Freed: Fifty Shades Freed as told by Christian (Fifty Shades 6)

A heron lands upstream.

The drizzle eases.

It’s so quiet. In spite of the weather, it’s great out here.

I get a bite.

It’s a trout.

A big one.

Hell yes.

The trout backflips and snaps the line.

Shit. Lost him. And the fly.

Ethan has better luck than me. I suspect he hooks the same fish I lost.

“The one that got away,” I complain.

Ethan grins. “This one had my name on it.”

I check the time; we should go.

“He’s big enough to eat. Can we take him?” Ethan says.

“We shouldn’t.”

He grimaces. “Just this once?”

I smile. “Let’s load up. And head back.”

“Elliot never showed,” Ethan says, as we climb into the truck.

“His business in town must have taken longer than he thought.”

Ethan nods, pensive. “He’s a good guy. I think my sister is pretty stuck on him.”

“I think he’s pretty stuck on her, too. Speaking of sisters, how are things with Mia?” I hope I sound casual.

“Your sister is a real force of nature.” He shakes his head, amused by something. “But we’re still just friends.”

“I think she’d like to be more than friends.”

“Yeah. I think so, too.” He blows out a breath.

We pull into the driveway and I activate the garage door. We both climb out of the truck to start unloading, as the garage door slowly rises to reveal Ana and Kate standing beside Elliot astride one of my KTM dirt bikes. They’re all staring at us. “Garage band?” I ask, as I saunter toward Ana. She’s a little flushed, as if she’s been drinking. She grins as her eyes travel down my body; she’s amused at my attire.

Fishing gear, baby. Or maybe she recognizes the coveralls she sold me at Clayton’s. “Hi,” I say, wondering what the hell they’re all doing in the garage.

“Hi. Nice coveralls,” coos Ana.

“Lots of pockets. Very handy for fishing.” I remember how attractive but awkward she was when I was at the hardware store. Her cheeks grow rosier.

Oh, baby, we’ve come a long way since then.

From the corner of my eye, I see Kate roll her eyes, but I ignore her.

“You’re wet,” Ana breathes.

“It was raining. What are you guys doing in the garage?”

“Ana came to fetch some wood.” Elliot smirks.

Dude!

“I tried to tempt her to take a ride.” He pats the bike.

Fuck. No. In this weather? And enough of the smut talk, bro!

“She said no. That you wouldn’t like it,” Elliot says quickly.

I slide my eyes to Ana. “Did she, now?”

Her cheeks grow rosier still.

“Listen, I’m all for standing around discussing what Ana did next, but shall we go back inside?” Kate snaps. She picks up two logs and marches out of the garage. Elliot sighs and swings his leg off the bike and follows her.

I turn back to Ana. “You can ride a motorcycle?”

“Not very well. Ethan taught me.”

Did he, now? My sister and my wife…

“You made the right decision. The ground’s very hard at the moment, and the rain’s made it treacherous and slippery.”

“Where do you want the fishing gear?” Ethan asks.

“Leave it, Ethan—Taylor will take care of it.”

“What about the fish?” Ethan continues, his voice vaguely taunting.

“You caught a fish?” Ana asks.

No. “Not me. Kavanagh did.” I pout.

Ana starts laughing.

“Mrs. Bentley will deal with that,” I call. With a smug grin, Ethan takes it into the house. “Am I amusing you, Mrs. Grey?”

“Very much so. You’re wet. Let me run you a bath.”

“As long as you join me.” I plant a kiss on her lips. “I’ll see you up in the bedroom. I’ve just got to get out of my coveralls.”

Ana cocks her head to the side.

“Do you want to watch?” I grin at her.

“Always. But right now, I’ll go run your bath, Sir.”

I smirk and watch her leave, then head into the mudroom.

“Man, that was great,” Ethan says, as he strips out of his waders.

“Yeah. It’s a good spot.”

“I’m happy to sort the gear.” He sounds sincere.

“Okay. I’ll help you.”

“No, man. Your wife is waiting for you. I’ll bring it in.” He waves me away as he goes back out to the truck. I don’t argue; instead, I strip out of my gear and leave the coveralls on a peg in the mudroom.

On my way to join Ana, I run into Mia at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey, big brother.” She hugs me, taking me by surprise.

“Mia.” I think she’s a little tipsy.

“Where’s Ethan?”

“He’s outside. Unloading the truck.”

She puts her hands on her hips. “Christian Grey, did you make him unload it on his own?”

“He offered.”

“You know, I don’t hear from you at all since you got married. It’s like I don’t exist.” She sounds sullen.

“Hey.” I kiss her forehead. “You exist. How about I take you for lunch next week?”

She claps her hands in delight.

“What have you been drinking?” I call after her.

“Strawberry daiquiris.” She dashes out to find Ethan and I shake my head.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I go in search of my wife.