Page 68 of Beneath the Blue Moon

***Casey***

He was right—they love me. Well, they seem to. Everyone

except his mother. She hasn’t said a word to me all evening, even when I tried

to talk to her, so I’ve decided to steer clear of her for now. Ethan has tried

to keep me glued to his side all day. The few times I snuck away, he came to

find me. The last time, he pulled me away from the karaoke machine when his

Uncle Rob and I were about to do our rendition of “Endless Love.” Before that,

he dragged me from the poker table during my winning streak. Now, in the middle

of a conversation with his brothers, his voice is coming through the speakers.

“Casey, where are you?”

“Oh, no….”

Michael laughs and taps my shoulder with his. “Clingy much?”

“Tell me about it.”

I start moving through the crowd before he makes a total

fool out of himself. When he spots me, he motions to someone to his left, and I

hear the opening notes of Grand Funk Railroad’s version of “Some Kind Of

Wonderful.” My legs stop working when he starts singing… to me. Everyone’s

staring at him wide-eyed and slack-jawed. I guess they’ve never seen this side

of him. Then again, neither have I. He’s really getting into it, too. He waves

me forward, and I join him on the “stage.” I wrap my arms around his waist,

dancing and joining in on the chorus. His eyes are bright and so is his smile. Absolutely

gorgeous.

He turns to the crowd, changing a lyric in the song. “Ain’t nobody

got a sweet little woman like mine!”

Getting over their shock, everyone else joins in, singing

and dancing. When the song ends, he pulls me close and kisses me to loud cheers

and applause from his family.

“My turn.”

I find the song I want—Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood”—and

take his hand as it begins to play. He bites his lip, staring down at me as I

sing to him. Truer words have never been spoken. His love really is like

thunder and lightning—loud and scary, yet illuminating. I stare up at him,

meaning every word that comes out of my mouth. The crowd joins in again,

providing the knocking sounds on the chorus by clapping. Without warning, he

pulls me against him, taking the microphone from my hand and dipping me. The song

is forgotten as he presses his lips to mine. I wrap my arms around his neck,

returning his kiss. It’s one of his brothers—I can’t tell which—who gets him to

release me.

“Get a room, bro!”

As the crowd bursts into laughter, he smiles down at me.

“Hungry?” he asks.

“Famished.”

“Let’s eat.”

“Here?” I smirk.

“Oh, you minx. Just wait ’til everyone leaves.”

I giggle at his delicious threat. “Promise?”

“Pinky swear.”

We walk over to the grill, where he begins to assemble

burgers for us. I look around at his huge family and see how happy everyone is.

Even my dad is enjoying himself. I don’t know what Clara has been doing, but

it’s like he’s a new man. No, not new, just his old self.

I spot a sad young woman sitting by herself, dangling her

feet in the pool. Tugging on Ethan’s sleeve, I jerk my head in her direction.

“Who’s that? She looks so sad.”

“That’s Anna. She’s been like that ever since she lost her

parents last year. No one’s been able to quite get through to her.”

“Give me one of those things.”

I kick off my sandals while he places the burger on the bun,

then I add condiments and grab a can of soda from the cooler.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Just give me five minutes, will you?”

I make my way over and sit next to her, placing my feet in

the water. “Hi.”

“Hello.”

She doesn’t even look at me.

“Anna, right? I’m Casey.”

“I know. You’re Uncle Ethan’s girlfriend.”

“He’s your uncle?”

“No, I just call him that.”

I extend the plate to her. “I brought this for you.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I hope you don’t mind but Ethan told me about your parents.”

Her bottom lip trembles and she stops swinging her feet. “I know how you feel.

I lost my mom last year.”

Finally, she turns her sad eyes toward me.

“You did?”

“Yeah. I didn’t even get to say good-bye.”

“Me neither.”

“I was just like you for a long time: sad and kinda angry. I

cried every day.”

“How did you get over it?”

“I haven’t really. You don’t get over losing someone you

love, but it gets better.”

“How?” she asks, her eyes pleading. “When?”

I tuck her long, blonde hair behind her ear, and tear-filled

grey eyes meet mine.

“It got better for me when I realized that Mom wouldn’t want

me to be sad. My whole life, she did everything she could to make sure I was

happy. If I was sad, she was sad. She wouldn’t feel better until I did.”

“My mom was like that, too.”

“So do you think she’s happy now, seeing her little girl like

this?” I ask.

“No.”

“You want her to be happy, right?”

“Yes.”

“And how do you do that?”

“Stop being sad?”

“Exactly.”

She gives me a weak smile and looks around at her family.

“You know, all this time, no one really bothered to talk to

me… only to tell me how sorry they are for my loss.” She places her hand on

mine and turns to me once more. “Thank you, Casey.”

“No problem, sweetie.”

She takes the plate and starts swinging her feet again as

she eats. Poor thing, she just feels alone.

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen,” she answers.

“Seventeen? You have a boyfriend?”

She blushes, smiling as she answers. “No.”

“Don’t give me that. I know that smile. You like someone.”

“Okay, but he doesn’t know I exist.”

“Pretty girl like you? He must be an idiot then. And you

don’t want an idiot, do you?”

“He’s not. I think he just feels sorry for me like everybody

else.” She shrugs.

