Ethan (Alluring Indulgence)

by Edwards, Nicole

  The bastard had sent Ethan’s world into a tailspin for almost a decade, and now it seemed as though he was back permanently. For months, they had all been going to Moonshiners on a weekly basis, and Beau didn’t recall Jimmy being a regular. And if he had been, Beau wondered how they hadn’t seen the jabs and animosity directed at Ethan. Probably because Ethan had kept himself isolated, but it was hard for him to believe that no one had known.

  And to think that Ethan had dealt with that shit on his own for all this time only pissed Beau off more.

  “What’s up, man?” Zane said, stepping directly in front of Beau, obstructing his view. Probably a good thing.

  “Not much. Where’s V?” he asked, sipping his beer and doing his best to ignore the group in the front. Ethan was right, they were there to have a good time. It wouldn’t do anyone any good for Beau to get all bent out of shape because he wanted to do damage to Jimmy just because the man breathed.

  “At Zoey’s,” Zane answered easily. “If I’m not careful, she’s gonna be asking for a baby of her own real soon.”

  Beau laughed.

  “I’m hoping she’ll hold off at least until we’re married,” Zane continued. “Speaking of married…” Zane glanced over at Ethan and then back to Beau.

  That got Beau’s attention, and his gaze shot over to Ethan to see he was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Congrats, man,” Zane said, clapping Beau on the back and then taking a step closer to Ethan. “You’re good for him,” Zane said to Ethan quietly, but loud enough that Beau could hear.

  Beau wanted to laugh. That was the same thing Zane had said to him. But, nevertheless, it was true. Ethan was the best damn thing that had ever happened to Beau.

  Before Beau could question Zane’s reference to marriage, the front door opened, and Beau looked over to see Sawyer strutting in, his cowboy hat low on his head.

  Ok, now Beau was really liking the odds.

  Oh, fuck.

  That’s when Beau realized that Sawyer wasn’t the only one who had graced the small bar with his presence. As soon as Sawyer made his way inside, a long line of intimidating men followed not far behind: Greyson, Jared, Jaxson, Brendon, Braydon, CJ and last, but certainly not least, Curtis Walker.

  As though the rest of the bar felt the earth shake the same way Beau did, everything went quiet. Including the conversation going on behind him between Travis and Gage.

  “What’s going on?” he heard himself ask Ethan.

  “Turns out you were right,” Ethan said calmly, the hint of a smile on his lips as he continued to stare back at Beau.

  “Why’s that?”

  “They’re just here to support me.”

  Just like Beau had known they would be.

  Curtis walked up and clapped Beau on the back as he moved around to his side. “Congratulations,” he offered with a crooked grin.

  Before Beau could respond, Sawyer walked up and offered his hand. Transferring his beer to his other hand, Beau reached out and shook the proffered hand at the same time Sawyer said, “’Bout damn time.”

  What the fuck was going on?

  ♂♂

  Ethan fought the urge to laugh when Beau’s eyes widened as he stared back at Sawyer.

  So, for once, he’d managed to throw Beau for a loop. Looking back at the man he loved, he watched as his eyes widened to the size of saucers as the implications of what he’d actually done settled in.

  “You told them?” Beau asked incredulously, his voice lowering to a whisper when Sawyer and Curtis stepped away.

  Taking a sip of his beer, Ethan offered Beau a smile. “I did.”

  Just last night, he thought to himself. While Beau had been at the gym, Ethan rounded up his brothers and asked them to meet him at their parents’ house. They did. And after fighting his nerves for almost an hour, Ethan had finally told them the reason he had called them all together.

  Turns out, they all knew. Not that Ethan had expected any less, but they gave him a chance to tell them outright. Getting things out in the open had helped mend the relationships that he’d purposely avoided with them. And when the twins told him they wanted to celebrate, he hadn’t been able to refuse.

  As the conversation around them resumed, his brothers and cousins coming up to congratulate them both, Ethan was doing his damnedest to take his own advice and ignore the men sitting at the front of the bar.

