Page 58 of Catalyst
“Ha! Of course, he did. Dad’s such a sucker.”
The timer on the oven buzzes, and Mom starts flitting around the kitchen. Once all the dishes are ready to go, she calls everyone in to eat. Ellie and I help move everything into the dining room, where an extra chair has already been squeezed in for Ellie at the overcrowded table.
I keep my left hand on Ellie’s thigh as we dig into the meal. The noise level is deafening while we talk over each other. There are so many conversations happening at the same time, it’s a little overwhelming.
When I look over to check on Ellie, she has this mile-wide grin on her face that I’ve never seen before. The idea of my family bringing this much joy into her life fills me with more gratitude than I could ever express. I’ve always known I’m lucky to have the family I have. Getting to share them with Ellie makes it even better.
CHAPTER27
Ellie
Never in mylife have I been around this much noise and been this happy at the same time.
The Ellis family is overwhelming. Adam’s warnings before we got here make total sense now, but from the minute I walked into this house, I’ve been at ease. There’s something about this family that draws you in and makes you never want to leave.
Everyone is talking over each other as we eat dinner. The many conversations happening at the same time are hard to keep up with, so I stopped trying a little while ago and am just soaking in the chaos.
“Ellie, Adam told me you take self-defense classes. How long have you been training?” Sara asks. She’s sitting to my left, and her boyfriend, Ben, is on the other side of her. He’s oddly stoic, but given Sara is as outgoing as she is, it seems to fit.
“About a year. My best friend, Katie, and I started going together and have loved it from the first class.”
“I train with Dax Pierce in Sonoma right now and am working on my certification to teach. All it took was one class, and I was addicted.” She grins.
“I know Dax! Well, sort of. He’s substituting for our regular instructor right now.”
“Oh, you take Cody’s class! He’s great. Dax has had him come in to train me a couple of times.”
“How long have you been taking classes?” I ask.
“Since the early summer. Dax has been giving me one-on-one lessons since he doesn’t have a class set up. That’s why I’m training to teach. These classes have given me more than I could ever put into words. To be able to give someone else the chance to experience that would be amazing.”
“There is a certain strength that comes with knowing you can defend yourself if the need arises.”
“Totally agree. Plus, I have to admit, it’s fun to be able to take down my brothers for a change.” Sara grins.
I laugh. “I’m a little jealous of your big family.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“Just Stephanie, my older sister.”
“You guys didn’t wrestle like heathens in the living room like we did?” Sara raises a teasing eyebrow.
“Definitely not. There were too many breakables in the house. Not to mention, if Mom found us rolling around on the floor, I think she would’ve fainted.”
“Ah, if Mom fainted every time she found us being crazy monkeys, she’d be perpetually asleep. At this point, she just ensures we don’t break any more of her furniture.”
I smile at Sara, grateful she didn’t ask any further questions about my strict upbringing.“Is it weird that I’d like to experience one of your wrestling matches?”
Sara laughs. “Not at all.”
“It’s a bit of an initiation ritual,” Ben chimes in, a soft smile on his face.
I raise my eyebrows. “Does that mean I’ll have to—”
“No! Oh, my God.” Sara starts giggling. “Way to freak her out, Ben. No, I think when Tucker first came over, Matthew and Nolan started wrestling because of some random quip one of them made. When I brought Ben home for the first time, Nolan challenged me to test my skills.”
“She took him down in about two seconds.” Ben laughs.
