Chapter 28
OLIVIA
T he days that follow feel like the sweetest haze.
Melinda told me to take all the time off that I needed to rest and recover, and Chloe and Carlos keep me company while my guys work their twenty-four-hour shift at the fire station. Luke has been a trusted second-in-command as I settle into my new home.
Right next-door from where it all started.
“Okay, this is the last box,” Chloe says as she carries it into her grandmother’s living room. “Sorry you couldn’t be more useful, Carlos, but I promise to let you fix the roof when you’re back to one hundred percent,” she adds, giving him a playful wink for good measure.
I’m not allowed to carry much either, but the clothing boxes are a breeze. The moving guys that picked up Chloe’s items from Devon handled everything from the airport. Chloe tips them both generously before bidding them farewell while I settle on the sofa with a peach iced tea .
“I’m going to miss this place,” I say, smiling as I glance around at the boxes that will soon be opened and emptied, bits and pieces of Chloe’s life eager to fill the house with hope and light aplenty. “It was my second home.”
“It still is,” Chloe says, settling on the armrest next to Carlos. “You will always be welcome here, Olivia, no matter what. Besides, you’re right next door.”
“Yeah. I’ll let you borrow a cup of sugar anytime,” I giggle.
We can all hear Luke in the kitchen, eagerly unboxing the pots and pans. Carlos gives me a worried look. “Are you sure he can handle that?” he asks me.
“He’s twelve and a big boy,” I reply with a shrug. “Leo taught him well. If Luke needs help, he’ll call us.”
Chloe shakes her head with confidence. “I’ve seen the boy work.
He’s cautious and gentle with my things.
Besides, it’s just a few sets of plates, glasses, and pans I had delivered from my parents’ place in Devon.
Selling that house will take a while. In the meantime, I didn’t want their things gathering dust.”
“You did good to bring everything here,” I say. “I guess it helps to make you feel connected to them, huh?”
“Yeah. I can’t wait to start baking again. I’ve got all of my mom’s utensils, and her recipe books, and the how-to videos she recorded to give to me later. She called that folder on her phone ‘Chloe’s Dowry,’” she says and laughs.
“Making sure you got a head start in your married life,” I tease.
“She sounds like a wonderful woman,” Carlos says. “I’m sorry I will never get to meet her or your dad. ”
“You would’ve loved my dad,” Chloe says as she points to one of the boxes marked “Daddy’s Booze.
” “He was a big whiskey and tequila aficionado. You two would’ve had a ball together.
He’s got a whole tasting kit in there, along with fancy bar setup items, including spherical ice molds. The man respected the craft.”
“Hopefully, you’ll choose to stay here and continue some traditions,” Carlos says, giving her a soft smile.
“And start some new ones, too,” I add. “You’ve got family here, Chloe. We may not be bound by blood, but we’re bound by something just as powerful.”
“Daddy used to say that we get two families in this life,” Chloe sighs, one hand resting on Carlos’s shoulder.
Every day they get closer. Fleeting glances, subtle touches, rushed smiles.
It makes my soul happy to see Chloe come back to life like this.
“The family we’re born into and the family you choose. You know I chose you, right, Olivia?”
“And I choose you, Chloe, always.”
Just then, Luke comes into the living room.
“How’s it going, little man?” Carlos asks him.
“So far, so good,” he replies with a crooked smile. “I didn’t break anything.”
We all chuckle. “That’s a great start,” I say. “You kept a box for the old plates and stuff, right? Your dad and uncles are coming over in a bit to take it to Goodwill.”
“Only the ones marked with red, right,” Chloe kindly reminds him.
Luke gives a firm nod. “Yes, ma’am. I’m super careful.” He pauses and gives me a concerned look. “How are you feeling, Olivia?”
“I’m okay, why?”
“Just making sure,” he says, then comes over to the coffee table and pours himself a glass of peach iced tea. He points at the almost empty pitcher. “I can make some more, if you want.”
“You’ve got plenty of work cut out for yourself already, buddy,” I reply. “I’ll handle it; don’t worry about it.”
Chloe and Carlos watch the exchange with amused interest, neither saying a word as Luke frowns slightly. “I want to be a good son,” he says quietly.
“Wait, what? You are a good son, Luke. You’re a great son, actually. You are loved. Your dad and your uncles adore you,” I eagerly reassure him.
“Yes, but I want to be a good son to you, too,” he says.
The words touch me deeply, crashing through my solar plexus and leaving me breathless as I stare at this beautiful boy and realize what it is he’s trying to say.
His dark brown eyes are open wide, reminding me of a sweet doe.
Curls of black hair fall loosely around his cute, round face. His lips quiver ever so slightly.