  He hadn’t been all that thrilled with the idea of celebrating at Moonshiners when the twins had suggested it, for that reason alone. It wasn’t that he was hiding because, thanks to the long overdue conversation he’d had with his family during the week, Ethan had decided to stand up for what he believed in.

  In truth, Beau – with a little push from Sawyer and Travis – had given him the courage, allowing him to make the decision to stand up for himself. And for Gavin.

  Gavin’s memory had been buried beneath the hate and fear that Jimmy had instilled in Ethan’s heart, never receiving the proper attention it deserved. Not that Ethan had come to that realization easily. That little tidbit of information had been learned during his first counseling session earlier in the week.

  He hadn’t told Beau about the now weekly one-on-one sessions with a professional and because there had been so much going on during the week – including Beau’s confrontation with his parents – he’d decided to hold off.

  “What’s going on, E?” Beau asked, confusion contorting his ruggedly handsome features.

  Ethan knew this was the moment of truth.

  “Remember when you were at the gym this week?”

  Beau laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I was at the gym every day this week.”

  “Right. Well, I’ve been busy.”

  Beau’s expression turned serious.

  “It’s good. I swear.”

  “Congrats, man!” Brendon interrupted, coming up to slap Beau on the back as he stared between the two of them. Ethan forced a smile, hoping his brother would move on so he could continue his conversation. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to move along.

  “You told them all?” Beau repeated the same question, although this time he sounded even more disbelieving than before, if that was at all possible.

  “On Tuesday, I had my first counseling session,” Ethan admitted, noticing the way Beau’s face fell. They’d had a brief discussion about counseling over dinner the day before Ethan went, and Beau had offered to go with him when and if he ever decided to go that route. “Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty more in my future, and yes, I want you right there with me. I just needed to take the first step alone.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Ethan cocked his head to the side, studying Beau. A lot had happened on Tuesday, including Beau’s falling out with his parents. Although, he knew he probably should’ve mentioned it before now, there had been enough to worry about.

  He knew he would be explaining himself in depth later, so for now, Ethan continued, “And last night, I met with my brothers.”

  Beau glanced away, and Ethan looked over to see his father talking to Travis, but his gaze was on the two of them. Curtis offered a brief, reassuring head nod, so Ethan continued, “It’s not going to be an easy road right away. I know that. But I’m not willing to do it alone anymore.”

  Beau looked back at him, and Ethan smiled. “This is it for me. You are it for me.”

  Beau actually grinned as he tipped his beer to his lips, his eyes locked with Ethan’s. He didn’t say anything right away, and Ethan held his breath, waiting, wondering.

  “So this is a celebration?”

  “Yeah,” Ethan said, looking around at his brothers, his cousins and his father.

  Beau leaned in closer. “Well, I’d say it’s time to start celebrating then. But I don’t intend to finish it up here. Just wait until I get you home.”

  Ethan laughed, and they moved into the throng of men now laughing and joking in the back. Zane was apparently trying to convince Sawyer to s
ide with him about whatever they had been arguing about earlier and everyone was watching in amusement.

  This was what Ethan had been missing. What he thought he would never find. He had managed to bridge the canyon he had personally dug between himself and his family over the years, and he had finally managed to find true love.

  He didn’t expect it to be an easy road, but he had decided he was going to be the one in charge of his destiny from here on out. It was high time he lived, not just existed.

  Moving in closer, he laughed when Zane insisted the best place to have a large party was at his club, while Gage and Sawyer argued that the conference center would be a better bet.

  When Travis clapped Ethan on the back, he felt as though he might actually be on the right path.

  And yes, he would be the first to admit, it was certainly long overdue.

  Chapter Forty One

  ♂♂

  Beau had been talking to CJ, Sawyer and Zane for the last half hour. While he tried to keep up with them, his head was still spinning from what Ethan had done.

  They were there to celebrate.

  Not that Beau had any clue what they were celebrating. He figured it was anything from the fact that Ethan had finally come out to his family, or the fact that the two of them were together. At first he suspected that Ethan might’ve mentioned marriage because of Zane’s reference earlier, but he found that difficult to believe.

