Chapter 30
RAVEN
Saturday was cleaning day in our apartment. We weren’t slobs, but Cass and I were both busiest during the week and preferred to leave the majority of the cleaning for the weekend. Since both of us were gone last weekend, we had even more to do.
I drew the short straw and had to clean the refrigerator while Cass did the dishes. Kneeling on the floor in front of the open fridge, I pulled out moldy and gross food and tossed it into the trash. A fitting metaphor for my love life.
“Are you sure you won’t come with me, Cass?” I begged, hoping I could change her mind or at least elicit her support. “I really don’t want to face my entire family and have everyone commenting on what may or may not have happened with me and Nash.”
“Sorry. No can do. I’m meeting Mom, Aunt Cheryl, and my cousin Andi for drinks and dinner before the concert. And you know I’ve been looking forward to this show for months. If I had an extra ticket, I’d offer to bring you along, but you know we have very different tastes in music.”
“That might be true, but tonight I’d rather listen to your music than face my family. Besides, we’d have fun together, no matter who is playing.” I gave Cass my most pathetic puppy dog eyes. “If you really cared about me, you’d give me an excuse to avoid this inquisition.”
She tossed a wet dishtowel at me, and it hit me on the side of my head. “Ew.”
“Oh, come on, Rave. Stop your whining. Your family is the best. Yeah, they’ll ask questions or will most likely give you a hard time, but it’s all because they care. Besides, you’re a master at handling them. You’ll make a joke or a snide comment and they’ll move on.”
I let out a dramatic sigh. “You’re right. I might as well get it over with.” I gave her a hug. “Have fun tonight. If that’s possible. I do have ear plugs if you need them.”
“See, there’s my snarky roommate. You got this.” She gave me a fist bump before putting the clean dishes away.
We completed our cleaning tasks just in time to get ready for our evening events.
Mom had called the other day to inform me that she was putting together a family dinner at the Moonstruck Steakhouse, so we could all be together before Rowan returns to New York. It was not an invitation; it was an order. I knew better than to argue with her. If I said I was sick, she’d be right over to take care of me. Nope. Better to go and make the best of it.
I took one last look in the mirror. My makeup covered the bags under my eyes and made me look almost alive. More alive than I felt, that’s for sure. My gray shirt, favorite black skirt and boots helped boost my confidence—my armor was firmly in place.
“Munch, be good while I’m gone.” I ruffled his head as I slipped out the door.
Moments later, I entered the restaurant. The hostess guided me to a private room for our sizeable group.
“Surprise!” they all shouted when I walked in.
“What? It’s not my birthday for another month.”
“We wanted to surprise you, silly. And we thought since Rowan was home, it was the perfect time to do it.” Mom held me in a warm embrace and kissed my cheek.
“I guess it’s a good thing I decided to show up, then.”
I looked around the packed room at my parents and my siblings. Cass was even there. “Hey, you’re supposed to be going to a concert.”
“I am, so I can only stay for a little while. I do have to meet my group in a few minutes. Didn’t want to miss your surprise, Raven.” She gave me a big hug and winked. “Happy birthday, my friend.”
Tillie came over next and wrapped me in a tight squeeze. “Look around, my dear. This room is filled with people who love you.” She pinched my cheek, like she did when I was small.
Everyone was here, friends, family, everyone I loved, and as my gaze roamed over the crowd, my eyes welled, and my heart seemed to expand in my chest. And then it stopped altogether. There he was. Nash.
My traitorous heart flipped at the sight of him in a crisp button-down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to display his muscular forearms. Why did he have to look so good when I wanted so badly to hate him?
I pulled my gaze away and pretended not to care that he was here. My dad, Rowan, and Jasper were deep in a conversation. I snuck in between my brothers.
Jasper’s hands moved dramatically to make a point. “I’m telling you, this is a huge opportunity for us. It would provide security for the farm and bring in steady income for all of us. I’ve been doing a ton of research, and the timing of this kind of expansion couldn’t be more perfect. Farm to table restaurants are popping up all over and killing it. We have the farm. All we need is the table.”
“It’s a great idea, Jasper. But I have all I can handle with the farm right now.”
“But I’ll handle this expansion. It won’t add anything else to your workload, other than giving you a built-in outlet for your products. It might actually make things easier for you, if you wanted to let go of some of your outside contracts.”
Dad’s face scrunched. “How can you promise you’ll manage all that, Jasper? You already work a hundred hours a week at your regular job.”
Jasper patted Dad on the back. “Don’t worry about that. I wouldn’t offer to do this if I couldn’t handle it. Just think about it, okay?”
Dad grunted and walked away.
“What was that all about?” I asked. Tension and frustration radiated off Jasper.
Rowan leaned over and explained in a hushed tone. “Jasper wants to open a farm-to-table restaurant in town that would use our organic meats and produce.”
Jasper’s feathers were apparently still ruffled. “It’s a brilliant idea, and you know it, Rowan. Would it kill you to admit it?”
“Yeah, it might be a great idea. But we’re just hiring a new farm manager to take my place. Dad has to train that person and run the business end, not to mention keeping an eye on Becky’s replacement.” Rowan looked over at Dad talking to Skye and Storm on the other side of the room. ”Dad says he’s fine, but I worry that it’s put too much stress on him.”
Jasper’s hands flew up and his voice rose in frustration. “I said I could handle helping more, and I will, if he’ll let me.”
