Chapter 21
twenty-one
brADY
Family dinner at Maggie’s was different this time around.
No one was awkward or surprised by my appearance. There was still teasing from Larry. And Becca and I prepped the salad again.
But Mac and I were together, and everyone knew it.
I could reach for her hand beneath the table. Or lean over and kiss her if I wanted.
Which I did now, distracting Mac and swiping the bowl of peach cobbler her grandmother had just placed in front of her.
Nola and Junior knew I was dating their granddaughter, too. I didn’t sneak out of their house anymore, but mostly because Mac was at my place every night. Nola still gave me shit about the birdfeeder thing, but I figured that was a sign of love because she and Mac were relentless with one another. And I knew Nola loved her granddaughter something fierce.
Once Mac had pinched my ribs and recovered her cobbler, she glanced down at her phone for the fourth time.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said. “It’s just that Bonnie told me she was coming tonight. ”
Our eyes found the two empty place settings at the end of the long dining room table.
In the month since Mac and I had become official, I’d spent a good deal of time with her sister. We’d chatted at trivia and bowling league. The ladies had even invited me to their latest book club meeting. But Bonnie’s husband, Danny, had been absent for most of that. I figured something was going on in their marriage that was none of my business.
“She’s not answering?” I asked.
“No.” Mac glanced at her unchanged text thread one more time before placing her phone face down on the table.
I reached for her thigh and gave it a squeeze. “Maybe something came up.”
She nodded.
Nola and Junior were heading out to the lake after dinner, so Mac and I were back at her house tonight.
It was after two in the morning when pounding somewhere downstairs woke me. Mac was just sitting up as I finished buttoning my jeans. I hastily threw a tee shirt over my head.
“Grab your cell and stay here,” I told her. “I’m going to see who it is.”
“Wait,” she hissed. The knocking hadn’t stopped. “Be careful.”
Nodding, I headed for the stairs.
When I reached the front of the house, I peeked out the window next to the door, unsure of what I’d find.
“Shit,” I breathed, then hurried to unlock the dead bolt.
Bonnie practically fell into my arms. She was crying so hard I couldn’t make out what she was saying.
“Bonnie, take a breath for me,” I said softly as I led her over to the couch nearby.
“Brady,” Mac called from the bottom of the stairs.
I met her gaze helplessly as she hurried over.
Bonnie’s face was twisted in agony, her eyes puffy and cheeks flushed .
I knelt in front of her. “Are you hurt, Bonnie?”
But she couldn’t answer me. Her breaths were coming too fast. She sounded like she was suffocating even as tears leaked down her face.
Mac was frozen at my side, staring at her sister like she’d never seen her before.
“Mac,” I said quietly to get her attention.
She flinched, meeting my gaze.
“Help Bonnie get her sweater off. Get her purse too,” I instructed.
I didn’t know what had happened, but I thought it’d be better for Mac to be the one to touch her. I didn’t want to scare her, but I knew the cardigan she wore might feel confining in the face of a panic attack, and the strap of her crossbody bag wasn’t helping either.
Mac jolted into action while I spoke softly to Bonnie.
“Take a deep breath with me. Try to do what I’m doing.” I exaggerated my inhales and exhales for her benefit.
When Bonnie was free of her bag and her sweater, I grasped her hands and kept talking. It was dim. The only light in the room was coming from the kitchen, and I did my best to calm her down.
“Should I call 9-1-1?” Mac asked from where she’d joined me on the floor.
“No,” Bonnie choked out between gasps, her fingers gripping me tight. “No ... ambulance.”
Mac and I shared an uneasy look but left our phones in our pockets.
It took another five minutes for Bonnie’s breathing to even out and her hands to loosen around mine. Mac sat quietly at my side and watched her sister struggle.
When I thought it was safe, I said gently, “I’m going to go get you some water, Bonnie. Mac will be right here.”
I urged Mac to join her sister on the couch and then went quickly to the kitchen.
