The Warm Welcome

ANNA

Given the time difference, it was still early when we landed in Colorado.

When we climbed down the stairs onto the tarmac, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t for two giggling girls to tear across the pavement and tackle Gavin in a hug.

“Whoa, ladies!” Gavin laughed, embracing them tightly. “Gosh, you two get taller every time I see you! What are you, fifteen now?”

“I’m ten, Uncle G.” The older one rolled her eyes. “You know that.”

He ruffled her hair lovingly, and she beamed back at him. I realized these must be his nieces. An older woman walked up with a bright smile, pecking Gavin’s cheek.

“Hey, baby.”

“Hey, Mom,” he greeted her and then turned to me. “I didn’t think you guys would be up in time to meet us.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” she waved him off before turning to me. “You must be Annalise. I’m so glad you’re here, honey.”

I was surprised when she pulled me into a warm hug but returned it without hesitation.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Powell,” I told her.

She pulled back to look at me. “You’re going to be family. Please call me Pam.”

Her blue eyes were kind, and she had faint lines around her easy smile. She shared Gavin’s nose and the charismatic way he made everyone feel important just to be in his presence.

“Pam,” I agreed. “You can call me Anna. Gavin’s really the only one who always uses my full name.”

“Anna it is, then.”

“Uncle Gavin, do I get to be a flower girl when you get married?” the younger sister with brown curls asked, clinging to his leg.

“Well, actually,” I cut in as I reached into my purse, “we planned on asking both of you.”

I reached into my handbag and pulled out two gold chains with dainty flower charms dangling off of them. On the back, each pendant had the girls’ names, Penelope and Ella.

“Oh, wow,” Ella cooed. “They’re so pretty. Can I put mine on?”

“Sure.” I smiled. “Here, I’ll help you.”

She spun around so that I could secure the clasp around her neck. Ella held the flower charm in her little fingers in awe.

“What do you say, Ella?” Pam prodded her.

“Thank you so much, Aunt Anna!” She threw her little arms around me, stealing my breath with her affection.

“She’s not our aunt.”

Everyone froze.

“Pen, that’s not very kind,” Pam scolded her. “She will be your aunt in a couple of weeks.”

“Whatever,” Penelope crossed her arms and stomped toward a red pickup truck.

We all stared after her in awkward silence.

“I swear, sometimes that girl’s attitude would make you think she’s already a teenager,” Pam huffed.

“She misses Auntie Chels,” Ella murmured.

Gavin frowned. “Sweetheart, Chelsea wasn’t—”

“It’s okay to miss her,” I cut him off and bent down to be at the little girl’s eye level. “I bet she was a really big part of your life.”

“Yeah.” Ella nodded and bit her lip. “She used to paint my nails, but she doesn’t visit anymore.”

I could see how sad and confused she was. She was only eight. Chelsea was probably the only woman she remembered her uncle being with.

I pretended to be deep in thought. “Well, I’m not very good at painting nails. But I really like to braid hair.”

“Really? Can you do Dutch braids?”

“Sure can.” I grinned down at her. “Let’s get going, and you can think about how you want it on the drive.”

Ella squealed before skipping toward the car.

“Nicely done,” Gavin said, wrapping his arm around me.

“Penny will warm up to you,” Pam assured me.

I had my doubts. “It seems like she and Chelsea were pretty close.”

Pam’s gaze darted in Gavin’s direction before she slowly nodded. “Sort of. Penelope idolized Chelsea. She had a hard time after the breakup.”

Gavin sighed. “Mom, I asked Chloe to explain everything to the girls.”

Before Pam could respond, I spoke up. “It’s hard for kids, Gavin. You were with her for most of their lives.”

“Right,” his mom agreed. “Your sister has tried to hype both girls up about your wedding. Besides, it seems Anna has already won over Ella.”

***

It was a short drive from the small airstrip to the Powell family’s home.

The ranch Gavin’s parents lived on was beautiful. Although the main house wasn’t overly large or ornate, the property surrounding it left me speechless.

Green pastures stretched as far as the eye could see, backdropped by the snow-capped Rocky Mountains.

“You grew up here?” I asked Gavin as we stepped out onto the gravel drive.

“Yeah.” He looked around. “Some days it’s hard to remember why I left.”

“Because you got too big for your britches, asshole.”

I turned just in time to see a younger, stockier version of Gavin wrap him in a bear hug.

Gavin returned it and clapped the other man firmly on the back. “I’ve missed you.”

The man that I’d deduced was Gavin’s brother, Derrick, laughed. “Don’t get all mushy, man. Besides, you can visit whenever you want.”

Gavin’s smile faltered. “You know it’s not that simple, D.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Derrick waved him off. “You’re ~super~ busy. What with the business and, apparently, a secret girlfriend.”

I watched as Gavin tensed before their mom swept between them.

“Don’t you two start. This is a happy weekend.” She glared at each of her sons. “No arguing.”

It was clear I was missing something about the brothers’ relationship. Derrick hadn’t said much, but Gavin looked as though he wanted to tear him a new one.

“You must be Annalise! It’s so good to meet you!”

A beautiful woman with dark hair and hazel eyes glided down the front steps of the ranch house. She had a bright smile and looked just like her daughters.

“You must be Chloe. It’s my pleasure!” I held out a hand, but she quickly pulled me into a tight hug instead.

“Sorry!” she apologized, still squeezing me. “We’re huggers around here. I’m sure Gavin warned you.”

“He didn’t actually,” I said lightly. “But I’m very excited to get to know all of you.”

Chloe pulled away and gave me a strange look. “Likewise. I’ve heard a lot about you over the years, but I never realized there was anything…romantic between the two of you.”

