Page 40 of Eye of the Hurricane (Weathering Doves Harbor #2)

Ares

Roman and I do one more run through of all of the things Audra needs to remember to lock while we’re at the lake house on a trip that he’s been insisting we take.

“Yes, I do know how to lock doors,” she says, flashing a sarcastic smile at us.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay here alone?” Roman asks, running a gentle hand down her black hair. Ravyn is out of town with her mom, visiting her sister. We double, triple, and now are quadruple checking that Audra will be okay without us here.

“It’s one night, I’ll be fine.” She laughs.

“If you need us, call us. We’d be here in just a few hours,” he assures her. She groans.

“Please make sure he doesn’t spend the entire trip worrying about me,” she says, turning her attention to me.

“I’ll see what I can do. But seriously, call us if you need us,” I tell her. She waves me off, shooing us out of the house.

“I love you guys, drive safe,” she says, herding us toward the door .

“I love you, Auds,” he says, dropping a kiss to her lips. The kiss lasts longer than a peck and I’m now looking at the ceiling, waiting for the moment to be over.

We get in the car and drive to Beck’s house, picking him up.

“Let’s do this,” I say, as he throws his bag into the backseat. The music is loud enough that I have to yell over it.

“Do we have everything?” Roman asks, glancing to Beck then at me. I give him a simple thumbs up and Beck nods.

I wish I could say the drive there is quiet. It’s not though, it’s filled with ear damaging bass. Beck and Roman are giving a full concert. While they sound like tone deaf walruses I have to say I’m impressed with the range of songs they know well enough to scream in the car.

The drive is familiar, one we take a couple times a year. I recognize every exit and fruit stand the whole way there. It’s comforting.

First order of business when we get there is enjoying the lake. With beer, of course. Okay fine , we’re mostly enjoying the beer.

I’ve somehow been conned into playing beach volleyball with athletes again. I feel like there isn’t enough air left on the planet to replace what’s missing in my lungs.

“I swear I’m never playing with you guys again,” I pant.

“You said that last time,” Beck says.

“Well, I mean it this time.” I walk out to the water and pop my head under to cool down. It’s unseasonably warm today at seventy-eight.

“What are we doing tonight?” Beck asks.

“We’re going to Under Shore,” Roman says. It’s out of the norm enough to grab both Beck’s and I’s attention. We both turn our heads, looking at him.

“Why are you taking us on a date?” Beck laughs.

“It’s just a nice place.”

“Yeah… Too nice…” I say, squinting at him.

We walk back to the lake house and get dressed. We’re all in some variation of a button-up and jeans. I guess when you live somewhere as hot as South Carolina, that’s the go-to for dressing nice.

Once we’re all presentable, we head out to the dinner Roman arranged. The very suspicious dinner that Roman arranged

Our waitress is beautiful with long blonde hair and freckles. She reminds me a little of Kat but not enough to make me give her a second glance. She doesn’t even hold a flame to the blonde I’ve got at home. No one does.

We all order our drinks and food, making a poor attempt at pretending this dinner is normal.

“So, I’ll be the one to address the elephant in the room I guess,” Beck says, looking confused. “This is weird as hell, Ro. What’s up?” I’m glad he asks because I’m wondering the same thing.

“Yeah, like… Super weird,” I confirm.

For a moment he looks nervous, like he’s trying to think of what to say.

Worry settles in my chest, not knowing what he’s going to tell us.

He hasn’t given us any reason to think it’s bad news.

Until now, while he’s sitting there looking like he’s unsure if he can get the words out without puking.

He looks like he’s finding a way to drop the worst news in the world. And yeah, it freaks me out a little.

The anxiety quickly dissipates when he pulls a little velvet box out of his pocket. All of a sudden it’s crystal clear what this whole trip was about. He’s asking Audi to marry him.

I should have known. I’ve seen this coming since he bought the house. There are no two people more perfect for one another than Audra and Roman.

I can’t fight the smile ripping its way across my cheeks. Beck’s eyes are so wide I’m not even sure it’s possible to show that much of the whites.

“Oh shit.” The words come out breathlessly.

“Oh my god,” Beck gasps.

Roman is smiling ear to ear now. The kind of smile you genuinely can’t hold back. Every fear or hesitation I’ve had about them is gone. I know in my soul this is right.

“Can’t you let a guy break his own news?” Roman groans but it’s mostly for the dramatics, the same smile is still plastered on his face.

