Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Grayson
By the time I pulled into the driveway of my childhood home, which Brody bought from Mom when she moved south a few years ago, the place was lit up with over-the-top Christmas lights strung from every available surface.
I smiled and shook my head as I walked up the walk.
No doubt, Quinn had a say in how Uncle Brody decorated.
Warm light spilled from the windows, and the sound of laughter greeted me as I stepped through the front door.
I shook off the cold and inhaled deeply the scent of seasoned beef and peppers that told me it was taco night. My stomach growled, but my chest tightened because I knew I’d rather be upstairs at Willa’s Whisk, in Harper and Willa’s tiny apartment, helping them string lights on their tree.
“It’s about time,” Reid called from the dining room.
I popped my head around the corner for a moment to see my brother. Avery was seated by his side, a platter of taco shells in her hand.
Everyone was there. Almost everyone.
The door banged open behind me. I spun back into the front entry as my youngest brother stumbled in.
He was covered in snow up to his thighs, looking once again as if he’d just emerged from a snowbank, which he likely had.
Preston had a scowl on his face as he brushed the equivalent of a snowdrift from his shoulders.
“Don’t bring that in here!” Brody yelled. “At least knock your boots off outside.”
Preston shook his head, ignoring him.
“Everything okay?” I asked Preston, arching a brow.
“No,” he grumbled. “Did you know the whole lower trail system out in the nature park isn’t actually owned by the trail association?”
I shook my head. “Who owns it?”
“A private investor.” He held up his fingers, mimicking quotation marks. “Who’s looking to sell.”
“What?”
“Seriously?” Brody popped his head around the corner. He cocked his eyebrow at the snow at Preston’s feet, but with a sigh, ignored it. “What do you mean, they’re selling?”
Preston shook his head and stepped over the puddles he’d created. “That’s the rumor,” he said as we followed him into the dining room. “Apparently, there’s a development firm looking to come in and build a bunch of cabins that will appeal to out-of-towners.”
“You know how I feel about out-of-towners,” Reid piped up, earning him a playful smack on his arm from his wife, who up until recently had been considered an “out-of-towner.”
“That sucks,” Ethan said. “What part of the trails does it affect?”
“Way too much.” Preston slumped into a chair and helped himself to some taco shells.
“Mostly the current entrance to the beginner mountain biking tracks and the general access.” He groaned.
“If this sale goes through, the trail association will have to reconfigure everything to keep the trail system usable. I’m all for growth and progress and all that, but what the hell? ”
I slid into a seat across from him and next to Delaney. I smiled a hello and waved at Quinn, who was shoveling rice in her mouth. “I have to agree,” I said. “Progress is inevitable, but we should be working to protect the spaces that make this town so special.”
“Who is the developer?” Brody asked. “Maybe you can ask Jess who it is?”
“Jess Anderson?” Delaney asked. “She came to ladies’ night last week.”
Avery nodded. “Didn’t she mention a fiancé who was a land developer?”
“What?” Ethan almost choked on his taco. “Jess is getting married?”
“To a land developer?” Preston’s mouth fell open. “It has to be a coincidence.”
“I may have gotten it wrong.” Avery held up her hands. “I just met her, and we talked about a lot of things.”
Preston let out a sharp laugh. “Unbelievable. A local girl is going to marry the guy who wants to carve up the best parts of the forest. Ridiculous.”
“We don’t know that,” Brody offered. “I’m sure that Jess—”
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Preston continued. “She always was—”
“Careful, brother.” I stopped him. “I know you’re worked up right now. But Jess is a good woman. And if she is marrying this guy, I’m sure he’s a nice guy. Don’t jump to conclusions just because the two of you have history.”
Delaney’s eyes grew wide, but Ethan gave her a quick shake of his head. I’m sure he’d fill her in later when Preston wasn’t around.
The truth was, there was a time when Preston looked at Jess very differently.
Before he’d convinced himself how opposite they were.
He, with his mud-splattered boots and the need to be outside and living free, and she in her tailored blazers and a growing taste for the finer things in life.
I remembered the day in grade school when he’d presented her with a bouquet of hand-picked daisies, hoping with his innocent heart that a young Jess might return his developing feelings.
And how, subsequently, she’d scattered those daisies at his feet and laughed at him. Sure, they’d only been eleven or twelve. But when it came to Jess Anderson, Preston had never been able to let it go.
Brody clattered a fresh platter of tortillas down in the center of the table, breaking the tension. “Well, if Jess is serious about this guy, she’ll figure out the details. I’m sure she only wants the best for Trickle Creek, too. In the meantime, eat.”
We all dug in, settling into the familiar rhythm of family dinner.
Bowls of ground beef and chicken were passed around with plates of toppings.
Quinn tested the limits of her tortilla shell with an unreasonable amount of toppings that resulted in a minor explosion that had everyone laughing, and her father rolling his eyes as he passed her a fork.
Conversation shifted from topic to topic, and no matter how much I tried to stay present, I couldn’t seem to focus on anything. My thoughts kept drifting.
To Harper’s smile.
To the way her hand felt in mine as we drove back with the tree.
