Chapter Six

Whiskey watched Hennessy, Schaefer, and Crewe try to teach Ezra a country line dance. Ezra had on jeans and the cowboy boots Hennessy bought him. Whiskey was still a little salty about that. He wanted to be the one buying things for Vivi and Ezra.

Ezra was trying to follow along, but he was stumbling over the steps. Whiskey grabbed his cowboy hat before hopping out from behind the bar. He walked over and bumped Hennessy out of the way.

"Ezra, I think you just need to get into the mindset of a cowboy to get the steps. You've got the boots. Let's try my hat on until I can buy you one."

He plopped the hat on Ezra's head, tilting it a little back. The smile spreading across Ezra's face warmed Whiskey's heart.

"Okay. Let's turn the music off. We'll work on the steps first."

He showed the steps to Ezra, counting them off as he did them. "Now, let's try it together."

This time, Ezra followed the steps with only one stumble.

"Way to go!" Whiskey fist bumped Ezra and motioned for Hennessy to turn on the music. A loud banging on their door had them pausing. "Hennessy, take Ezra to the office. Let me see who this is."

Ezra's face had gone white and Whiskey hated that. They'd made such headway this last week, providing a safe place. Whiskey, Vivi, and Ezra had settled into a routine each evening. He took the early shift and when he came upstairs, he'd bring supper. They'd eat while letting Ezra pick TV shows for them to watch. Ezra was intelligent and when he picked Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune, he knew most of the answers.

Whiskey paused until the door to the office was shut. He glanced around the room one more time to make sure there wasn't anything to give away that an eight-year-old boy had been there.

Whiskey unlocked the glass door. They'd bought a double-paned glass door with blinds within it. The blinds were closed unless they were open for business. Their big windows had black blinds with heavy curtains in front of them, so there wasn't any way someone could have seen in.

Cracking the door open a little, Whiskey took stock of the two men standing in front of him. Their tailored suits, expensive watches and gold nugget rings screamed I want to be noticed.

"Can I help you? We don't open for another hour like the sign says on the door."

"My son and I need to come in."

Whiskey chuckled. Who the hell did they think they were?

"I just said we're closed. I don't know you. Why would you think you need to come in?"

Neither man appreciated his laughter, but Whiskey didn't care. The older one was about five foot six, which was a good nine inches shorter than Whiskey.

"We're looking for my son's fiancée and her son. She has mental issues and needs to be taken back to our house."

"Okay, I feel for you that your son's fiancée is missing, but I still fail to see why you think you need to enter my bar for her. I mean, do you think she drank here in the last couple of nights? I could look at a picture but we're pretty busy and I don't always keep track of faces."

The younger one pulled his wallet out and plucked a picture of Vivi and Ezra out, along with who he was guessing was her previous husband. The husband had a huge smile plastered on his face, but Vivi and Ezra had a hollow look in their eyes. He stared at them for a little bit.

"Has your fiancée changed her hair? She looks similar to someone who had red hair and came through on their way to New Mexico. She stopped in for a drink and a meal. Otherwise I'm not sure."

"Was she pregnant?" the younger one asked.

Whiskey widened his eyes. "I wouldn't serve alcohol to a pregnant woman. No, not the woman I saw. Sorry I couldn't help you, but I need to get my prep work done before we open."

The younger one stepped forward, grabbing the door. "Listen, we'd like to come in."

Whiskey glared at the man. "Maybe you're hard of hearing. I haven't seen her, but honestly, you both demanding to come in my bar makes me feel like you want something more than a woman. I won't let you rob us."

Both men laughed. "Like we need your money. Dad, let's go. They have to be somewhere."

Whiskey waited as they got into a sedan, driven by a large man in a suit. He wasn't sure how they'd tied Vivi and Ezra to the bar, but this changed things.

He and his family had been planning for different scenarios. With Vivi's ex-husband's family saying she was unstable and had a fiancée, Whiskey could only see one outcome. The best protection from what those men had planned for Vivi was to marry her. If she was already married, those men couldn't force her to marry again, unless he was dead, and he didn't plan on that happening.

He didn't see any other way to keep Vivi safe. The last week with her had been torture because he liked her. If he could have picked the perfect woman for himself, she would be it. Really, how the heck did he find a woman who loved discussing wars, war strategies and historical battles? Vivi may have been kept from a lot of things, but she'd educated herself. She'd also taken a chance and run when presented with the opportunity.

She saw all her faults, but he saw a strong woman who had done what was needed. He needed to get upstairs and talk with Vivi about plans and how to keep her and Ezra safe.

"You want to what?" Vivi asked Whiskey to repeat what he'd just suggested. When he'd come upstairs and said her father-in-law and brother-in-law had been looking for her, she'd had trouble catching her breath. During the last week, she'd gradually relaxed and convinced herself they'd never find her. Now, Whiskey was saying they'd been found. How would she keep herself, Ezra, and Little Tot safe?

"I want to marry you. If we're already married, then they can't force you to marry one of them. It's the best way to ensure they don't have any power over you."

"Would it be a real marriage?"

