Chapter 14 Gracie
For one perfect moment, it felt like the whole world smelled like hot cocoa and Christmas Eve magic. Also wet sheep, hay, and something at the very back of the manger that Gracie preferred not to inhale.
Scents aside, the Live Nativity was one of the most beautiful things Gracie had ever seen.
They launched with a play that retold the entire story of the birth of Jesus, including Mary arriving on a very confident donkey, with much singing from a choir of angels, and—to the delight of the crowd—a real baby in white swaddling.
While they watched and listened, Gracie sat next to Benny, her hand on his back as the message and moment pressed on all their hearts.
When the angels sang Silent Night, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place, including Olivia, who rested her head on her father’s shoulder in a move that melted Gracie’s heart.
After the performance, the whole set was open for people to walk through, take pictures, and pet the animals. Lights twinkled overhead and snow floated down in gentle flurries that looked too perfectly timed to be real.
Off to the side, Elise beamed at all of them like a proud mama, tugging a faux fur wrap around her. Wade stayed close to her, and they both happily guided the family to meet Shambles, who was clearly their favorite star of the show.
The old ewe bleated at Benny and nuzzled a delighted Olivia while Elise explained why she had a patch on her eye.
As they moved through the stalls and met the animals, Marshall stayed close to Gracie, making comments and jokes and doing his level best to ignore Bianca—a woman who didn’t get ignored very often.
Benny and Olivia stood pressed against the rails, faces glowing from the cold and pure joy, their mittened hands waving at the goats like they were celebrities.
“This is the best one yet!” Benny declared, nearly vibrating as he pointed at Eeyore. “That donkey winked at me. That means good luck. It’s, like, scientifically proven.”
“It is not scientifically proven,” Olivia said, though she was bouncing, too. “But it was really cool.”
Gracie smiled, warmth blooming in her chest. Christmas Eve, a Live Nativity pulled off flawlessly, her family all around her…and Marshall standing close enough that his coat brushed her sleeve whenever he shifted. If she turned her head just slightly, she could feel his breath mix with the icy air.
It should have been perfect.
But there was Bianca, lingering a few steps away like an unwelcome shadow. She all but batted her lashes at Marshall, announcing how much she “loved anything wholesome and cozy,” as though she were doing an interview for the local paper.
Marshall moved away in a subtle but unmistakable inch backwards—one Gracie doubted Bianca noticed.
Gracie tried to focus on the animals, the lights, the kids, the music, but Red’s story kept replaying in her head.
Maybe Bianca didn’t say what he thought. Maybe she was talking about a TV show or… some terrible reality program. Maybe she’s late on her period and just complaining to her sister. Maybe she’s joking in bad taste. Red could have misunderstood.
Except Red wasn’t prone to imagination.
And Bianca was…Bianca.
Gracie exhaled a shaky breath that fogged the air in front of her, so frustrated that the night couldn’t just be lovely and uncomplicated. Determined to enjoy the moment, she joined Elise, Wade, Nicole, and Cameron as they fussed over Shambles.
“Hi, Gracie,” Elise called, the sheep’s head nuzzling against her chest. “I think Benny loved this, don’t you?”
“He’s in heaven.” She leaned down and hugged her. “This event was incredible. Seriously. People were glowing watching it. You pulled off a masterpiece, Elise.”
Elise’s eyes twinkled with genuine joy and a little sparkle eyeshadow. “The whole thing was really special,” she agreed. “I already got roped into running it again next year.”
Something in the way she said that made Gracie think Elise didn’t mind the work at all.
Behind them, Wade was talking to Matt, laughing with his uncle, chatting with Gracie’s mom, who looked…troubled. Still? Hadn’t she talked to Matt about the music yet?
Gracie stepped closer to MJ. “Hey, Mommy,” she said in a teasing voice. “How are you?”
Her mother sighed and lifted a shoulder. “Tired.”
“It hasn’t stopped?”
“Every morning at three a.m. on the nose.”
“Did you tell Matt?” Gracie asked.
She shook her head. “What can he do, honey? Other than think I’m a lunatic.”