“Maybe if you want a chance to say it out loud don’t whip out the little velvet box,” Beck says, laughing.

“I already talked to her mom. I talked to Mom and Dad. Everyone is on board. It’s not like I need your guys’ permission. I just couldn’t imagine popping the question without the two of you knowing first. You’re my best friends.”

Roman and I have gone through many phases of life, ones where we’ve been as close as two people can be and ones where we’ve hardly spoken. The rough patches were mostly when we were kids and I didn’t know how suffocating I was being by following his every move.

Being at a place now where I’m one of his best friends and we hang out as much as we do means the world to me. Call me a sap if you want.

“When are you doing it?” I ask him.

“I haven’t set a day yet. Soon though. I want to throw an engagement party after, something kind of fancy. I think she’ll like it,” he says.

“Definitely. If you don’t include Ravyn she’ll be pissed,” I warn him.

“Oh I know,” he says. I think the guys all fear Ravyn a little. I’m sure she prefers it that way.

“How are you going to do it?” I ask.

“I’m going to ask Ravyn what her opinion is,” he says.

“Good idea.”

Dinner is perfect, full of laughing and making plans. It’s hard to imagine I was ever against the idea of Roman and Audra. Now this is some of the best news I’ve ever received.

We’re on our way back into the lake house when Roman’s phone rings in his pocket. He pulls it out and it’s Audra.

“Go ahead in guys, I’m sure she’s just checking in,” he says, waving us toward the door. I don’t move though. There’s this feeling in my chest that doesn’t let me follow the instruction. Intrinsically, I know something isn’t right.

I mouth to him put her on speaker.

“Hi baby, what’s up? You’re on speaker but it’s just Ares and I out here,” his tone is light and there’s a content smile on his face. It falls quickly when a sob rips through Audra. I step closer to the phone.

I can’t explain it, I just knew. I just knew something was wrong.

“Auds? Are you crying?” he asks, it’s a stupid question. But it’s one I can’t blame him for asking.

“He knows where we live,” she cries, her voice trembling on every word. It’s a knife in the gut. Immediately we both know who he is. Her ex, the one who was abusing her, the one who stalked her. Until now, they had been living in the bliss of him not knowing her new address.

“How do you know? What happened?” Roman questions.

“He… He sent us mail. A letter.” Shit .

“We’re coming home,” he assures her.

“Okay,” I’m positive she’s not okay when she doesn’t fight him or tell him to stay and enjoy his trip.

“I’m going to call Kat, okay Audi?” I offer.

“Okay,” she sniffles. The defeated tone in her voice guts me. Roman looks somehow both hollow and filled with rage.

We’re about five hours from home, she shouldn’t be alone that long. Especially not when it’s already getting dark.

“Grab Beck, I’m going to send Kat over there,” I tell him. He gives me a stiff nod and heads inside.

“I’ll grab your stuff too, we’ll head out as soon as you’re off the phone,” he adds.

I dial Katherine’s number. It only rings for a second before she picks up.

“Hi, I miss you,” she says sweetly. Under different circumstances, I might blush at her telling me she misses me. Under the current ones, I hardly register it.

“I need you to do me a favor, Kat,” I rush out.

“Well hello to you too.” She laughs.

“It’s serious. I need you to go to Audra’s house,” I tell her.

“Okay, I’ll grab my keys-” I cut her off prematurely. I can’t contain my gratitude for her. The way she doesn’t hesitate for a second before jumping in to help. It wasn’t even a question. My heart squeezes in my chest.

“Thank you.”

“What’s going on, Ares?” she asks, voice softer this time .

“Her ex, the one I told you about, he figured out where they live and sent a letter. That’s all we know right now. We’re five hours and some change away, we don’t want her to be alone that long.”

“I’m grabbing my keys now. Does she know I’m coming?” she asks.

“Yes. Thank you so much,”

“She’s going to be okay, Ares. I promise. I’ll see to it,” she says and I’m sure she just means she’ll hold her while she cries but she sounds so badass when she says it.

“Are you scared?” I ask. I figure if I was a woman, I might be scared of putting myself in this position. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked it of her.

“Not even a little,” she assures me. “We’ll be okay,” I can hear her car start and tires crunching the gravel of her driveway on the way out.

“I should go, I should drive so Roman can call and text Audra. You’ll be okay?” I ask.

“We’ll be okay, promise. See you in a few hours.”

“Okay, be safe, I- I’ll see you.” I hang up the phone and I don’t even have the time to unpack that I almost told her I love her.