Chapter 26 Presley
PRESLEY
“Tell me again why it’s done this way…”
Jace looks both ways at the four-way stop, letting my not-quite-a-question hang in the air.
“It’s tradition,” he finally answers.
Yes, I got that part. The Hayes family Friendsgiving setup was explained to me multiple times, by multiple members of the family.
I already knew that Hayes Industries officially closes at noon on Tuesday the week of Thanksgiving.
Since so many Hayes employees end up working at the Gobble Wobble—formerly the Turkey Trot—on actual Thanksgiving, the company gives everyone a half day on Tuesday, plus Wednesday and Friday off to make up for it.
That part I remember not only from high school, but my father’s work schedule for the last almost twenty years.
But the part where each generation of the Hayes family goes their own way—Auggie and Miss Belle with their friends, all the boys together, and then Willa off with her people—is where I got lost. Isn’t this supposed to be a family day?
“But why?” I press.
Jace shrugs, as if that’s an answer in itself. A move only he can pull off.
“It dates back to World War II, I think. When everyone was leaving for, or coming home from war, or away at war…I don’t remember. Gus could tell you. But they decided to spend this day with the generations instead of fam units. They called them “generational gatherings.” We’ve done it ever since.”
I chew on his answer for a moment, the sound of Otis humming in the backseat weaving into the sound of the tires against the pavement.
“But that doesn’t make sense. If people are coming and going from war, then wouldn’t you want to be with your family? Your whole family?”
Jace shrugs again, this time with just one shoulder. “It’s tradition; it doesn't have to make sense.”
Okay, well…point to Jace for that answer.
We pull into the long, dirt drive that weaves through the Hayes property, leading to Magnola Manor, Hayes House—the antebellum mansion that has now been turned into staff housing—the original home of Jace’s ancestors who started the company circa the Civil War that now acts as a bunkhouse, Gus and Margeaux’s cottage, and the new house that Hux just built for Dolly.
Oh, and some peach groves. Who could forget those.
Otis continues to hum in the back, his happy noises making my own heart sing.
More than that, getting to simply be a passenger princess feels like a luxury.
I’ve gotten so used to always being the one driving—after all, my car is the one with the car seat—that I thought this would feel weird.
But nope. Doesn’t hurt that I swoon a little each time I think about how Jace went out and bought a car seat for his truck so that we didn’t have to worry about which car it was in.
He really is all in. And I’m so here for it. Someone needs to go back in time and tell teenage Presley that it’s very important that she doesn’t get her wish. Teenage Jace might have been something, but grown-up Jace? He’s something else. Something so much better.
“Are you ready for your first Friendsgiving, Little Man?” Jace asks, throwing the truck in park and climbing out.
“Yeah!”
Throwing the backseat door open, Jace starts to unbuckle him, having finally mastered the right order of operations for the harness.
“Your Aunt Dolly is known for her side dishes. They are world famous. Although your Aunt Margeaux is a close second with some of hers. Those are spicy though, so you might not like them.”
“And Jace is known for almost burning the house down.”
I whip around, Hux’s booming voice startling me. Where did he come from?
Jace doesn’t seem rattled though, reaching in and pulling Otis out of his seat.
“Don’t listen to Uncle Hux; he’s full of it.”
“Of what?” Otis asks.
Oh dear Lord…
I rush around the truck, trying to figure out a child-appropriate answer to that question. Thankfully, Jace beats me to it.
“Turkey. He’s full of turkey.”
“Which is how he almost burned down the house,” Hux adds.
Reaching for me, Hux pulls me into a warm hug, like he hasn’t seen me in weeks, instead of only a few days ago.
“You know, Presley, if you want a feature for your little safety project, that’d be a good one—make sure you fully thaw a turkey before you deep fry it. ”
“Anton made the same joke,” I say, ready to tell Hux to get new material.
“It’s not a joke.”
“Noooo…” I look between the brothers, gobsmacked. “Jace, you didn’t…”
“Oh, he did.” Hux smiles mischievously. “And it would make a great what-not-to-do instructional video.”
“It was one time!” Jace defends. “I thought it was thawed all the way. I made a mistake. And apparently I’m never living it down.”
I bite back my giggle, wanting to show some solidarity. But it’s not easy.
“Yeah, and almost burned the house down,” Hux retorts.
“Okay, next year, we’re totally putting that series together. We can do a whole bunch of household safety tips for the holidays. Hux, you’re in charge of reminding me this summer so we have enough prep time.”
Excitement rushes through me, despite whatever Jace mutters under his breath in protest. The gears in my brain start to crank, already making a list of ideas to cover. There are so many great topics and ways to make them funny and engaging. This could be even better than stranger danger.
“Otis, my guy,” Milo greets as we walk over to where the group of brothers is standing in front of the little white house with a wraparound porch. “What’s up?”
“Hi.” Otis waves, his own excitement growing.
“You owe me a rematch.” Milo reaches out, easily transferring Otis from Jace’s arms to his own. “But this time, you’re gonna let me win, right?”