  Not to mention, he wasn’t going to believe that because Beau fully intended to propose – and he planned to beat Ethan to the punch as well. Although, based on the side of Ethan he saw tonight, he might need to kick his ass into high gear or he’d be the one saying yes.

  “Woohoo!”

  Beau swiveled around at the loud yell that erupted near the front door.

  “Looks like a queer convention up in here, boys! What d’ya say we get the party started?”

  Beau recognized the voice, although Jimmy was facing away from him as he continued to rant loudly to the group of rowdy men sitting at the table.

  When the man turned, Beau met Jimmy’s gaze from across the bar.

  “What about you? You’re Ethan’s new little girlfriend, ain’t ya? He turned another one into a faggot, didn’t he? How many is that now?”

  Beau took a step forward only to be stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder. He glanced over and saw Curtis on one side of him. He felt a hand clamp down on his other shoulder and looked over to see Sawyer coming to stand beside him.

  They were obviously prepared.

  “Aww, look. Your little fuckin’ girlfriends are gonna hold you back? Don’t worry, ladies, you can have him back after I beat his ass. Just like I gave that one back when I was done.” Jimmy smirked, nodding toward Ethan.

  This time, Beau wasn’t the only one being held back. Curtis was too. Beau had to move in front of the older man in order to keep him from tearing across the room. When Sawyer growled, Beau knew it was all over.

  “That’s right, ladies. Let’s do this.”

  “Outside.”

  Beau’s head snapped toward Ethan, startled at his instruction.

  “Outside? You’re telling me to go outside? Lookin’ for a repeat?” Jimmy’s voice lowered, and a murderous growl took its place. “This time, I won’t go easy on you. I’ll take your life the same way you took my brother’s.”

  “Out-fucking-side,” Ethan repeated, breaking the words down as though Jimmy was too stupid to understand. Maybe he was.

  When Ethan took a step forward, Beau pulled away from the hands still holding onto him. “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “I’m done,” he answered harshly. “He wants to settle this once and for all, I’m all in.”

  “Bullshit,” Braydon argued, moving in close. “They aren’t here to play fair.”

  That’s when Travis stepped up. “Neither are we.”

  Beau found himself in the middle of the group, making their way to the door, following behind Jimmy and the others he brought with him.

  Right there was where the organization stopped, and all fucking hell broke loose.

  Ethan had just stepped outside, moving ahead of the crowd when Jimmy lunged, slamming him back against the wall of bodies. Before Beau even had a chance to think, Ethan retaliated, and from the looks of it, every single ounce of anger and hatred he’d built up over the years escaped in a blur of motion.

  Jimmy went down, but got right back up, the two of them grappling as they fought for purchase on the gravel that lined the parking lot.

  When it was clear Ethan was definitely not backing down, two others moved in, but Sawyer was quicker than anyone else, going after them both. From that moment on, fists were flying. Grunts and groans sounded from the bodies colliding, no one backing down. Beau had to beat off two, and he took a brutal blow to the head when he looked over to see Ethan on the ground, Jimmy on top of him.

  He saw stars flash behind his eyelids, but he never stopped moving. His fists connected with flesh and bone as he refused to be taken down by the biggest bastard in their bunch. No longer capable of watching Ethan, Beau had to defend himself but the shouting and arguing continued around him.

  “You son of a bitch!” Jimmy yelled at Ethan. “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.”

  “Too late now,” Ethan spat, shoving Jimmy off of him.

  Beau had no idea how long the fight lasted, but the next thing he knew, there were red and blue lights flashing around them.

  “Get the fuck inside,” Curtis barked, his deep baritone echoing in the still night air, effectively halting the fighting.

  Beau searched for Ethan, unwilling to move until he had him right there beside him. He wasn’t the only one who didn’t move. There were two guys on the ground, one holding his face, the other looked like he was out cold. Beau didn’t recognize either one of them, so that was a good thing.

