Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
GRACE
M ore fairy lights and lit up faces.
Addy is snuggled into Hudson’s side.
The soft sounds of the night insects buzzing between the crackles of the flames of two firepits. One by the back door, one just shy of the weeping green of the willow.
Reed, patiently waiting for his wife as we walk across the grass to the old tree where the long family table is covered in a blue tablecloth that sways from each end of the weathered planks.
With dishes atop and more candles than I can count, the table looks set for royalty.
Louisa and Harry stand in front of the table.
Then I see him.
Mack.
Standing by one of the long bench seats. Hand clasped behind his back, like he’s standing to attention in a morning lineup. But his face is soft, happy, and a smile pushes his lips up as my eyes find his. Butterflies take flight in one big swarm, and I cling to Ruby’s arm.
She leans in. “Happy birthday, Gracie.”
I stare at her, scrunching my nose up to stifle the tears that threaten again. Oh boy, it’s going to be a long night.
Something tells me it’s turning out to be one of my best.
The tree moves, and Lawson appears with a large chair, placing it at the head of the table.
“Hi!” I gasp. He came all the way from New York for me? My chest tightens. He winks at me and moves to stand by Reed. Now Mack steps forward, gesturing for me to sit.
This is too much.
He pulls the chair out for me, and I release Ruby’s arm and take his hand. His eyes never leave my face as I sink into it, and he tucks me in. A moment later, everyone is seated at the long table. Me at one end, Harry at the other. Hudson, Addy, and Lawson on my left. Louisa, Reed, and Ruby to my right. Mack pulls out another chair and sits beside me.
I open my mouth to thank them all. They most certainly didn’t have to do all this for me. Harry stands, tapping a fork on his glass tumbler. The amber liquid at the bottom swishes and he clears his throat.
“Now, around here, we believe that family is the most important part of life. It builds a good life. Makes the hard days a little easier.” He pauses, glass in hand. “It wasn’t long ago, our family was shook to the core.” His gaze settles on Mackinlay. I find his hand under the table, and he laces his fingers through mine. I squeeze his hand, hoping the rest of the table doesn’t notice the expression he’s giving me right now. Because there’s nothing employee and employer about it. At all.
Harry smiles. “However, with every storm, a rainbow follows, almost always guaranteed.”
Reed shakes his head. “Jesus, Harry, that’s damn corny.”
Harry’s crooked smile is aimed at his youngest son. “Maybe, but sometimes the right words don’t matter. It’s actions that matter.”
“Sure.” Reed grins.
Louisa pats his face like he’s a little boy. Ruby plants a kiss to the other side. The whole table cracks up. “There’s your actions, Reedsy,” Ruby says, leaning into him.
He plucks his whiskey from the table and takes a sip.
“Yeah, Reedsy, where would we all be without Rubes’s actions?” Hudson winks at him.
Reed chokes on his mouthful. Louisa slaps his back and more laughter spills over.
“Now, the preschoolers have had their say.” Harry dips his head, eyeing his two sons. “I’ll continue.” His attention drifts back to me. I hold my breath.
“Gracie, we consider you our rainbow after the storm. You will always be part of this family, no matter where you decide to go next. Or where your dreams lead you. I think that about sums it up. Happy birthday, darlin’. Let’s eat!”
“Finally,” Reed drawls.
Ruby slaps his shoulder. It’s playful. He’s always the joker. He’s kind and funny. I see so much of him in Mack. More and more each day, I discover the incredible man he was before and is coming back to. From the moment I saw him stranded amidst the floor covered in laundry detergent, unable to move and so damn angry, to now, strong and healthy, but most of all, happier.
“Mackinlay, did you want to say something for Grace?” Louisa asks.
The table quiets instantly.
His jaw feathers but he stands, and all eyes are on him. All but Ruby’s, whose stay on me, her smile soft. It’s as if she can read my mind, or maybe Mack’s.
Mack picks up his glass of whiskey and drops his gaze to me. “Grace—Gracie.” He hesitates, but when he glances at Harry, it’s as if every person holds their breath. “If anyone at this table deserves happiness and a life well-lived, it’s you. You literally scraped me off the floor and gave me the kick in the ass I needed. You put me back together, one mangy piece at a time. You’re part of me now, Gracie. Here’s to being your first mate.”
He sinks to his seat and swallows his drink down like a man dying of thirst. Everyone stares at him, some faces confused, a few with goofy smiles. Reed’s, mostly.
First mate?
I don’t get it. What’d I miss?
“To Mack’s saving grace!” Reed quips. “Pun absolutely intended.” A megawatt smile stretches his face. Ruby side-hugs his arm, her face strained to stem emotion.
Louisa stares at me, wonder claiming her face.