The way her lips felt on mine. The kiss that wasn’t for anyone else.
Just us.
“Earth to Grayson.” Reid’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I blinked. “What?”
He gave me a look, too sharp to ignore. “Fuck, brother.”
“Watch your mouth,” Ethan said.
“No way! Money for the swear jar,” Quinn called out with glee.
While I watched, Reid handed Quinn a five-dollar bill. “That should cover what I need to say.”
I swallowed hard and narrowed my eyes at my twin. “What?” I asked again, rougher this time. “You have something to say, brother? Just say it.”
“What’s happening?” Brody glanced between us. We both ignored him.
Reid held my gaze. “It’s too late, isn’t it? You’ve fallen for her.”
The table went quiet. All eyes turned to me.
What I wasn’t going to say was that I hadn’t fallen for her, because I’d never stopped caring. I gripped my fork a little tighter, my pulse pounding in my ears. “It’s not like that,” I said evenly. “This is all for—”
“The holidays,” Reid finished for me. “Fuck that.”
“Hey!” Ethan said. “Language.”
“Look,” my twin brother continued. “Keep telling yourself whatever you need to believe, Gray. But you know how this ends. Her future isn’t in this town. It never was.”
After a second, the table carried on, laughter bubbling back up, but I didn’t hear a word.
Because Reid was right.
And we all knew it.
Harper
The apartment was dark except for the glow of the tree, every light twinkling against the glass ornaments Grandma and I unpacked and hung a few hours earlier. I curled into the corner of the couch, glass of wine in hand, and let the silence settle around me.
Grandma had gone to bed just over an hour ago, completely exhausted from the evening. She’d looked so alive and vibrant earlier, it was easy for me to forget that she was sick at all. But then, as we’d hung the final few ornaments, a shot of pain in her lower abdomen had her clenching her stomach.
I settled her back into the couch and fetched her bottle of pills and a cup of water. It hurt to see her in pain. Especially when there was nothing I could do to help her. Except be there.
I’d finished hanging the last few decorations, showing her the salt-dough handprint I’d made in kindergarten, adorned with green glitter, most of which had rubbed off over the years. It was cracked and worn, but Grandma declared it her favorite.
Just like every other ornament we’d pulled out of the box and hung.
By the time we were done, I’d seen the fatigue in her face and the way her shoulders slumped when she thought I wasn’t looking. She’d excused herself early, claiming she wanted to read for a bit before turning in.
“It was a perfect evening, Harper.” She’d clasped my hands in hers, tears shining in her eyes. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, Grandma.” I squeezed her as tightly as I dared, holding the moment in my heart.
I took a long sip of wine and made a mental note to reach out again to her doctor.
Privacy rules be dammed. He’d known me almost my entire life; surely, he’d understand what I was dealing with when it came to Grandma.
She’d been so tight-lipped about it all.
Only telling me she was sick and she wasn’t going to live forever.
As much as I didn’t want to know, I needed to know what we were up against and whether I should be making longer-term care plans for her.
Or thinking about changing my own plans completely.
My phone buzzed on the table, startling me.
Still waiting to hear from you, Harper. We’d love to have you aboard for the season. Are you ready to commit?
My stomach twisted. The job was everything I’d been working for. Head chef on a super-yacht in the Med. Captain Howard had more faith in me than I probably deserved, but it would be the career boost that some chefs waited their whole lives for. I’d be crazy to turn it down.
But…
My eyes drifted to Grandma’s closed bedroom door.
Sorry. I’ll let you know soon.
I typed back, my fingers hesitating over the words before I hit Send. Noncommittal and cowardly. It wasn’t a good look in my industry.
We want you for the season, Harper. But we can’t wait forever.
I was lucky he was waiting at all. I swallowed hard and set the phone down again, losing myself in the glowing lights of the tree, in an effort to steady myself.
I took a slow sip of my wine, but before I could swallow, my phone buzzed with another text.
I hope the decorating went well. I had a lot of fun with you today.
Instantly, my worry was replaced with heat in my chest. I snapped a picture of the tree glowing in the dark and sent it back to him.
Thank you for today. Grandma loves the tree. So do I.
It wasn’t what I wanted to say. Not really. I wanted to tell him how much I’d enjoyed spending time with him all day and…the kiss.
Noncommittal and cowardly.
It wasn’t a good look in life either.
Three dots appeared as he typed a response. I held my breath.
It’s beautiful. I’m glad you both love it.
I leaned back into the cushions, my wine forgotten. Grayson had known exactly what Grandma needed this Christmas. Maybe even what I needed. He always did.
He’d been the boy who fixed all the things and showed up when no one else did. Now, he was the man who still did.
Except when it came to me.
Because when it had mattered most, he’d been the one to walk away and break my heart.
I stared at the tree until my eyes burned. What we were doing now felt easy and fun, and so help me…it felt real. But I couldn’t let myself forget that it wasn’t.
And it never had been.
He’d made sure of that when we were kids.
Only, sitting here with the glow of the tree he’d insisted on getting us, it was hard to remember why I ever thought that.