Chapter Fourteen – Nathan
Chapter Fourteen
NATHAN
“Nate, stop pacing in my kitchen. You’re making me nervous.”
I stopped and looked at my grandmother. “Is there anything you need me to do?”
She paused from mashing the potatoes and stared at me. “Like I would give you a job to do. Your hands are shaking like a leaf on a windy fall day.”
Holding up my hands, I quickly balled them into fists. They were shaking.
“Nate, why are you so nervous?” Aunt Lincoln asked from across the kitchen, where she was stirring something on the stove.
“Well, let’s see. I’m dating a woman for the first time. Not just any woman, but someone I can’t stop thinking about whenever she isn’t with me. I’ve invited her and her mother to my family’s Thanksgiving, which the entire family will be in attendance. Uncle Brock and Ty are arguing about one of the games for a special holiday edition game night, which I might add no one informed me we had a game night tonight.”
“It didn’t scare Sophia away, and from what I know of Haven, she doesn’t seem to spook very easily,” Aunt Lincoln stated.
“She doesn’t, and I don’t think she will be fazed by it, but her mother will be.”
Grams turned off the mixer, put the lid on the potatoes, and put them in the oven warmer. She wiped her hands on her apron and tilted her head as she regarded me. “Are you embarrassed by your family, Nate?”
I was pretty sure there was a look of horror on my face. “Of course not, Grams. It’s just…you know how things get on game night.”
She nodded. “I do. But game night is a part of this family, and we don’t get to have it nearly enough anymore.”
I could see the sadness in my grandmother’s eyes, and I wanted to walk over and hug her. It had only been a few months since my grandfather had passed away, and I knew this wasn’t easy for her. My problems seemed pretty damn stupid compared to my grandmother going on with her life without Granddad here by her side.
“You’re right. I don’t know why I’m so worried.”
“It’s because you care for Haven. That’s why you’re worried,” Grams said softly. “Don’t be worried, Nate. I’ve met Grace, and she is a wonderful person. Nothing we do here will make her grab her daughter and run for the mountains.”
Right at that moment, Rhett and Ryder, my cousin Blayze’s six-year-old twins, came running through the kitchen. Rhett held a baseball bat, while Ryder held a cell phone and yelled, “I’m live! I’m live and have witnesses!”
The three of us watched them run back out of the room.
“That’s something you don’t see or hear every day,” Grams said.
“What did he mean, he was live? I don’t think he is even allowed to have a phone yet,” Aunt Lincoln said, making her way out of the kitchen to track down her two grandsons.
When I looked at Grams, she was fighting to keep back a smile. “What was that about them not running for the mountains?”
“I don’t suppose we can lock those two up in a bedroom, right?”
I laughed. “I don’t think Blayze and Georgiana would like that much.”
“The table is all set,” Mom said as she entered the kitchen. “We’re just waiting on Rose, Bryson, Greg, and Haven and her mother.”
My nerves started up again. When Haven had left my house earlier this morning, I had offered to go with her to pick up her mother, but she insisted it would be better to arrive on their own. “Maybe I should have invited them to a small family dinner.”
“What are you talking about?” Mom asked, her eyes darting from me to Grams.
“He’s worried we’re going to overwhelm them. Or scare them.”
Mom waved her hand, saying, “Don’t be silly. Grace is from a large family back east. She’ll be used to it. And Haven, well, from how I have seen that girl look at you over the years, nothing could scare her away. Plus, she deals with a lot of dogs at one time every day, she can handle our chaos.”
Rhett and Ryder came running back through the kitchen. “Take that back, or I’m going to use your head as a baseball!”
“Ryder Shaw!” Georgiana yelled as she chased after them. “Put that bat down this instant!”
“That’s Rhett!” Blayze added as he pulled up the rear.
Once they were all back out of the kitchen, I turned to my mother and raised a brow.
Clearing her throat, Mom said, “I’ll just see if I can help them get that bat.”
Before I had a chance to say anything, the doorbell rang. Rose wouldn’t ring the doorbell, meaning it was Haven and her mother. Like a madman, I rushed out of the kitchen, crying, “I’ll get the door!”
