Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Grady
When we arrive at the docks, the Misty Pines water taxi is there waiting for us.
Kyle stands at the helm, one hand on the wheel, the other lifted in a casual wave. The boat bobs against the dock, cushioned by rubber bumpers.
Kyle’s voice carries over the water. “Everything settled, then?”
Emily pulls the registration paper from her jacket pocket and holds it up with a grin.
Kyle whistles low. “About damn time.”
“Now you’re the odd man out.” Jared vaults over the side of the boat. “Better hurry up and join to reap all these benefits.”
Kyle punches him in the shoulder hard enough to rock Jared back a step, his grin widening.
“Get behind the wheel,” Kyle orders. “You’re steering this trip.”
He gasps and clutches his chest. “On my wedding day?”
“Unless you made a stop at the county judge, too, it ain’t no one’s wedding day.” Kyle whips off his scally hat and swats his cousin. “And you better not get hitched without inviting me!”
Jared salutes him and slides into the pilot’s seat, hands already moving over the controls with the easy confidence of someone who has been doing so since he was tall enough to reach the throttle.
Leif steps aboard after him, settling into the second-row undercover seating with his satchel between his feet. Emily follows, then turns back to hold her hands out to me.
I pass her my cane, then grip her shoulders and let her lift me on board. A few months ago, I would have insisted on doing it myself, but not anymore, not when it comes with a nuzzle and purr from my Alpha.
I find the spot beside Leif, propping my bad leg straight, and the cane goes between my knees.
“We’re waiting on two more.” Kyle peers down the dock, scanning the parking lot behind us. “Should be here any minute.”
Dominic pauses mid-step. “Two more who?”
“Didn’t say.” Kyle checks his watch. “Just that they had a three o’clock arrival and needed transport to the island.”
“Resort guests?” Leif frowns.
“Didn’t sound like it.” Kyle adjusts his cap. “Maybe hikers wanting to take advantage of a nice April day? We don’t get many this early in the year.”
I tip my head to the sky, admiring the clear blue sky. “Maybe we should have gotten married. The weather is perfect.”
“Shush, Grady!” Jared yells from the pilot’s seat. “I’m still waiting for my proposal gift from Emily.”
I lean forward to look at my Alpha, who sits on Leif’s other side. “Anything in the works for Jared?”
She hums as she leans back. “Never built a sailboat before.”
“Does Jared even sail?” Leif asks.
She shrugs. “If not, he should learn. We live on an island now.”
A gull wheels over the water, its shadow cutting a dark line across the surface, drawing my attention, and when I turn back, I catch sight of our unexpected guests.
My stomach swoops, and I grab my cane, pushing to my feet.
My mother walks down the dock, her wool coat buttoned to the throat despite the mild April afternoon, the collar turned up to block the non-existent wind.
Her posture is straight as an arrow, her shoulders back, moving with that same reserved elegance that’s been engraved into my memory since birth.
Beside her, a half-step back, Caroline Bennett matches her stride for stride. She wears a camel-colored coat, tailored to fit her slender lines, with a single carry-on bag slung over her shoulder.
Her eyes move over the harbor with the curiosity of someone who is filing away details for later use.
The handle of my cane creaks within my tightening grip as I move to stand at the side of the boat nearest the dock. The others notice the change in mood, and they come to surround me.
“What are you doing here?” I demand as soon as they’re within earshot.
“Really, Grady.” My mother brushes back her silvering blond hair. “Is that any way to greet us after such a long flight to come see you?”
My throat works. This is not what I expected for today, and their sudden appearance has thrown me off balance. “I was under the belief that I wouldn’t be seeing either of you ever again.”
“I never agreed to that.” She holds her chin up. “And your father needs to remember where the Finch family’s money came from.”
She holds her hand out to Caroline, who places an envelope into her palm. “The wealth and influence he treats as his own came through my family, and my mother loved you. She intended that trust fund for you. I will not allow his anger to erase her intention.”
She holds out the envelope, not to me, but to Dominic. “My lawyer said you made an inquiry, Mr. Sterling.”
He takes the envelope and opens it. “It’s Wright, now.”
She dips her chin in acknowledgment. “I trust that you will find everything necessary to see that my son is well taken care of.”
Dominic scans the top page of the document within, and a satisfied smile spreads over his lips. “We’ll have to verify that everything is in order, but yes, this will do.”
I stare from the envelope back to my mother. “Mom?”
The corners of her lips tighten. “I agreed to support you taking over your father’s business, and I supported your union with Caroline, but I never agreed to force you into anything. And I certainly never agreed to stop speaking to my son.”
I stare at my mother, who stands on the dock, empty-handed and her jaw set as the wind catches the loose strands of hair at her temples.
My free hand reaches toward her but stops halfway, hanging in the air between us.
She closes the gap, her fingers catching mine. “I’m sorry, Grady. I know I haven’t always been the most sentimental of mothers, but I have always loved and supported you.”
“You could have just called,” I choke out.
“Some things should not be said over the phone.” Her skin is cool from the harbor air as she releases my hand and steps back. “We are planning to be in town for a week. I hope you can bring yourself to join me for at least one day and show me around your new home.”
She takes in my new pack. “And I would like very much to meet the people who keep you here.”
Emily’s hand touches my back, and Leif grips my shoulder, while Jared’s arm brushes mine.
“Yes, of course.” I swallow hard. “I’d love that, but why…”
When I turn my confusion on Caroline, she steps forward.
“I persuaded my father to let me establish and run a new Bennett Media branch,” she announces with a note of pride. “It will be my own, built from the ground up. He’s giving me the chance to prove I can outperform the East Coast publication on my own terms.”
She takes in the water taxi, the harbor, and the islands floating out on the water. “When Margaret told me of her plans to come here, I couldn’t pass up the chance to see the town that made Grady Garfield Finch abandon caution and chase love.”
The laugh escapes me, even as my ears go hot.
Beside me, Jared leans closer to croon. “You looooove me.”
“Shut up,” I mutter. “She’s not talking about you.”
Kyle clears his throat. “So, are you two getting on the boat or what? We have a schedule to keep.”
Dominic hisses at him to be quiet, but I catch the uncertain look my mom gives me.
I step back. “You booked a ride to the island. You might as well come see our home and meet everyone, since you came all this way.”
Relief sweeps across her face before she takes in the height of the boat’s side. “How do we…”
Kyle and Jared jump into motion, putting down the gangplank. Jared helps my mother onto the boat, and Kyle steps forward, reaching for Caroline’s carry-on bag.
Caroline hands it over without hesitation, but then she pauses for several heartbeats, her hand still on the strap as she meets Kyle’s pale green eyes. Slowly, she releases the strap.
He turns, sets it in the storage compartment beneath the bench seat, and looks back at her with a wink.
Jared nudges me with his elbow and waggles his eyebrows.
I elbow him back, harder.
There’s no way his cousin and my ex-would-be fiancée are making eyes at each other.
But as Jared returns to the pilot’s seat, and I settle back on the bench, this time with Leif and Emily on either side, and watch Dominic settle into conversation with my mother, I think anything is possible.
When I came here, I never expected the turn my life would take.
But now, I can’t imagine it turning out any other way, surrounded by the people I love.
My pack.