Despite her smile and kind tone, I couldn’t help but feel like I was under a microscope.

“Oh, um, there wasn’t. It just sort of…happened.”

“Interesting.” She nodded. “And when was that?”

Before I could answer, or she could continue prodding, Gavin wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his side.

“No need to interrogate guests, Chloe,” he teased, but there was an undercurrent of warning in his tone.

His sister smirked, and I realized there might be an edge to her I hadn’t seen initially.

“Just curious about your fiancée, Gav.”

I looked up at Gavin and noticed, despite a smile of his own, his eyes were laser-focused on his sister.

“Chloe works as a detective for the sheriff’s department,” he told me without shifting his gaze. “She can’t help herself.”

“That’s true,” Derrick called over his shoulder as he carried our bags inside. “You should have seen her with my ex-girlfriend. Relentless.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “You brought home a porn star and tried to pass her off as a real estate agent, Derrick. I hardly ran off the future Mrs. Powell.”

“Hey, you never know.” He shrugged. “The things she could do with—”

“Derrick!” Pam and Chloe both scolded him and pointed to Ella and Penelope.

“I was going to say lasagna!”

I couldn’t help but giggle at their banter. Gavin winked at me before turning to his mom.

“Where’s Dad?” he asked.

Pam sighed. “A steer got loose. He and Mack are out bringing him home.”

Gavin ran a hand through his hair. “He has ranch hands to manage the cattle, Mom.”

“It doesn’t matter, Gavin,” she told him. “It’s what he loves to do.”

“It’s what he’s always doing. What he’s been doing for the last thirty-five years.”

Pam pursed her lips but didn’t respond.

“On that note,” Chloe chimed in, “why don’t we get you two settled? We gave you guys the guest room upstairs.”

Even though my mind spun with about a million questions, I followed without voicing any of them.

~How much ~should~ I know about the dynamics of their family?~

There was definitely tension between him and his brother. Clearly, he had some strong feelings about his dad’s choice to continue working.

Looking back over the last four years, I couldn’t remember the two of us ever discussing his parents or siblings in detail. Perhaps I never noticed because I avoided the topic of my own relatives so deliberately.

When we rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, Chloe spun on her heel to face us.

“What the fuck is with the security detail?” Her eyes bore holes into Gavin.

“It’s just a precaution.” He shrugged.

In the excitement of our arrival, I’d barely paid attention to the hulking men in the yard. In hindsight, it was probably strange that we showed up with an entire team of armed guards.

“Bullshit,” Chloe snapped. “You never even bring Mark when you visit. If my girls are in danger, I have a right to know, Gav.”

“I would never put my nieces in harm’s way,” he growled. “I received a few threats against Annalise, and in an abundance of caution, I asked Mark to put together a security team. Mom was supposed to tell you.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “You know Mom doesn’t share things like that. Penny is already asking questions. You should have warned me.”

“It slipped my mind.”

Chloe stared at him for a long moment. “How serious are the threats?”

She smirked when Gavin didn’t answer. “Or is it that you’re that serious about the girl?”

“Of course I’m serious about her, Chloe,” Gavin scoffed. “She’s my wife.”

“Fiancée,” I corrected him.

“Wife in less than two weeks,” Gavin argued, and then looked at his sister. “I wanted to know she was safe while we were here.”

Chloe nodded slowly. “I get it, Gav. I really do. But…you do know we are in the middle of nowhere Colorado, right? It’s hard to believe you’re going to need a team of six former military operatives to fend off some cows and barbed wire. Or have you really gone that soft in the city?”

I couldn’t help but giggle. Gavin seemed to lighten up ever so slightly.

“Maybe I overreacted,” he conceded, pulling me closer. “It’s a little…difficult to imagine anything happening to the love of my life.”

The air nearly left my lungs. It sounded so genuine, so natural coming out of his mouth. How could he lie so easily to someone who had known him his entire life?

Chloe didn’t seem to sense anything was amiss. “Well, I’ll leave you two to unpack then. Mom and I are making pancakes for breakfast!”

“Sounds great,” I forced a smile.

“Welcome to the family, Annalise!” she called cheerfully as she climbed down the stairs. “We’re a little crazy, but you’ll get used to it.”

Gavin nudged me into the bedroom a few steps away and closed the door.

A queen-sized bed with a plaid quilt was bracketed by a set of pinewood nightstands. A matching dresser sat on the opposite wall. Simple, neat, and cozy.

Still, I felt like a trespasser, a usurper. Who was I to be intruding on this family’s life? Why had Gavin brought me here to perpetuate the deception?

“Annalise?”

I met Gavin’s eyes. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay?” he asked.

~No.~

“Yeah. It was just a little strange to hear you call me…that.”

He nodded slowly. “Sorry, I, uh, wasn’t thinking, I guess.”

~Which only makes it worse.~

Instead of answering, I opened our suitcases to start unpacking. I needed a distraction. Truthfully, I wanted to run until my lungs gave out.

But Gavin had made me promise to stop taking off, so menial tasks would have to suffice.

“Hey,” Gavin murmured, wrapping his arms around my middle from behind. “Stop overthinking this, babe. It’s just a saying. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

I closed my eyes tightly. “It’s not just a saying, Gavin. Not to me, and not to your family. I get that we are here to sell the narrative. I just don’t understand why you have to blatantly lie.”

His hold on me tightened. After a moment, he spoke softly. “You’re right. I should have been more mindful. My only goal is for you to get to know my family and for them to know you before our wedding. I’ll be more careful going forward.”

I let out a breath. “Thank you.”

He turned me so that I was facing him and waited until our eyes met. “For you, Annalise, anything.”

~Almost anything~, I corrected him silently.