Harry smiles over his drink with an all-knowing look before he picks up the dish in front of him and passes it to Ruby. When nobody speaks, Reed salutes me and plucks the next dish before piling food onto his plate. Dishes circulate, food covers each plate, and Ruby swipes up a small remote, pointing it to the back porch.
Country music begins to play, and chatter starts up.
I take up my cutlery, my mouth watering at the amazing looking meal. Cheryl sits in the center of the table, already half gone. Poor girl. I guess it was always her fate. There’s a bowl of pasta with some kind of red marinara sauce that Ruby is devouring. A salad that Addy brought and Hudson is shoveling onto his fork.
I load up a forkful of the potato dish and some salad. Flavor explodes in my mouth, and I stifle a groan. Wow. This family really knows their food. Oh my... This is divine.
Woodsy caramel closes in. I open my eyes and Mack is leaning close. “Happy birthday, Gracie,” he whispers. I smile at him, letting the warmth that floods my chest with his gorgeous smile take me under. I don’t even care if everyone can see whatever it is that hangs between Mack and me.
We finish the mains and Hudson and Reed collect the plates and head inside to grab more drinks. Louisa follows.
I push to stand.
“Stay put, Grace—there’s dessert,” Addy says.
“Oh, how am I supposed to fit another bite in?”
Lawson leans forward. “Trust me, you’ll manage when you taste Ma’s?—”
Addy slaps him, hard.
“Jesus, Adds. A shush would have done. Vicious woman.”
“Not our Addy.” Harry laughs.
“Pretty sure you’re thinking of me, Laws.” Ruby gives him a sly expression followed by raised brows. Lawson holds his hands up in a don’t shoot pose.
This family is incredible. Sometimes I can’t believe I got so lucky as to end up here. It makes me wonder if I will ever find this again. If I move on, what would I find? I’m guessing my odds of finding a man like Mack and a family like his would be slim to none.
“Hap-py bir-th-day,” Harry starts singing in a low melody, “to you.” The rest of the table joins in as Hudson and Reed return. Reed is holding bowls and spoons, and Hudson holds the tallest, most decadent layered chocolate cake I have ever seen with sparklers blazing. The song continues and Mack stands and moves behind me. Hudson sets the cake in front of me. A 21.5 is piped onto the top with hearts of white chocolate adorning the circumference. I slap a hand over my mouth.
Mack leans down and whispers against my ear. “Make a wish, gorgeous girl.”
“I don’t think I can blow out sparklers.”
He raises a brow, so close. Every set of eyes is homed onto us. My face flushes.
“Grace, ask for what you want. I promise I’ll do my best to make it happen.”
I turn to face the sparklers. Their glittering bursts fill my vision, and it blurs a little. Warm hands rest on my shoulders. I grip them both with mine and close my eyes. I make my wish. One I would do anything to have come true.
After the last six months, it’s all I want.
Opening my eyes, I tilt my gaze up at Mackinlay. “Done.”
Louisa hands me a large knife.
“You hit the bottom, you kiss the nearest boy,” Reed hollers, hands cupping his mouth.
Lawson shakes his head. “You talking about yourself there, little brother?”
Hudson tosses his head back with a hearty laugh. Ruby tosses a scrunched-up napkin at Lawson’s head.
I make the first cut, and the knife hits the bottom.
“Pretty sure that’s the bottom,” Reed mutters, nodding to Mack with wide eyes.
“Damn straight it was.” Mack bends down, taking my face in his hands, planting his mouth to mine. Cheers explode around the table. Mack’s slow, gentle kiss pulls me in, and I don’t want it to end. I open for him, and he deepens. Eventually, both of us breathless, we part.
The surprised and ecstatic faces that I find around the table send a stone into my throat. I wasn’t sure of the reception I would get if his family found out about Mack and me. Thrilled is the last thing I expected. But that’s what they seem to be.
“Would you like me to serve the cake for you, hon?” Louisa says, beaming.
“Sure, I have no clue how to do it without messing it up.”
She slides the cake plate toward her over the table and plunges the knife into the tower of chocolate layers over and over, until everyone has dessert at their place.
I fork a bite from the plate to my mouth.
Oh . . .
I swear to god.
This is like chocolate velvet. Rich and exquisite.
“Louisa! This is incredible!” I mumble with my mouth full, one hand covering my lips.
Lawson laughs. “No turning back now, Gracie.”
I swallow. “Nope. You’ve ruined all other chocolate cake for me from this bite on.”
“I’m glad you like it. It’s my birthday gift to you, sweetheart.”
“Thank you.” Tears threaten again. Knew it was going to be a long night.
“Oh! Speaking of gifts, it must be present time.” Reed springs from his seat and shuffles past Ruby. We finish our cake and, one by one, each member of the Rawlins family disappears until only Louisa and I are left. I run the fork over the plate. This is the best birthday I can remember in a long time.