She couldn't believe she was asking that, but she needed to know. Over the last week, she'd started to have a fondness for Whiskey. Last night, he'd noticed her feet were swollen, and she'd been moving them around trying to get comfortable. He'd taken her shoes off and pulled her feet onto his lap. He'd proceeded to rub and knead them until the muscles had relaxed.

She wouldn't say she cared for him, but she trusted him and his intentions. She definitely had the hots for him. Pregnancy hormones were telling her that he could satisfy every need she had. Imagining herself in his arms had her temperature rising, but with her big belly and stretch marks, she couldn't imagine a scenario where he would want her.

Every time he came close, his woodsy, manly scent enveloped her. His tattoos had her wanting to trace them with her fingers and then maybe her tongue. And the freaking dreams she had about him. She'd woken a couple times with her heart pounding from what he'd been doing to her in her dream.

"It would be a real marriage in that I'd protect you, Ezra, and Little Tot with my life. I wouldn't expect anything of a, well, umm..."

Oh my gosh, was Whiskey embarrassed to talk about the physical side with her? The big, strong man who stood over six feet tall had a slight blush on his cheeks.

"You wouldn't expect to consummate the marriage? It would be in name only?"

Whiskey swallowed before answering, "I think you're absolutely stunning, Vivi, but this offer of marriage is with no strings attached. I do not expect to consummate the marriage in exchange for protecting you."

Whiskey kept quiet and let her think through her options, which she appreciated. It was one of the things she enjoyed about him. He talked but didn't need to fill the silence with useless chatter. Marrying him would put one more layer between her and the men chasing her.

If she married him and ended up falling in love, how would she feel when the marriage ended? Could she deal with the fallout? Ezra deserved to feel safe and marriage to Whiskey would do something else. It would protect Ezra. If something happened to her, Ezra would be a part of Whiskey's family and wouldn't automatically go back to her father-in-law. The danger to her heart was a small price to pay to know Ezra would always be safe.

"I'll say yes if we can make it so if something happens to me, you promise to be a father to Ezra."

Whiskey nodded. "My dad knows a judge. I'll have him check with him to see what we need to do to protect Ezra if something happens. I promise, Vivi. I'll die before I let you, Ezra, and Little Tot go back to those men."

The door to the bedroom slammed open. Ezra ran in, wrapping his arms around her, breathing heavily.

"Sorry, I tried to keep him out while y'all talked, but he couldn't wait."

"It's fine, Hennessy. We need to tell Ezra the news," Vivi said, patting Ezra's back.

"Is Whiskey going to keep us safe from Grandfather and Uncle Paul?"

"Let's sit down for a second." Her back was hurting, and her feet were killing her. She'd rather have this conversation sitting down. She sat down on the couch. Ezra sat beside her, snuggling close, and Whiskey sat on the other side of Ezra.

"I am going to keep you safe, and the best way to do that is to marry your mom."

Ezra's eyes lit at the thought of Whiskey as his dad. She would never have imagined the change in her son in a week. Ezra had blossomed being around Whiskey's family. Each brother or cousin they'd met had made an effort to make them feel a part of the family.

Between teaching Ezra line dancing or playing video games with him, they'd met almost all of Whiskey's family. Each man, although different, exuded a vibe which put Vivi at ease.

Whiskey's offer of marriage was an answer to her late-night prayers. She prayed but had never expected anything she prayed for to happen. She'd wished for a hero to protect her and her children.

"You're marrying Mom so my Uncle Paul can't make her marry him, right? Uncle Paul isn't nice, and he makes a weird face when he looks at Mom."

"Yes, we're going to get married, so I can keep you all safe. We'll stay married until the threat is gone and then decide from there."

Whiskey talking about ending their marriage bothered her. She knew it was a marriage of convenience. Why him talking about the end turned her stomach, she wasn't sure.

"So a pretend marriage. Can you be my pretend dad? Can I call you Dad?"

Ezra's words ripped into her heart. The hopeful tone in his words that Whiskey could be a man he would depend on made her realize they needed Whiskey more than she'd dreamed.

"Of course you can call me Dad. The only drawback is I come with a big family. You'll have to put up with all of them, especially Hennessy. Are you okay with that?"

Her son's grin at Whiskey's words had her holding back tears. Hormones were hard enough without seeing her son idolizing the man she was marrying. Little Tot took that time to kick into her side, hard.

"Oh."

Whiskey turned at her grunt and reached for her, sliding his arm around her waist and taking hold of her hand.

"Oh, that's just Little Tot jumping around. Here, feel, Whiskey." Ezra grabbed Whiskey's hand from hers and put his hand against her taunt stomach. Little Tot rolled and kicked right under Whiskey's hand. He jumped a little at the contact, then the hugest smile she'd ever seen spread across his face, his teeth white and framed by his beard.

"Little Tot's strong." His hand moved a little on her belly. "Does it hurt?"

She shook her head. "Only if it's on top of my bladder."

Whiskey's wonder at feeling Little Tot cemented her decision. He and his family protected her and Ezra. No matter what happened, her children would be more than okay with Whiskey. She only hoped she survived to be with them, too.

She knew how evil her father-in-law and Paul were. They wouldn't stop until they were in control again. She didn't want any of Whiskey's family hurt, but she had to take the chance. Ezra and Little Tot deserved a future without the Charles family.