“He could understand that it’s troubling you,” she said, and even as she did, she felt the words hit her hard. She had to talk to Marshall, too. He needed to know what was troubling her, just like Matt did.
“I guess,” her mother said. “But I’ve been avoiding it.”
“You shouldn’t,” Gracie said, as much to herself as to MJ. “If you can’t have hard conversations, are you really a couple?”
MJ gave a wistful smile, then looked past Gracie, her brows rising. “Look at that,” she whispered so softly, Gracie barely heard her.
She followed her mother’s gaze, landing on Elise. Wade stood next to her, a possessive and warm hand on her shoulder as he explained to Matt how “they” had performed eye surgery on Shambles.
“Love is in the air,” Gracie said under her breath.
“And so’s the sheep dung.” Bianca walked right up between them, holding out her phone. “Can you get a family shot of the Hamptons, Grace?”
She didn’t know what irritated her more, being called Grace—a sin only her ex committed—or being asked to photograph the Hamptons.
“One of the goats is eating Grandpa’s beard!” Benny shouted from a stall a few feet away.
“I gotta see!” Olivia started running that way, but Bianca snagged her jacket.
“Not yet. We’re getting a family photo. Marsh?” She latched onto his sleeve.
Turning, he tugged at Kat’s leash. “You get one with Olivia. I’ve got the dog.”
“We’ll get one with the dog,” she said, drawing all of them together toward the back wall. “Oh, this is rustic. Get a few shots, Grace,” she ordered. “Make them Instagram-worthy, please.”
Marshall gave her a look that was openly apologetic. “If you don’t—”
“It’s fine,” Gracie assured him.
“A family picture,” Bianca added brightly. “Me, Marshall, and Olivia. And Dog.”
“Her name’s Kat,” Olivia said, making a face.
“Wait. Wait.” Bianca looked behind her. “Too rustic. In fact, I hate this wall.” She glowered at the weathered slats of the barn wall as though they offended her. “No, this won’t do. Let’s go back by the Nativity scene. With the star. Come on.”
Marshall sighed. “Bianca, I don’t think—”
“Please.” Bianca grabbed Marshall and tugged him away. “It’s Christmas Eve. One quick picture. For Olivia’s scrapbook.”
“I don’t even have a scrapbook,” Olivia muttered.
All the while, Gracie stood there holding the woman’s phone, feeling like an employee. But she followed Marshall’s lead as he demonstrated class and the ability to smooth over any situation.
They walked back out to the Nativity scene, though Marshall’s shoulders were stiff as two boards. Olivia trudged after them, clearly annoyed. Benny ignored the whole thing, still obsessed with the beard-eating goat.
Swallowing the metallic taste of discomfort, Gracie mentally vowed not to be territorial. She wasn’t going to be the insecure girlfriend. She wouldn’t give Bianca even one ounce of satisfaction.
She lifted the phone. “Okay…smile.”
Marshall attempted something that resembled a polite smile. Olivia tried, but there was a hint of her signature eyeroll in the shot. Bianca beamed as though posing for a magazine cover—chin lifted, jacket suddenly open and sliding down one shoulder, a hand on Marshall’s arm like she owned him.
Gracie framed the shot just as a text popped up at the top of the screen.
She tried not to read it, she really did. But there it was, from Tara, center of Bianca’s phone screen.
Tara: Did you do it yet?? Time is ticking! You’re almost 6 weeks!! Don’t chicken out—go for it, girl.
Gracie’s breath froze in her chest.
The phone wobbled in her hands. She nearly dropped it into the snow. Her fingers went numb around the smooth case.
Red hadn’t misheard. Bianca really was pregnant. And she was here to make Marshall believe the baby was his.
The world tilted. The cold bit into her face. She couldn’t move, couldn’t blink, couldn’t breathe. Questions ricocheted inside her skull. How could she tell him without looking like a jealous snoop?
It didn’t matter. He needed to know.
“Gracie?” Marshall’s voice cut through the fog. “Everything okay?”
She blinked, forced her jaw to unclench, raised the phone. “Sorry. Just—a snowflake in my eye.”