“Noooo!” A giggle escapes along with his squeal. His smile is bright enough to light a room, and my heart squeezes as I watch.
“We’ll see…” Milo turns, heading toward the side of the house.
Otis giggles again, then starts to ramble about something, but I can’t make out their words as they walk away. So I simply watch, happiness taking over.
Every inch of this moment feels surreal. We have a family. A big one.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Mama?” Jace whispers, slipping his arm around me.
I snuggle into him, sighing as I let the scene around me settle in.
Hux has turned his focus back to the deep fryer, chatting with Gus and Anton.
Milo is not far away, tossing a small foam football back and forth with Otis, the two of them laughing each time Milo “misses” his catch.
Ewan is nowhere to be found, but Maisey’s car is here, leading me to believe that she’s inside, and I’m sure that at any moment she or one of the other gals will steal me away to join them. And I can’t wait until they do.
Because this is perfect. Exactly how it should be.
Turning to look at Jace, I exhale fully, stretching my diaphragm. “That this is everything I wanted and more for Otis in moving back to Hickory Hills.”
“What about for you?”
His question hits hard. What about me? Honestly, I don’t know. I was so focused on getting the hell out of Raleigh and away from the whole mess with Cody that all I really cared about when it came to myself was a job. A way to make sure that I could support Otis and keep a roof over our heads.
Then Jace Hayes walked back into my life. Actually, it was more of a crash-bang than a walk, but either way, I’ll take it.
“More than I could have ever wanted for myself too.”
“Good.”
“Presley!”
The front door to the house slams shut, Brandt’s voice echoing through the cool fall air. I look up, my gaze landing on the tall, dark-haired man with a six-pack in each hand. He’s as jovial and easygoing as I’ve ever seen him, strolling toward us like he’s the grand marshal at a parade.
“You’re gonna be so proud of me.”
“Oh, yeah?” I ask, secretly wondering what on earth could possibly make me “proud” of Milo’s best friend and business partner. Don’t get me wrong. Brandt is a nice guy, but I don’t really know him well enough to have much of an opinion past that.
“Yup. I did what you said and finally downloaded the U2 app.”
“You mean ForU?”
I crinkle my brow in confusion. I hope he means ForU, the social media video app, and not actually U2. That’s a band. Hell, for all I know they have an app too, but I’m not directing anyone to it if so.
“Yeah, that. And I commented on a bunch of videos. That girlie moonshine company is at it again, so this time, I let them have it.”
Errrr…what?
“What do you mean by have it?” I ask, stepping away from Jace.
My heart rate spikes, panic wiggling its way into my veins.
This isn’t good. I can already tell. Like I said, Brandt is a nice guy.
Kind, thoughtful, laid-back, salt of the earth kind of dude.
His priorities are his friends, family, and his brewery.
And not always in that order. Social media is not his thing. We established that early on.
Reaching into his pocket, Brandt pulls out his phone, tapping the screen a few times, then turning it to show me. A video plays on the screen with fast moving clips of people at the holiday parties, everyone appearing happy and festive. Then the text appears.
Don’t let your holiday turn into a sob story.
Oh, shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
I have no idea if this was a targeted slogan or not.
Whoever runs Wink you can sue anyone over anything. Especially if the comment was made between businesses and someone really wants to be an asshole.”
Nope, not happening. I am not letting Hayes get sued over this. I will make this right.
“Okay, let’s not go there. That’s the extreme, and we’re not putting that out in the universe.” I turn to Jace, kissing him quickly. Then I turn back to Margeaux, slipping my arm through hers. “We’re going inside and I’m going to fix this before we get to that point.”
I have no idea how, but I will. Somehow.
“You,”—I look directly at Brandt—“are going to delete ForU off your phone and forget everything I said about increasing your social media presence.”
“But…”
“Not buts! Had I realized you would require a chaperone, I wouldn’t have suggested it in the first place.”
Jace sputters out a laugh, and I shoot him my best knock-it-off look. He gets the message quickly, biting his lips to stop.
“Go do what you do, Mama,” he says, stepping in to me and kissing the top of my head. “We’ll stay here and get Little Man all tuckered out.”
I relax, slightly. I love that he gets it. Add that to the list of things that Jace does that Cody didn’t—takes me and my career seriously. To Cody, I fooled around online all day. It was all play and no work. Jace, on the other hand, sees everything I do and the effects it has on the business.
On top of that, he steps up to help with Otis so I can take care of business.
Fuck, I could not love him more.
“Thank you.”
“You can thank me by not making me relive the turkey thing for your video series.” He winks.
“Ha. I love you, Jace Hayes. But not that much.”
“I tried.”
Winking at me again, he grabs a six-pack from Brandt and gestures toward the deep fryer.
They go off one way, while Margeaux and I head to the house, both of us rolling our eyes at this new mess.
Because if there is one thing we both know given our roles at Hayes, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.
And right now, it’s time to save the world. One social media comment at a time.