Ever After Awaits (Layla) novel Chapter 147

Chapter 147: Hunter POV

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The hum of the truck blends with the soft drone of the music that’s filtering through the radio’s speakers–a somewhat popular song that drifts through the air like smoke and doesn’t need lyrics to fill the quiet. The road ahead is dark as it carves through trees that blur at the edges of the truck’s headlights, while my hand rests on the center console, my fingers still laced with hers.

Layla’s head is tilted toward me, her cheek pressed gently against my bicep, and her breaths are slow

and even. She fell asleep ten minutes ago, somewhere between the lake and the highway’s turnoff.

And she hasn’t stirred once.

Behind us, AJ sits in the back seat, his long legs braced wide, and his elbow propped against the door. He doesn’t say much, just runs his fingers gently through the ends of Layla’s hair, and the

movement is idle, almost instinctive. Protective.

“She looked happy today,” AJ says eventually, his voice low and steady. And even though no smile

accompanies his statement, I can hear the warmth beneath his words.

“She was.” I quickly glance at him in the rearview mirror and catch the way his gaze stays anchored to the back of her head. “Really happy.”

The tires suddenly rumble over a patch of uneven tar, and Layla shifts slightly in her seat, but her hand stays tucked into mine, and her head stays resting against my upper arm.

“She laughed so much,” I murmur. “From her gut. We haven’t heard that in a while. It was beautiful.”

AJ’s thumb brushes down the length of one of her wayward curls. “She’s not just surviving anymore.”

“No,” I agree as a slight smile lifts my lips. “She’s starting to come alive again.”

We drive for a while in silence, nothing interrupting us except for the soft vibration of the tires and the occasional rustle of the wind past the windows.

“She trusts us,” he says after another minute or two. “All of us. It’s not easy for her, but she’s doing it.”

My throat tightens slightly at his words. “We just have to keep showing up for her. Keep being her foundation.”

“And she’ll keep blooming,” AJ finishes for me, his voice rougher now. Not overly emotional. Just

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8:53 Fri, Sep 19

Chapter 147: Hunter POV

honest.

CD

I nod, my eyes staying on the stretch of road that curves ahead. After today, there’s a fullness inside my chest that I’m struggling to name. It’s not pride. And it’s not just love. It’s something between

the two.

After another ten minutes or so, we slowly pull into our driveway, and the porch light is on, casting a soft, welcoming glow over the front yard. I move to unclip Layla’s seatbelt, but before I can, AJ leans forward between the seats and says quietly, “I’ve got her.”

I hesitate, my fingers pausing mid–air, but then I nod, and leave him to get out, open her door, and unclasp the buckle at her hip. AJ gently scoops her up like she weighs nothing, and again, she stirs only slightly with the motion, but her head almost immediately tips into the curve of his neck, and AJ lets out a contented sigh.

I unlock the front door for him, and as I pass him on the walkway back to my truck so can I unpack it real quick, I tell him, “Take her to my bed, will you. I want her with me tonight.”

He’s halfway up the porch steps when he turns back and asks, “You have room for one more?”

It should feel strange. Another guy, sharing my bed. We’ve done it before, but that was while we were

in her bed. But the idea doesn’t bother me. Not with her that will be nestled between the two of us.

“Yeah, man,” I say, a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.

AJ nods once, solemn and satisfied, and disappears into the house with his precious cargo cradled to

his chest.

A car door shuts behind me, and I turn to find Cade and Xavier stepping out of Xavier’s Charger, both of them looking as tired as I feel.

Without a word, we start gathering the rest of the stuff–the half–empty coolers, the still–damp. towels, the sun–faded umbrellas. Cade tosses a stray flip–flop that I think might be Layla’s on top of the pile of blankets, and Xavier stacks the lawn chairs inside the garage with mechanical precision.

There’s no chatter between us, but there’s no real need for it. We’re just moving around each other with the kind of silence that says we did good today.

By the time we step into the entryway, lock the front door behind us, and switch off the porch light, the fireflies outside have taken over the night.

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8:53 Fri, Sep 19

Chapter 147: Hunter POV

“She had a good day,” I say simply, setting down one of the coolers.

“She deserved it,” Xavier answers succinctly.

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