Chapter 48

Forrester

Forrester sat at his favorite table in Harry’s bar and surveyed the people. He knew all of them now, and felt at home there. He never would have imagined that he would ever feel at home in Stone Peak, not after the experiences he’d had there as a child, but during the past month, the town had welcomed him back with open arms. He still spoke with Lacey, Faith and the brothers daily, and kept telling them that he was coming home soon, but he wasn’t sure what the future held. Not that they were putting any pressure on him. They were thrilled. They’d all congratulated him on getting engaged a million times. They wanted nothing more than for him to be happy. He hadn’t told them about the baby yet, but he knew they would be thrilled. Grant and Jackson’s lives had been transformed by fatherhood, and he knew they would recommend it wholeheartedly.

He looked forward to telling them the good news.

Over at the bar, the sheriff, the mayor and some other men were sipping beers and the sheriff nodded at him. He nodded back. He liked the sheriff, despite everything he’d done. Deep down, he knew that the sheriff had once been in love with his mother, and that was the reason he’d had such complicated feelings about Forrester coming back to town.

The sheriff’s son, Phil, and his buddies were also at the bar and Forrester was on good terms with all of them also, despite the fact that he’d beat them up on multiple occasions.

Even things with Gris had seemed to work out. Elle had been kind to him when she said goodbye. She’d encouraged him to become a better man and treat his future women better, and it seemed to have worked. Last time his name came up, Elle said he’d sent her a message to say he was sorry and that he wouldn’t be bothering her anymore.

Forrester watched Phil and his buddies and his mind wandered to Kelly. She was a nice girl, beautiful, confident. He wondered why she was still single. Her situation was a little complicated. She’d sort of adopted her younger brother, and put a lot into looking after him. It was almost as if she had a child of her own, given the amount of time she spent with the kid. Forrester knew that sometimes, guys were scared off by commitments like that. It was too much responsibility for them. That was probably the reason Kelly hadn’t found love yet in Stone Peak. But as he watched Phil and his buddies, he knew that none of them was the man for her. She was a passionate girl, feisty, and she’d been through a lot. It would take a real man to tame a girl like her. Forrester wondered if such a man would ever come to Stone Peak and find her.

When he saw the girls coming into the bar he got up to greet them. Elle was with Kelly and Grace, and they were all dressed beautifully. They were having a meal together to celebrate the good news of the baby. Forrester wondered if it might also be a little bit of a goodbye dinner. He’d spoken to Elle of visiting his family back in California and it was something that was going to happen pretty soon. It would just be a visit, it wouldn’t be goodbye forever, but he knew that Grace and Kelly would be sorry to see Elle go, even if it was just for a short time.

“You ladies look absolutely stunning,” Forrester said.

“Thank you, Forrester,” Elle said.

Kelly and Grace nodded. Forrester helped Grace into the booth, offered a hand to Kelly, and then lifted Elle up off her feet and put her down on his side of the booth, getting in next to her.

“A bottle of champagne, Harry,” Forrester said.

“Not for me,” Elle said.

“Oh, sorry, love. I totally forgot. And some sparkling water too, with lemon.”

Elle smiled. Forrester looked at her and couldn’t take his eyes off her. She drove him wild now. If someone had told him a month ago that he could be even more attracted to her than he had been at that point, he’d have laughed and told them it wasn’t possible. Now, he knew just how real his love for Elle was, and it was deeper and stronger than he’d ever have imagined possible. The knowledge that she was giving him a baby, it almost made his heart burst. She was going to do all that, just for him. She was going to allow her body to be transformed, she would carry his child, go through all that physical change, and then go through the pain of childbirth, all out of nothing but love for him. It was overwhelming. He prayed he was worthy of all that love and sacrifice. And he prayed that he could somehow repay Elle for that gift, through the love he gave her in return, and the effort he would put into ensuring her happiness, every single day of his life.

He smiled at the girls. They were talking about what they were going to order and when Harry came over they gave him their orders. Forrester ordered a steak and fries.

“Kelly,” he said, when Harry left, “can I ask you something a little personal?”

Kelly looked at Elle. “I’m not sure, Forrester. That depends on what it is.”

Grace laughed. “I know what it is,” she said.

Forrester nodded at her. In his experience, Grace was usually right when she had a hunch.

“He’s going to ask what a beautiful girl like you is doing, being single,” Grace said.

Kelly blushed. She was shy. Forrester felt bad for embarrassing her. “You don’t have to answer,” he said.

“No,” she said. “It’s fine, it’s just, it’s complicated. It’s a very long story, Forrester. I’m not sure I could get into it tonight.”

“I totally understand,” he said.

“Maybe one day, when we have more time, I can tell you my whole story.”

“I’d like that,” Forrester said.

Elle smiled. Forrester was pretty sure he’d just put his foot in it. There was more to Kelly’s situation than he’d realized. It was painfully obvious to him that all three of the women knew far more about it than he ever would.

Elle came to his rescue, dispelling the awkwardness he’d created.

“So, Forrester, husband to be?”

He smiled when she said that. It made his heart beat harder. It also made his cock stiffen for her.

“When are you going to take me to meet your family?”

“Really?” Forrester said in surprise.

He wanted nothing more than to take her back to the Socorro Valley, but he’d been afraid she wouldn’t want to go. He wasn’t sure why he’d thought that. Maybe because Elle seemed so happy at the diner.

“You really want to go meet them.”

“Silly, I’m dying to meet them. They’re going to be my new family.”

“Yes they are,” Forrester said, and put his arms around her and pulled her in close.