Judging by the way she’d frozen, I didn’t think Mac had ever seen Bonnie this way. Her movements were wooden and uncertain, her gaze wide-eyed and frightened in the face of her sister’s pain .
Once I’d filled a glass, I heard low voices.
I stood at the threshold of the living room, giving them some privacy, but heard Bonnie manage through a fresh wave of tears, “Danny wants a divorce.” She hiccupped a sob. “He doesn’t want to be married to me.”
Mac wrapped her arms around Bonnie, shushing and rocking her gently. “It’s okay, Bon. It’ll be okay.”
I approached quietly and placed the glass on the end table. Bonnie didn’t look up, but Mac met my gaze and mouthed a thank-you over her sister’s head.
I made my way upstairs to Mac’s bedroom and shut the door, hating that her sister was suffering. Bonnie was a good person. Kind and thoughtful. She was a go-getter and a leader in the community. The first to volunteer for anything and dedicated to her family and her students.
Hours later, I felt the bed dip and opened my eyes. I checked my phone. It was 4:13 a.m.
“Is Bonnie okay?” I asked as I opened my arms and Mac burrowed into my side.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “But she’s asleep in the guest room across the hall. We talked for a little while, but I mostly just watched her while she slept. I was so scared, Brady.”
My arms tightened reflexively upon hearing the tremor in her voice.
“I couldn’t tell you the last time I even saw her cry,” she admitted. “Bonnie is always so perfect and put-together and on top of things. She never even said they were having problems. I mean, I’ve gotten a vibe for the last few months, Danny being weird and absent. They’ve seemed distant, disconnected. But divorce ... I never thought ...”
“She’s going to be alright,” I said. “She has you and your family. Candace would do anything for her, too.”
I felt Mac nod against my chest. “Seeing her like that, knowing she needed me, was the only thing keeping me from going over there and kicking Danny’s ass.”
“I know.” I pressed a kiss into her hair. My fierce protector. My hellcat.
We drifted off after that, and when I woke the next morning, I slipped quietly downstairs, intent on making some coffee and letting Mac sleep in .
I was sitting at the kitchen table, halfway through my first cup when Bonnie came down. Her short blond hair was pulled back into a tiny stub of a ponytail. She was wearing a pair of Mac’s sweatpants and a tee shirt.
Besides having the same upturned nose and dimple in their chins, the two sisters didn’t look much alike. With her dark hair and light eyes, Mac took after her dad and the rest of the Clarks. Bonnie, who was short and petite, more strongly resembled their mother. Blond hair, brown eyes, and an infectious smile with a slight gap between her front teeth.
She wasn’t smiling now, though. Bonnie’s eyelids were puffy, and her face was pale and drawn as she shuffled into the room on bare feet.
“Mornin’,” I called, wanting to announce myself.
Her head rose. “Hi.”
Then, she surprised the heck out of me by walking right up to my stool and hugging me hard. “Thank you,” Bonnie said, her voice thick. “For last night. I’m embarrassed you saw me that way, but I appreciate what you did for me.”
I squeezed her back. “Nothing to be embarrassed over. I’m glad you’re okay.”
With a final pat, she released me and went to pour herself a cup of coffee. “Not trying to cramp your style, but I think I might need to stay here for a while.”
It wasn’t my place to ask for details, but if that piece of shit was asking for a divorce and kicking his wife out, Mac was going to have some help in kicking his ass.
“Give me a list of what you need, and I’ll go to your place and load it in my truck today.”
“Thanks, Brady. You’re a good one.”
“Whatever you need.”
She smiled, so weary and worn that my heart hurt for her. “I’m glad you and Mac found your way to one another. It’s good to have someone who challenges you and makes you the very best version of yourself. I don’t—I don’t think Danny and I were that for each other. We gave one another permission to just stay the same. ”
“You deserve better, Bonnie. I know it doesn’t feel that way right now, but I believe you’ll find it.”
