Isolation , Jones, Nathan [top 20 books to read TXT] 📗

ways Hal was as much a parent as an older brother to his young siblings. But the kids seemed to take their new relationships very literally.

Or maybe they were just doing that for fun.

“You know your mom's my sister now, right?” Linny asked Ricky, grinning teasingly. “That means I'm your aunt and you have to do what I say.”

Ricky made a disgusted face. “No I don't! She's your sister-in-law. That's just legal stuff, you're not really my aunt.”

“Yes I am.” The blond girl held out her arms, dark green eyes sparkling with mischief. “Now come give your dear old aunty a big hug!”

“Eww, gross!” He abandoned his chair and food and bolted away along the berm, Linny in hot pursuit cackling gleefully.

Ellie grinned after them, willing to forgive their rambunctious behavior in the excitement of the moment, while Hal roared laughter.

She reached out and took her new husband's hand, feeling a new surge of tenderness for him. He quickly sobered and turned to smile back at her, squeezing her hand gently. “Hey,” he murmured.

“Hey.”

“The eagerly awaited day, huh?”

She nodded. “It's been a long road to get here.”

“With a lot of stops and more than a little walking,” he agreed, wrapping an arm around her and resting his head against hers. “But this is exactly where I want to be.”

“Mmm.” Ellie took the last bite to clean her plate and stood, setting it on her seat. “Come on, we should probably mingle with our guests a bit more.” She especially wanted to have a long talk with Tallie, make sure she felt included in the celebration.

Her daughter was on her feet at the very border of the patrol area, and it was another source of joy for Ellie to see her jumping excitedly, few signs remaining of the lingering weakness that had kept her bedridden for so long.

“Mommy, you look so beautiful!” she shouted. “You just got married!”

Ellie found herself laughing and tearing up at the same time; she couldn't think of anything in the world she wanted more than to scoop her baby girl up in her arms and hug her tight. “I did,” she said solemnly. “Hal's my husband now, and my last name is Westmont.”

Tallie's nose crinkled. “You change names a lot.”

Well, considering she'd changed back to her maiden name after the divorce less than a year ago, and now she had Hal's name, that was sort of true. “This'll be the last time as far as I'm concerned, sweetie girl,” she promised with a grin, reaching out to take Hal's hand.

Ricky and Linny tore past them, still playing their version of tag, and Tallie's attention shifted to them. “Is Linny my sister now?” she asked hopefully.

Ellie hesitated. “Technically she's your aunt.”

“Oh.” Her daughter's face fell. “I wanted her to be my sister.”

“You can treat her like a sister,” Hal offered. “Linny would love to have a sister, too.”

“Okay.” Tallie was silent for a moment. “What's tech-techmicly mean?”

Nick chuckled and whispered in her ear, and her brow furrowed in deeper puzzlement. “I still don't understand what it means, Daddy.”

“Never mind, sweetie,” Ellie said, smiling; Tallie was so cute. “How have you been? Have you been having fun with Aimee?”

She settled back to listen to her daughter chatter about the things she'd done in the survivors' camp, holding Hal's hand the entire time. Then they spent some more time chatting with the guests from the survivors' camp before moving on to the guests from Stanberry.

They were looking antsy about being outside their barricade and so close to a camp teeming with Zolos; even Gen and the Norsons seemed ready to head back. So after receiving a few more well-wishes and saying their goodbyes, she and Hal stood waving as the group hurried back to town.

The survivors' group was next to take their leave, still at their limits caring for the influx of new Zolos patients while also patrolling town searching for signs of what the still-absent Jay was planning. Nick and Tallie stuck around for a while longer, although eventually he had to begin his shift patrolling west of town. He promised to bring Tallie around for a visit later, though.

After that the party pretty much wound down. The guests from the main camp offered their last congratulations and also took their leave to get back to work, still dealing with the aftermath of the breakout.

That left just their camp, effectively drawing the wedding reception to a close.

Ellie felt her stomach flutter with excitement as Hal glanced at her, then at the tent they'd now be sharing, and with a slightly nervous smile cleared his throat. “Shall we, Mrs. Westmont?”

She looked over at Cara and the kids. Her new mother-in-law had agreed to babysit for their wedding night, which admittedly would be starting pretty early since it was still afternoon; after waiting so long Ellie wasn't about to wait any longer now that she was officially married. She was even grateful for Cara's shockingly blunt personality this time around, since the woman had unabashedly said she'd keep the kids occupied singing songs and playing games so the new bride and groom could have some privacy.

Ellie nodded and offered her new husband her arm. “Yes, let's.”

She bit back a squeal of surprised laughter when instead of taking it he abruptly swept her off her feet, carrying her easily in his arms towards the waiting tent.

✽✽✽

Gen wondered if it was weird that she'd found the wedding of her boyfriend's ex-wife super romantic.

She didn't think so, since Ellie and Hal were both such sweet people, and such a lovely couple. They deserved to find that happiness after everything they'd been through, and their success gave Gen hope that the bad times would eventually end and good times were coming.

And in the meantime, filled her with resolve to focus more on the positive in spite of their current situation. Like the fact that Nick and the kids were safe and healthy out there beyond the barricade, and that his feelings for her