She snapped the picture. The flash lit the scene too brightly. Bianca rushed over and snatched the phone back without thanks, already flipping through the photos.
“All right!” Bianca chirped, apparently satisfied with how she looked in each. “Now one with Marshall and me.”
“No, we’re done,” Marshall announced, putting an arm around Gracie. “You want to step back into the barn? Are you cold?”
“Not in there!” Bianca exclaimed, waving her hand under her nose. “The smell of those animals is making me nauseous.”
Well, something was making her nauseous. Something…six weeks along.
Everything in Gracie’s head was muted, muffled, and her heart hammered so loud she wondered if Marshall could hear it.
Then Olivia tugged his sleeve. “Daddy? Can you please stay at Snowberry tonight? Pleeeease? It won’t be Christmas morning without you, and I want to go to the big cozy lodge and the tree and everyone there and it’ll be perfect and we’ll open presents and—”
“Olivia,” Marshall said softly. “I don’t want to impose—”
“You wouldn’t be,” Gracie said quickly, hoping that would give them a chance to talk. “Really. We have a few open cabins. You should stay.”
Olivia cheered.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
Bianca perked up like she’d just been offered a golden ticket. “Oh! Well, that works out perfectly. And you don’t have to use another cabin, Marsh. We have plenty of room in ours, don’t we, Liv?”
“No,” Marshall cut in gently but firmly. “I’ll stay in an empty cabin…for Olivia.”
Bianca’s smile faltered. “Oh. Right. Of course. I just…thought maybe for Christmas—”
Marshall didn’t budge. “No.”
“But you must come over for hot chocolate and the midnight present. You remember the midnight present, right, Olivia?”
“Oh, yeah! Daddy, you have to come and we all open one present at midnight just like old times.”
Gracie’s stomach churned. He’d be with them until midnight…so, when would they talk?
As they made their way toward the parking lot, fresh snow covering the walkway, Bianca teetered on her ridiculous heeled boots. Navigating the asphalt, she suddenly slid, losing her balance.
Marshall instinctively reached out, catching her by the elbow. Of course, Bianca melted against him with a little breathy laugh.
“Oh, my gosh, thank you,” she murmured, head against his shoulder.
Marshall immediately stepped back, his hands raised as though distancing himself from radiation. “Watch the ice.”
But the image of Bianca leaning against him, Marshall steadying her, seared into Gracie’s brain. They were a family, albeit a broken one. Olivia deserved this, and her midnight present.
They all made their way toward the cluster of cars, laughing, talking, corralling kids and animals and joking about the goat that tried to steal Red’s glove.
She’d tell Marshall tomorrow, later in the day, after presents and breakfast. Maybe they’d take a walk and talk. Certain that was the right plan, Gracie turned to where the three of them were, trying not to watch Bianca as she glued herself to Marshall’s side.
But it was impossible not to see her whispering to Marshall. Gracie couldn’t hear the words, but she saw the shift in Marshall’s face—soft, familiar, the look people get when someone references a memory they share.
Bianca laughed quietly. “How about the year when Olivia was three and you had to—”
“Build the tricycle from hell,” Marshall finished, chuckling.
“I had to break into the neighbor’s garage for a tool. Do you remember, Marsh?”
He nodded, his laugh growing hearty. “Yeah. I remember. Their alarm went off and the Wilsons almost called the police.”
“I remember!” Olivia said, dancing.
“No way,” Marshall replied. “You were three.”
“But I do remember, Daddy.” She slid between her parents with a little hop in her step.
“I woke up and you both came up to my room and said Santa set off the alarm and he’d be at our house next, so I had to go back to sleep, so you both got in my bed.
I think about that every year on Christmas Eve. ”
Gracie’s throat tightened at the music of their laughter.
Bianca wasn’t just a random nuisance. She was the mother of Marshall’s child. They had a history, a tapestry of life together.
And now, with a pregnancy looming like a storm cloud, the strong threads of that tapestry might pull him back into something Gracie couldn’t compete with.
Gracie forced a smile amid the calls of “Merry Christmas” and “be safe,” but her insides were churning as a gray, uncertain shadow slipped into her heart.