“Maybe.” She took a sip from her mug. She’d picked a Dollywood one that had three bears on it. “Maybe I’ll meet someone who puts me first. You know, a fantasy.”
I heard movement on the stairs and felt my heart leap a little at the prospect of seeing the woman who was walking down them. “Sometimes, the fantasy is real.”
Bonnie eyed me like she thought I was sweet but wrong. It was the bless your heart of looks.
“Well, I’m going to get to work on some pancakes and bacon.” Mac walked into the room, so I added, “Sound good to you, ladies?”
“God, yes,” Mac groaned.
“That would be nice. Thank you,” Bonnie said. “I’m going to grab a quick shower. I’ll be right back.”
I placed a griddle pan on the stove and noticed Mac staring after her sister, gaze still fixed on the corner she’d disappeared around.
“She’ll be okay,” I said. “Your sister is tough.”
Mac turned toward me. “That’s the problem. She’s always been the responsible one. The caretaker. She keeps everything together. I’m worried that she’ll focus on everyone else and let herself fade into the background. I want her to be happy.”
“She’ll get there, but you’ve got to let her grieve. She was with Danny for half of her life.”
Mac scowled and reached for the coffeepot. “I know. She just deserves someone great. Someone who realizes how fucking amazing she is. Danny always took her for granted. He didn’t support her.” And then, while she was pouring the steaming liquid into a mug, she added, “I want her to have what we have.”
She said it so casually, but I had to steady myself from where I’d crouched down for a mixing bowl .
Mac and I might have done things all wrong. Our journey was made up of twists and turns, pitfalls and minefields. But what we did have was a connection born of history. I had her back, and she had mine. She was my best friend, and I’d do anything for her. And I knew Mac would defend and stand beside me in any battle.
I straightened carefully, placing the bowl on the counter. Then I grabbed the milk and the eggs from the fridge. On the way back to the mixing bowl, I kissed Mac on the temple and said, “I want that for her too.”
We spent the next few minutes in comfortable silence. I mixed up the batter and then let it rest. Bacon went into the oven, and Mac topped off my coffee.
“By the way,” I said as I added butter to the griddle pan, “I took a picture of you drooling in your sleep the other night on the couch. I’m going to post it on Chatter today.”
We were back to lovingly roasting each other on the app.
“That’s fine,” she replied, unaffected. “I have a revenge post ready and drafted.”
I grinned. I planned on keeping this woman on her toes for the rest of our lives.
“Don’t forget, Mac Attack. We have our first planning meeting tonight when you get home.”
It was my day off, but Mac had to be at work in approximately one hour and fifteen minutes.
When she stayed quiet, I glanced over my shoulder to see her smiling.
“I remember,” she replied shyly.
Tonight, we were planning our first vacation together and getting Mac’s passport application in order. We would be narrowing down locations and picking from her extensive wish list. All those websites saved and bookmarked. The travel magazines with dog-eared pages, ready for the hypothetical to become reality.
She’d made me promise to give my input. She didn’t want it to be just a trip for her. But all I wanted was for her to be happy—to have the experience she’d always dreamed of. And to experience it with her, of course.
Our love was already an adventure. One that had been unexpected at almost every turn. I hoped our relationship would keep growing and keep changing and that we’d do it all together. I felt unbelievably lucky to take these next steps with her. To see her dreams unfold and be by her side through it.
We’d travel, and we’d come home. We’d love, and we’d fight. We’d stay busy for apple season, and we’d welcome tourists to the town we loved.
Every step forward would be a step remembered. A girl with one pigtail and a boy with a death wish. Two people who’d been connected for so long they couldn’t recall a before and after.
I flipped another pancake and felt Mac’s arms come around my waist as she pressed a kiss to the center of my back. I didn’t try to hide my smile. It wouldn’t have worked anyway.
Mac was mine, and I was hers, and the good part was just getting started.