“Well, I guess we’re gonna have to do something about that.”

“You mean… you’ll help me?”

“Of course.”

Her smile widens, and her eyes light up with hope.

“Thank you!”

“Let’s exchange numbers.”

After we’ve programmed each other’s numbers in our phones, I

get an idea. I just need to get her involved in some kind of activity to keep

her mind occupied.

“Come on. Help me with something in the kitchen.”

When I try to stand, I suddenly feel dizzy, and Anna grabs

at me to keep me from falling. Ethan is at my side before I know it, lifting me

into his arms. How did he get over here so fast?

“Casey?”

“I’m fine, Ethan. Put me down.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I am. I guess I just stood up too quickly.”

By now, a crowd has gathered around us, expressing concern.

Daddy steps forward, placing his hand on my forehead.

“What happened?” he asks.

“I’m okay, Daddy.” Ethan’s looking at me like I just broke a

body part or something. “I’m fine. Anna and I have things to do, so put me down.”

He finally does as I ask and I turn to everyone with a smile. “It’s fine. He

worries too much.”

The crowd disperses, and I take Anna’s hand as we walk to

the kitchen. I do feel strange. I just can’t put my finger on it. I’ve

got butterflies in my tummy, and I don’t know why.

Not two minutes later, in walks Ethan. I roll my eyes in

exasperation and Anna giggles. Standing behind me, he nuzzles my neck.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks.

“I’m fine.”

“You’ll let me know if you’re not?”

“Yes. I promise.”

“Good. I have something for you.”

He reaches around me, presenting a small, black velvet box.

I hope it’s not more expensive jewelry; the necklace he gave me is sitting at

home, probably never to be worn again. I take the box and open it as Anna

giggles again.

Oh. My. God. “It’s beautiful, Ethan! Thank you.”

He removes the platinum necklace from the box, and I admire

the diamond-encrusted, crescent moon-shaped pendant nestled inside an open

heart. I sweep my hair to the side so he can clasp it around my neck. A shiver

runs down my spine as his fingers brush my nape.

“What’s this for?”

He kisses my cheek and places his lips at my ear.

“Because I love you to the moon and back.”

He walks off without a backward glance, leaving me to stare

at his retreating form in shock. He loves me? He loves me. He loves me! Shock

turns to giddiness, and I can’t stop smiling. Neither can Anna.

“Promise me I can be in the wedding,” she says.

“That’s a little premature, Anna.”

“Hey, I’m just saying.”

Her smile fades and her eyes dart to the door. I follow her

gaze and find Helena standing there.

“Run along, Anna. I need to speak with Casey.”

Anna looks to me as if seeking permission, and I nod to let

her know it’s okay. She walks away with her head down.

“Mrs. McKenzie, what can I do for you?”

“The question is what can you do for Ethan?”

“Excuse me?”

Her expression is cold, and I know this will be no friendly

chat. She takes my arm and drags me around the corner, out of everyone’s line

of sight.

“I’ve been watching the two of you. It’s obvious that he’s… smitten

with you, but I cannot allow this to continue.”

“With all due respect, that’s up to Ethan and me.”

“This isn’t personal. You’re pretty, and you seem like a

nice girl. You’re just not the right girl for my son.”

“And Shae is?”

She obviously didn’t think I knew about Shae. She quickly

disposes of her surprise and her cold indifference returns.

“Yes… or someone like her.”

“Why?”

“My son deserves better. Shae’s a lawyer. They have a lot in

common. He would see that if he wasn’t blinded by you and your tits.”

Oh? And I’m just a lowly bartender. I knew his money would

somehow become an issue.

“He wasn’t interested in her long before me and my tits

got here.”

“There are things about Ethan, about this family, that you

don’t know. Things you won’t be able to handle.”

Secrets? What’s he hiding from me? “How do you know

that?”

“I just do. Do yourself, and Ethan, a favor and break it

off. Now.”

“I… I can’t.”

I don’t want to… I won’t! He’s mine. He’s the one thing I

have for me and me alone… and he loves me and… Oh, my God, I love him.

“Don’t tell me you think you’re in love with him,” Helena

scoffs.

“What if I am?”

“Then you’re selfish. Shae may not be the love of his life; she

may never be, but she is what he needs. She fits in with this family. You

don’t. You never will. Ethan is destined for greatness, and you would only drag

him down.”

Selfish. There’s that word again. Am I being selfish? Of

course not! How can I be when he loves me, too? He wants to be with me just as

much as I want to be with him. But am I holding him back?

“No…” I shake my head.

“I promise you, as long as I have life, I will make yours

miserable. You end this relationship or I will. By any means necessary.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Yes, I am. Stay away from my son.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Like I said, by any means necessary. Trust me, you are disposable.”

Is she saying what I think she’s saying?

“What are you going to do, kill me?” I roll my eyes.

Her answering smirk sends a chilling sensation through my body,

and I get the feeling she’s a woman who’ll definitely follow through on her

threats. It’s not like she doesn’t have the money to pull it off. Having made

her point clear, she walks away but turns back to me at the door.

“Don’t even think of mentioning this to Ethan. I gave birth

to him. If you force him to choose between us, you may not like the outcome.”

She leaves the room, dragging my heart on the floor behind

her.

What am I going to do?