“We have all put together something for your special day, hon. Hope that’s okay?”
“You shouldn’t have. This is too much.”
She shuffles closer. “It’s just the right amount.” The smile that lights up her face is pure love.
A voice clears behind me. I turn in my seat to find Reed with an envelope in his hand. He holds it out to me, and I stand to take it. “Reed, thank you.”
“You might take that back when you see what it is,” he says with a chuckle.
“Um, okay?”
Ruby walks up behind him, as do the others. I open the envelope. A receipt sits in my hand. For the craft shop in town.
“$599.00. What? No, Reed!”
“Well, when I ordered your supplies, Doris kind of hit too many zeros. So, you are now the proud owner of a pallet of canvases. Like a huge freight, wooden palette, not the type you hold in your hand. About one hundred and fifty of them blank cloth-framed rectangles.” He gives me a cringy, sorry-I-messed-up smile. “Paint your heart out, Gracie.”
“Holy hell!”
“It’s nothin’, happy birthday.”
I hug him and he bows out to let his wife through as I place the slip of paper back into the envelope and lay it on the table. Ruby hands me a blue box with silver ribbon, about the size of a shoebox. I pull the ribbon and slip it over the side. Lifting the lid, blue tissue paper lines the inside. I lift it and find a smaller box. Perfume and... A brush set, with wooden handles, rose gold metal crimping holding luxury bristles. “Oh wow, Ruby...”
“The perfume is Versace. Since a little birdie told us your favorite color is blue.” She dots a kiss on my cheek and moves aside to let Lawson through.
He hands me a long parcel wrapped in blue polka dot paper. I guess everyone got the memo about blue. He hugs me and says, “Happy birthday, Grace.” I rip the paper off to find a new yoga mat and block. Also blue.
“Lawson, thank you.” I chuckle, beaming at him.
With a grin, he messes up my hair with one hand and takes his seat at the table.
Hudson is next. And by the size of the enormous, almost-wrapped gift he is lugging toward me, I’m getting an easel. I bounce on the balls of my feet. He hands it to me with an enormous grin. “Happy birthday. If it ever needs fixin’, send it back to its maker.”
My eyes widen. “You made this?”
“Yes ma’am.”
I hug him awkwardly, not wanting to let the easel fall.
“Open it, Grace.”
I pull the paper from it and run a hand over the smooth wood. It’s perfect.
“It’s oak, so it should see you out, I reckon.”
I fight back the tears. God, I am a mess. A blubbering, stinking mess. How to tear Grace Weston apart: just add kindness. “Thank you!” I kiss his cheek, and he nods with a smile and drops down beside Lawson.
Harry steps up and pulls me into a hug before holding me at arm’s length. “You’re a strong soul, Grace. You are in the right place.” He hands me an envelope. “So, make sure you use the return ticket.”
My mouth hangs open. He nods to the envelope. I slip a finger under the edge and rip it open. Tickets to Pennsylvania. Home. To my parents.
My hands shake around the paper. My chest tightens.
“Oh, there’s something else.” Harry turns me by the shoulders to face the side of the house. The faint clip-clop of hooves closes in, drifting toward me through the dark.
No . . .
Addy appears with a bay gelding. Saddled up and walking, head swaying, ever so relaxed.
His muzzle meets my palm, and I return my focus to Addy. She beams. “He’s all yours while you’re here. Grace, meet Sergeant.”
He nickers as I run a hand up his face and into his forelock. An arm wraps around my shoulders. “Now, I know you and Trig have a thing. But give old Sergeant a go, hey. He’s his older brother.” Mack kisses my cheek and winks at me.
“I can’t...” I choke. “This is all too much.”
I turn to face the family seated around the table, shaking my head. “I don’t?—”
Tears stream, hot and fast, down my face. I try and fail to hold them back, pressing a hand over my mouth. Louisa comes to where I stand and takes my hands in hers. “It’s just the right amount.” She’s nodding, tears lining her eyes. I look to Mack. His jaw is clenched, like he’s fighting a sob back, the same as I am.
Harry comes to my other side and drops his head. “If you can take one more hit, darlin’... we have one last surprise.”
Headlights swing past the house, lighting up the driveway, as a car pulls up beside the white gate. Hudson is up and walking for the newcomers a second later.
“Hold my hands, gorgeous girl. This one’s from me.” Mack folds himself around me, his chest at my back, and crosses our arms over my chest. I slam my eyes shut. Bracing myself.
Grass crunches.
“Breathe, Gracie,” Mack whispers. “Just keep breathin’, okay...”
A whimper comes from whoever the new arrival is.
“Grace?”
I would know that voice anywhere .