Falling for Ezra Thomas (Life With the Thomas Brothers #4)

11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Ezra

Silas offers me a supportive pat on the back, reminding me that I’m not the only one who has faced this scenario. My mother is full on snot crying on my shoulder, and I am reminded that I am an absolute jerk for doing this to her. I should have told them all weeks ago, given us time for proper goodbyes.

“Honey, we have to go. It’s a seven-hour drive, and I want to get ahead of morning traffic,” Dad says.

My whole family—extended to include the Mays, Nadines, and Marshalls…and the whole town—surrounds us as my father waits for my mother to relinquish me to the United States government. And I’m not so sure it’s going to happen.

Even the morning paper glared at her when she opened it this morning.

Coldstone Creek’s Ezra Thomas joins the Army!

The headline plastered on the front page led to an article about my parents’ bakery being a staple and fixture of the town and all about their ten boys, ending with me, the soldier on his way to make our little town proud.

Or kill my mother. Whichever happens first.

Even Beck and Vivien are taking it better than I anticipated, but I have a feeling it’s to make my life easier. Lorelai stands beside her parents, purposely not making eye contact with anyone but me. I think if she does, the tears will come, and she’ll feel guilty. I want to kiss her again, remind her of all the promises I made to her last night on our walk home, and guarantee the only thing that will happen while I’m gone is a whole lot of falling in love with her.

There’s no way I can’t fall. In only a couple of days, I’ve come to realize how much she means to me.

“They better be nice to you,” Mom says, finally releasing me.

“Pretty sure the point of basic training is to break them,” Novan teases but zips his mouth when Dad glares at him.

“I’ll behave myself, Mom. They won’t have a reason to be unusually cruel.” I hope that’s true, but anything can happen.

Once everyone has given me a last goodbye hug, Vivien steps forward. I open my arms to my best friend and let her fall into them with a huge sigh. “I’m going to miss you. I can’t believe I have to keep Beck straight all by myself.”

I chuckle and hug her tighter. “You signed up for it. No one forced you to fall in love with my grumpy brother and marry him.”

She pinches my arm and releases me so my twin can hug me goodbye. He flexes his jaw, holding back the emotion he so freely shows these days. I thank God that he and Vivien are a perfect match, because with her in the picture, he stands a chance at not being so grouchy all the time without me home to level him out.

“I’m proud of you,” Beck says and smacks my back.

“Thank you,” I say and hold on just a moment longer. “Will you take care of Lorelai for me? Please?”

“You know I will. Work hard, make friends, don’t do dumb stuff.” He chuckles and pulls back to relinquish me to Lorelai for one last goodbye.

I don’t care that everyone we know is present, I dip my head and kiss her. She links her arms around my waist and sighs, but it only lasts for a moment. I have to go, and she knows that. With reluctance, she pulls back and brushes her hand through my hair.

“Write to me as soon as you can. I’m going to start my first letter soon,” she says.

“I will,” I say, my voice husky enough to exhibit my emotion. I don’t want to leave her, but I have to. I pinch her cheek and she steps back beside her sister so I can open the car door.

I take a deep breath and get into the passenger seat while my father starts the car. Going through the usual motions of adjusting the seat and buckling my seatbelt distract me from the fact that my entire world is about to change. Everyone I love is here, waiting while I prepare to take the first step into my future. I roll the window down and reach for Lorelai. She takes my hand and squeezes it.

“Son, we have to go,” Dad says, gently but insistently.

With a final squeeze, she drops my hand and Dad puts the car in drive. I don’t want to, even try not to, but I can’t stop myself from looking in the side mirror as he pulls away from the curb and down the street.

So many people, many who’ve known me all my life, wave goodbye as we drive off. A lump grows in my throat and my eyes sting. I try to hold back tears by clearing my throat and sniffling, but my father is no fool. He pulls a small pack of tissues from the console of his car and hands them to me.

“It’s all right to cry, son. This is a big deal.”

I nod and accept the tissues. It’s an hour into the drive before another word is spoken. Dad reaches across the seat and pats my shoulder.

“I’m proud of you, Ezra. I know that was hard, but it wasn’t goodbye forever. It’ll all work out.”

The knots in my stomach ease a little as I stare out the window, watching North Carolina blur into South Carolina, and eventually giving way to Georgia. Every part of me feels out of place and all wrong, but I pray that I’ll find my focus and purpose. Lord knows, I can’t find it on my own.

By the time we reach my drop-off location, my father has me laughing. He works hard to crack jokes, tell stories, and keep me in the right frame of mind for what I’m about to do. This is nothing like college, when all I did was move into a town house with a few of my brothers. This is bigger and feels more permanent than anything I’ve ever done before.

“Here we are,” he says and pulls into the drop-off area. Young men, mostly confused, wander around taking orders from men who will probably spend their days breaking us down only to build us back up a whole different way.

I step out of the car and grab the small bag of items I’m allowed to have before facing my father for the last goodbye. Then I’m all on my own in a strange new world. He rounds the front of the car, taps the hood with his knuckles as if he needs something to ground him, and stops beside me.

“I, um…I’ll try to…What I mean is, your mother and I will check in on Lorelai.” He clears his throat and looks away. “Not that her parents won’t, but I’m just saying I’ll do it too. She’ll be okay.”

“You don’t think I’m crazy for getting her into this?”

He makes eye contact with me again and shakes his head with an exuberant chuckle. “Truth be told, I wondered how long it would take for you two to realize your feelings for each other. Your mother and I had bets all through high school. Honestly, we were surprised it was Beck and Viv before it was you and Lore.”

I blink a few times and open my mouth, unsure what to say. “Huh?”

Dad chuckles. “Listen, you and Vivien as friends are not the same as you and Lorelai. You two, I mean you and Lorelai, have secrets between one another. I can tell, and whether you noticed it or not, you have a certain way you act around her. She’s…she’s just different for you. I can’t explain it, but I’ve known for a long time that you have a different sort of respect for her than you do other women.”

He can’t explain it, but I understand it. Mostly. I want to spend some time thinking about my past with Lorelai, see if I can see the same thing he does. But more than that, I want to hug my father for always being the best he can be, raising us with patience and perseverance, and most of all, for showing us how to love another person. The way he loves Mom has set the bar for all of us, and their relationship has been my goal ever since I could understand it.

I wrap him in a bear hug and pray for him too. We’re all going to need it.

“I love you, Ezra,” he says and finally chokes up as he tightens his grip.

“I love you too, Dad.”

“Do great things, son.” He releases me and drags a hand over his face before nodding toward the main building. “You better get going. Don’t want to start out on the wrong foot.”

I take a deep, cleansing breath and grab my bag, then take the first steps toward the end of one life and into another.