  He finally spotted Ethan, leaning up against one of the posts, rubbing his jaw. Beau moved with purpose, closing the gap between the two of them.

  “What the fuck is going on here, Walker?” Sheriff Endsley asked.

  Beau had no idea exactly whom he was talking to since there were more than half a dozen of them there.

  Not surprising, but none of the Walkers responded.

  “Just a little payback, Sheriff,” Jimmy huffed.

  “Payback?” the sheriff questioned.

  “An eye for an eye.”

  Sheriff Endsley looked over at Ethan, then back to Jimmy.

  “This ain’t the Old West, you dumbass,” Sawyer remarked with enough bite to down a tree.

  “Fuck you.”

  Clearly this wasn’t going to be resolved anytime soon.

  “I like the idea of an eye for an eye,” Beau spoke up, staring at Jimmy. “A little retribution is in order, if you ask me. Someone have a baseball bat handy?”

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Zane asked, moving close to Beau.

  Glancing back at his friend briefly, Beau ignored him.

  “Clearly I didn’t use the bat enough,” Jimmy bit out, glaring back at Beau. “I shoulda killed him when I had the chance. Then my brother would still be alive,” Jimmy said, pushing to his feet.

  “Is that right?” Sawyer asked, taking a step toward Jimmy but coming to a halt when Curtis put a hand on his shoulder. “From where I stand, your brother was just another one of your victims.”

  Ethan pushed off the post and moved to Beau’s side. It didn’t take long for the rest of the Walkers to move in around them. Surprisingly enough, the sheriff had moved off to the side, standing beside Mack, the bartender, who had apparently decided to watch the show.

  No one said a word for long seconds. That was when Sheriff Endsley must’ve gotten bored. “How do you suggest we resolve this?” he asked the group collectively.

  “I’ll settle it my way,” Jimmy said, spitting on the ground. “I’d suggest you watch your back.”

  Ethan took a step forward, and Beau stepped behind him, let
ting him know he was there. He would not take this away from Ethan. It was his turn to stand up, to let Jimmy know he wasn’t going to take his shit anymore.

  Beau watched as Ethan notched his chin up, his eyes trained on Jimmy. “I didn’t kill Gavin,” Ethan said adamantly. “I loved your brother. You’re the one who made him watch while you tried to kill me.”

  A series of gasps erupted. No one said anything. They didn’t have to. Ethan had just done what no one would’ve ever believed he could do.

  ♂♂

  “And let me tell you this, you fucking piece of shit,” Ethan continued, his hands shaking as he stood just a few feet away from the man who’d sent his life into a spiral years ago. “You won’t get another chance at me. Gavin paid the ultimate price for your ignorance and your bullshit. I won’t let that happen again.”

  Ethan had no idea what spurred him to speak up. Maybe it was the support he felt from his family, from Beau. Whatever it was, he couldn’t seem to contain all of the words he had wanted to rant at Jimmy over the years.

  “Gavin took his life because you embarrassed him. You’re the one who should be dead.”

  That possessive, beastlike growl erupted from Beau and Ethan moved one step closer to him. This was over; Ethan knew it, Jimmy knew it. Now it was just a pissing contest.

  “Let me hear you say that one more time and I’ll haul your ass in,” Sheriff Endsley growled in that raspy tenor that many folks feared.

  “Me? What the fuck? He’s the one who should be punished. He’s a fucking queer. This ain’t over, Walker.”

  “It’s over,” Curtis’ voice boomed from behind him and the next thing Ethan knew, his father was stepping up beside him. “It’s fucking over because I say it’s over. If I hear one whisper that you’ve targeted anyone, I promise you that this,” Curtis gestured toward Jimmy as he continued to lean against the truck, “will feel like a day at the spa. Got me?”

  Everyone was quiet. Not even Jimmy was stupid enough to challenge Curtis Walker.

  Ethan felt himself being pulled backward, urging him back inside the bar. The fight was over. There was no winner. Not this round. There would never be any winners either. After all that Ethan had suffered, after Gavin had paid the ultimate price, no one would ever come out on top.