, still in disbelief.
“I’m so glad our plan worked.” Ella approached Ana and pulled her in for a hug. “When we heard you weren’t coming with A.J., well, we decided to have Beckett call and guilt-trip you into coming down here.”
“Well, I gotta say I’m surprised. But grateful.” And now he felt guiltier than ever for pushing Ella about her wedding tomorrow, and all the while, she’d been going behind his back to make sure he was happy. “Thank you, Sis.” He swallowed. “I guess we have a dress rehearsal dinner to get to, then.”
Ella smiled. Damn it. It wasn’t a real one. “Meet you there?”
A.J. leaned in and pressed a kiss to his sister’s temple, then reached for Ana’s hand. “See you there.”
“Howdy, stranger,” Ana said once they were alone in the hall.
He spun her around and pinned her against the wall, nearly knocking a collage of family photos to the floor. “Thank you for coming,” he said, bringing his mouth close to hers. “Did you happen to hear what I was saying just before I saw you in the doorway?”
She arched a brow and set her palms to his chest as he leaned in closer, setting his hand on the wall. “I did,” she whispered, lifting her chin. “And I feel the same, which is why it didn’t take any convincing to get me here when your brother called. In fact, I was already in the middle of packing, prepared to hijack Air Force One if need be to get down to you.”
He lifted a brow and smiled. “Oh, really?” He caught her lower lip between his teeth, then swept his tongue into her mouth.
“Young love,” his mom called out in her booming voice, startling A.J. into breaking the kiss. Deb Hawkins was grinning from ear to ear as she strode their way.
He brought his forehead to Ana’s and laughed. “Sounds about right,” he said before kissing her again, and no one would be stopping him this time.
“Are we really doing this?” A.J. eyed his brothers, trying to wrap his head around what happened last night, and what was about to happen now.
“Ella is insisting, so yeah, I mean—it’s the Fourth and all, and everyone in town was planning on being here today, anyway.” Caleb braced a hand on the mantle in the living room as Shep paced back and forth on the wood floors, the click of his cowboy boots in A.J.’s ears.
“But she called off the wedding in the middle of the rehearsal dinner last night.” A.J. peered out the window, searching for Ana.
The two hundred folks on Ella’s guest list were slowly filtering in for the “Fourth of July party.” The backyard had been transformed for the wedding reception, and it was now being repurposed for America’s birthday.
There was a large platform beyond the pool for a band and dancing. An open tent with enough tables and chairs to accommodate half the town. Catering trucks had already arrived. Champagne flutes were being filled. Kids were running around with sparklers and laughing.
But no wedding had taken place at the church today.
And A.J. knew why. Hell, everyone knew why, but no one was talking about it.
Brian hightailed it back to Mobile with his appalled friends and family last night after Ella announced she wouldn’t be marrying him.
But Independence Day was a huge event in his town, so Ella declared the party was still on.
And it was the damndest thing, but A.J. was fairly certain it was the first time Ella looked happy since agreeing to marry Not-So-Perfect Brian. There hadn’t been tears when she broke things off with Brian, much to A.J.’s surprise. He might have felt a little guilty about that, but he’d get over it.
“I still can’t believe she called it off,” Caleb said as A.J. faced the room again.
Beckett stood in front of Shep, effectively putting a halt to his pacing.
A.J. thought back to dinner last night. Jesse had been staring intently at Ella all evening, looking as though his dog had died. Hell, worse than that. And then he’d abruptly stood from the table, and the room they’d rented at the restaurant fell silent. Jesse’s jaw was clenched, and his eyes were pinned Ella’s way. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do this,” he’d rasped. “Brian ain’t right for you, and I can’t watch you marry him tomorrow.” And then he tossed his linen napkin on his plate and took off.
No one had been able to reach him since he’d gone God knew where last night. A.J. left him message after message after Ella had called off the wedding thirty minutes later. But knowing Jesse, he was off-grid now.
“Ella say anything to you? You think she’s got feelings for Jesse? Is that why she finally ended the charade of marrying Brian?” Shep went to the window alongside A.J.
A.J. shut his eyes, thinking back to what Ella had told him last night.
That soul-leaving-your-body feeling, Ella had said to him outside their parents’ house. I know what that’s like. But I don’t get that when thinking about not being with Brian. She’d squeezed his arm. Thank you for finally putting some sense into me.
A.J. was fairly certain Jesse standing before her and declaring he refused to watch her marry Brian was what actually set her mind right, but he had no idea what would come of the two of them. They were both stubborn as all hell, and he had no clue why they’d held back for so long.
“She wants a party.” A.J. folded his arms. “So, we give her a party.”
“Throwing her reception without the wedding, ain’t that gonna be a reminder that shit went sideways?” Shep turned toward his brothers. “I don’t want her suffering.”
“It’s what she wants, and you know how Hawkins women can be. You don’t stand in the way of what they want,” Caleb reminded him.
“Okay, fine.” Shep adjusted his tan Stetson. “I guess we can all breathe a little easier since we didn’t have to put on those monkey suits and watch our little sis marry that guy.”
“Let’s go help her get through today.” Beckett motioned toward the backyard, signaling for them to get a move on, but A.J. stopped Beckett from following Shep and Caleb outside.
“I wanted to thank you,” A.J. told him, hand on his arm. “I didn’t get a chance.”
Beckett removed his black cowboy hat and brought it to his side. “It’s clear how you feel about Ana. Clear as day. No doubt in my mind like I’d had with Ella and Brian.”
“Well, thank you. I wouldn’t want anything coming between us.” He reached for his brother’s hand. “You’ve always been there for me, even when I didn’t think I needed you. So, thank you.”