Right as I was almost there, Josh appeared. He had a wide, shit-eating grin on his face.
“Well, what do we have here?”
“Get out of the way, Josh.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “I do believe you owe me some money.”
Rolling my eyes, I grabbed him by the arm and yanked him out of the way. “I believe you told me to donate it…remember?”
Josh stood there and waited for me to open the door. “Did I?”
“You can leave now.”
“Are you kidding me? This is the first time you’re bringing a woman home. I’m not missing any of this.”
I turned away from him and opened the door to find Haven and her mother. A light snow was falling and dusting the ground.
Haven smiled up at me, and my heart tripped over itself. Without even thinking, I took her hand and led her in, kissing her in the process.
“Bold move with the parents right here,” Josh whispered from the other side of the door.
“I’m glad you could make it,” I said as I reached for Grace’s hand while she walked through the door.
“Thank you for having us. It’s been a long time since I was on your family’s ranch,” Grace said. “I think the last time was picking Haven up from your mother and father’s place.”
“A lot has changed,” I said as I took Grace’s coat and Josh took Haven’s.
“I’ll put this in the office right down the hall here,” Josh said, motioning down the hall.
Haven smiled. “Thank you, Josh.”
I smiled and said, “Come on in, and I’ll introduce you to everyone. I’m sure you know almost everyone, though.”
Taking Haven’s hand in mine, I guided the three of us to the family room. When we walked in, I expected chaos; it was, after all, my family. My very large family. Instead, we found everyone sitting down somewhere in the room, all eyes on us.
Josh walked in and started to laugh. “History has been made, and all it took was Nate bringing a girl home!”
My mother was the first to break the strange silence. “Haven, it’s so wonderful to see you!”
She hugged Haven and then turned to Grace. “Grace, we can’t go so long between seeing one another.”
“I agree,” Grace replied, hugging my mother.
When my mother looked at me with wide eyes and a nod to the rest of the family, I cleared my throat.
“Right, um, introductions. Family, this is Haven and her mother, Grace Larson. And this is my family.”
Everyone stared at me as Haven giggled from next to me.
“Nathan Christopher Shaw,” my mother slowly said as Josh laughed beside me.
Lily laughed. “Not the full name being brought out.”
I turned and shot her a look before focusing back on my mother.
“You can’t possibly expect me to go down the entire family tree and introduce them, do you?” I asked.
Her hands went to her hips, and I knew my ass was grass. “That is exactly what I expect.”
“But dinner will get cold!” I argued.
“Rose isn’t even here yet,” Grams stated as she sat down on the arm of one of the sofas. “We’ve got plenty of time.”
I drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Okay, Grace, Haven, you might want to take a seat.”
Haven and Josh both laughed.
“You already know my mother and father,” I said, motioning to my parents. Grace smiled.
“Next to them is my sister, Lily and her husband, Maverick. And sitting on Maverick’s lap is Maggie, who is four.”
Maggie waved.
Haven waved back to Maggie.
“You probably know my uncles, Brock and Ty.”
“How are, Brock, Ty?” Grace asked with a warm smile.
I went around the room and introduced everyone to Haven, at least those who she didn’t know already. I hadn’t really realized how damn big my family was until I finally got to the last person. Haven seemed to think so as well because she looked at me and crinkled her nose in the most adorable way.
“I hope I’m not quizzed on everyone!”
Smiling, I replied, “It’s multiply choice.”
Grams stood and clapped her hands. “Now that introductions are done, and everyone is here, let’s eat! Should we get the kids fed first?”
“That’s a great idea,” Aunt Kaylee said as she gathered the little ones. Once everyone was seated, small conversations broke out.
“Why is your leg bouncing up and down?” Haven asked in a lower voice.
“We’re having game night tonight as well.”
Haven’s brows drew down in confusion. “Game night? That sounds like fun.”
“Fun? Fun?” I huffed. “It can start out as fun, but quickly becomes a competition between everyone.”
“There isn’t anything wrong with a bit of competition between people.”
I stared at her. “You have no idea. The last thing I want to do is scare you or your mom.”
She smiled as she looked at her mother. “Don’t worry about us; we can handle some competition. We’re made of sterner stuff and all that.”