I reach out and hug him. “Oh, honey. I don’t know what to say,” I reply, holding him tight as he wraps his slender arms around my neck. “You are already the best son I could ever ask for.”
“Good, ‘cause I really love you.”
“I love you, too, honey. And you’re going to be an amazing big brother, I know it. The little ones are going to adore you. ”
Chloe sniffs and blinks back tears. “I did not have this on my Moving Day bingo card; I can tell you that much.”
“Yeah, me either,” Carlos adds, equally touched.
“Can I please make the peach tea?” Luke asks as he shyly pulls back. “I’ve already seen you do it like a bajillion times.”
“Sure, go knock yourself out, kiddo.”
“Yes!” he exclaims and bolts back into the kitchen.
I notice the empty pitcher still on the table and call out to him. “You forgot the—” I stop myself as he rushes back to grab it with a cool smile, then casually disappears with it.
We hear the ice cubes falling out of the tray. The gentle chopping on the wooden cutting board. At his young age, Luke has already mastered the fruit knife, his dexterity even surprising Leo on more than one occasion.
I can’t help but giggle as I look at Carlos and Chloe. “I keep telling Leo that Luke’s going to become either a successful tech entrepreneur or a super-famous pastry chef.”
“He’s that handy in the kitchen, eh?” Chloe chuckles. “Good to know!”
“Chloe is notoriously bad at cooking,” I whisper to Carlos. That makes him laugh.
“Hey! I may be bad at cooking, but I am really good at baking.”
“That’s true,” I concede. “Don’t expect her to put together a chicken pot pie, but her meringues are to die for.”
Carlos gives her a soft smile. “Meringues. My favorite. ”
The front door opens, and in come my three men, my knights in shining armor.
“The cavalry has arrived,” Beck says, jingling the pickup truck keys. “Ready to take whatever you need to Goodwill, Chloe.”
They each pop by the sofa to kiss me before they notice the unopened boxes. I don’t know which of them is more disappointed.
Leo goes first. “Hold up. Weren’t you supposed to be unpacked already? It’s almost noon.”
“The delivery truck was late,” Chloe explains with a sheepish smile. “We just brought the last box in.”
“Cool. Let’s get to unpacking and sorting then,” Dax says.
“Are we in a rush? I thought it was your day off,” I say.
“It is, but I booked a table at Le Fleur for the four of us.”
“And I agreed to keep an eye on Luke while you’re out,” Carlos chimes in.
“In that case, you can both hang out here and help me put my stuff where it’s supposed to go,” Chloe tells him. “It’ll keep the kiddo busy for sure.”
Leo laughs lightly. “He’s in the kitchen, right?”
“Yes. You can help him load the box for Goodwill,” Chloe says.
In less than two hours, all of my best friend’s belongings have been unboxed. We now have six boxes worth of her grandmother’s things to deliver to Goodwill. It would’ve taken a lot longer had Carlos not been able to persuade Chloe not to keep anything we all knew she’d never use .
“Your grandma lives on through you,” he gently tells her.
Beck has finished loading the pickup truck, a bright smile lingering across his handsome face. “Once a year, Mrs. Jackson would ask us to help her with precisely this kind of stuff, Chloe. Consider it a continuation of a much-cherished Jackson tradition.”
“Well, look at that,” Chloe giggles, glancing my way. “Barely moved in, and we’ve already got traditions aplenty going.”
“It’s a good sign,” I tell her.
“It is,” she agrees.
Carlos comes to stand beside her as we watch Beck and Dax get in the pickup truck. The two of them will handle the Goodwill haul while Leo and Luke will help get as much stuff set up before I go off on my date with my marvelous men.
Just like that, life settles beautifully all around us.
In familiar faces. In soft colors. In the taste of sweet kisses and deliciously peachy iced tea. In the company of friends and family, with the future eager to unravel at our feet.
“All we’re missing right now is a rainbow,” Chloe says. “Right over there…”
I follow her gaze across the garden and the road, far beyond the houses and the buildings of Ember Ridge, well above the trees and the mountain lines, where the ridge meets the bright blue sky with its fluffy white clouds.
“I have my rainbow right here,” I tell her, placing one palm over my chest .
I have everything I want, and more than I ever imagined I would.
A couple of months later, the concept of normal has fully returned to our day-to-day lives.
I come back from the diner, my feet aching a little, to find Dax, Leo, and Beck sitting on the porch, comfortably resting on the rattan sofa, waiting for me.
“Now this is a sight I love coming home to,” I say as the sun sets lazily off to the west, the sky a watercolor mirage of reds, oranges, and pinks while autumn sneaks its evening chill into the air. “My three men, waiting for me.”