Exhaling, I looked down at the large table we were sitting at and saw my mother and Grace were seated at another table in a deep conversation with Grams.
“Your mother seems to be fitting in just fine.”
Haven nodded. “I think so as well. Helps she knows some of your family and Stella.”
Her eyes moved to my grandmother. “How is Stella doing?”
“I think she’s okay. I’m sure she has good days and bad days. Being surrounded by family helps. I heard her and my aunt Kaylee discussing a trip with Grams. She’s always wanted to go to Banff but has never been.”
“That sounds like fun. I’ve never been out of the state.”
I finished chewing my bite. “Where is someplace you’d like to go?”
“Like, in the US or anywhere?”
“Anywhere. Sky is the limit.”
Haven thought about her answer for a few moments. “If it was here in the US, I think I would like to see the coast. Maybe Oregon or even the East Coast.”
“Oregon is beautiful. The whole Pacific coastline is.”
“Have you been back east?” Haven asked.
With a shake of my head, I replied, “If you count Europe. When Avery got married, we all went to France.”
She smiled softly. “I remember that. I bet it was a beautiful wedding.”
“It was, but I’ve seen some beautiful weddings right here on the ranch.” She nodded and looked down the table toward her mother. “What about outside the US?”
Haven’s eyes met my gaze. “Let’s see, I think it would be maybe Ireland or Scotland. London would be pretty cool to visit. A lot of the historical romance books I read are based in London.”
With a smile, I said, “Maybe we can go there someday.”
Haven laughed. “Right now I just want to get through this winter and what it’s going to be like building the dog park.”
I took her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. “Everything is going to be great. Don’t stress.”
She nodded. “Easier said than done.”
Once everyone was finished up eating, and the food and kitchen cleaned up, it was time for game night. My gaze swept over the living room until I found Haven sitting next to Lily. Their heads were bent low in what had to be a private conversation. I couldn’t help but smile. Two women in my life who meant the world to me. When I turned to my right, I caught my mother watching me. We both smiled at one another, and I tried to ignore the way my face felt heated.
A bell rang and everyone turned to see Uncle Brock standing next to Grams.
“The time has come, family. It’s family game night…Thanksgiving edition.”
I closed my eyes and groaned. When I opened them, Haven stood in front of me.
“What was that all about?”
Taking her hands in mine, I said, “Do you remember last night, in my kitchen? That thing I did with my tongue?”
Her face instantly went red as she quickly looked around, then focused back on me. “Nate!”
“Do you remember?”
She rolled her eyes as she sighed. “Of course I remember.”
“Good,” I said, nodding my head. “Remember that once we get into the throes of family game night.”
With a small frown, Haven went to say something, but snapped her mouth shut. A look of worry crossed over her face when she looked past me. “Is…is Rose stretching?”
With a quick glance over my shoulder, I said, “She knows something we don’t! Quick! Do some stretches!”
Haven looked shocked when I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side of the living room and started doing some jumping jacks.
“Nate?” she softly asked. “What is happening?”
Turning to her, I said, “It’s too late to do any reconnaissance work, if someone knows the games, they won’t tell us now.”
Looking even more confused, Haven asked, “Reconnaissance work?”
Josh made his way over to us. “Rose knows something.”
“I know. I saw her stretching.”
Josh leaned in closer. “I saw Lincoln earlier today blowing up orange balloons.”
“Orange balloons?” Haven and I both asked in unison.
“And my father made a podium. He’s been trying to hide it from me, but I saw it.”
“Wow, you guys really take game night seriously, don’t you?” Haven asked with a lighthearted laugh.
When Josh and I both turned to her, her smile faded. “If we break up into teams, you need to be ready, Haven.”
She swallowed. “Ready?”
Josh and I both nodded.
Her hand came to her chest as she searched the room. “I wonder if my mom needs to leave?”
“I need everyone out back. Grab something warm to wear, but dress in layers!” Uncle Brock called out as he motioned for everyone to follow Uncle Ty.
Grabbing Haven’s hand, I gave her a slight tug. “The chance to save yourself is over! Let the games begin!”