“I’ll talk to him about it. I’m sure he’d appreciate your help, but don’t keep pushing the restaurant idea. Not until things are a bit more settled. Okay?” Rowan was the leader in the family, and usually the one to get the others to fall in line.
“Fine. But when the time is right, you better back me up, Rowan. He listens to you,” Jasper negotiated, always the businessman.
Rowan agreed with a sigh. “Deal.”
I put my arms around them. “Hey. This is a party, not a board meeting. No more talk about work. Alright? This is supposed to be fun.”
“You’re a good one to talk. It’s your party and you walked in like you were facing the firing squad. What gives?” Jasper teased, bumping my shoulder.
“It’s nothing. Just surprised, is all,” I said, hoping we could move onto something else.
“If you say so. But I see someone else who looks just as miserable as you do.” Rowan tilted his head toward Nash. “Go talk to him.”
I scrutinized Rowan. “You want me to go to Nash? Who are you and what have you done with my overprotective big brother?” I stroked my chin as if trying to figure something out. “Maybe my memory deceives me, but weren’t you the one who yelled at Nash to get away from me? And threatened him with bodily harm if he ever touched me again?”
“I’m sorry about that, Rave. I was just looking out for you.” Rowan’s eyes were soft with sincerity, begging for forgiveness. As often as we fought, I could never stay mad at him for long.
“I hate to tell you this, but I do a much better job looking out for myself. Thank you very much.” I picked up my glass and saluted him before moving on.
We spent the next hour eating and talking. The food was set up as a buffet exclusive to our group. Everything was delicious and gourmet. Apparently, the new chef knew their way around the kitchen. For years, the food at Moonstruck Steakhouse had been lacking, but as the only place in town for a proper sit-down dinner and a banquet room big enough for our crew, we came here anyway. We’d surely come more often for this food.
To my great surprise, nobody asked me what happened between me and Nash, which I didn’t mind one bit. It was bad enough I couldn’t keep myself from tracking wherever he was in the room.
Nash stood at the opposite end of the room from me and clinked his beer bottle with a butter knife. “Excuse me, everyone. I hate to interrupt the party, but there’s something I need to say.”
As he set the bottle down on the table, his hands visibly shook. I’d never seen him nervous about anything. Especially not around my family. What was going on?
“As you know, Raven and I were stranded at Gladys’ cabin during the storm. I want you all to know nothing happened, except that I finally admitted being in love with her most of my life. I was stupid and thought my friendship with Rowan was more important to me than her. But I was wrong. No offense, Rowan.”
Rowan lifted his glass to show his approval.
“I will regret that mistake for the rest of my life.” As Nash spoke, he wove his way through the crowd toward me. He didn't need to look where he was going. They parted for him, and he held my gaze fast until he stood right before me, looking directly into my eyes. “Raven, I’m so sorry I hurt you. If you give me another chance, I swear I’ll make it up to you.”
I was moved by his declaration, which I know wasn’t easy for him to do in front of everyone. But I couldn’t let him get off that easy.
“How?” I asked.
Nash’s head jerked, clearly caught off-guard by my question. “What?” He tugged at his collar and sweat moistened his brow.
I should feel bad for him in his obvious discomfort. Maybe that makes me a bad person, but after the pain he’d caused me, I was actually enjoying seeing him squirm.
I stood with my hands on my hips and my hip cocked. “How will you make it up to me? You need to be more specific.”
He cleared his throat. “Well, how about this for starters?” He reached behind the table for a basket. Inside the basket was a bouquet just like the one I had brought to the cabin. It also held a bottle of champagne and a long tube wrapped in paper and tied with a purple bow. I pulled the mysterious tube out and looked it over. No idea what it could be.
“Open it.” Skye hollered from across the room, practically bouncing with excitement.
I untied the bow and tore off the paper. I tipped the tube and a key fell into my hand. “What’s this for?”
“There’s more,” Nash said.
I pulled out a rolled paper from the tube. It was a blueprint. “I still don’t understand. What is all this?”
He pushed away dishes, unrolled the blueprint, and spread it out on the table. “Can you tell what it is now?”
“It looks like a small house. A cabin. Gladys’ cabin? Is that what this is?”
He nodded and looked back at the paper. I followed his gaze and saw a building added that wasn’t a part of the property now.
“What’s that? There isn’t a building on that part of the property.”
“It’s a studio.”
“You’re building a studio on Gladys’ property. I thought she just wanted a quick sale. Wait, a minute. I heard she already sold it. Did the new owners hire you?”
Jasper elbowed me and mumbled, “For a smart woman, you can be kind of dense sometimes.”
Nash chuckled. “I bought the cabin, and I hired Skye to design an art studio on the property. For you.”
My mouth opened and closed like a bass out of water. I was completely stunned. Speechless.
Nash turned to face me and grasped my hands in his. “Tweet, spending time with you in that cabin. Those were the best days of my life.”
“Even though I gave you a concussion?” I asked, my voice quivering.
He chuckled. “Even then.” He gazed deep into my eyes, and I saw love glowing out at me. My breath caught. “I want a lot more days like that with you. Hopefully without the head trauma. Give me another chance, and I promise to dedicate the rest of my life to making you happy.”
A collective “Aww” sounded around us.
Nash continued, “And I’m not afraid to tell the world, and Rowan, exactly how I feel about you. I love you, Raven.”
“Hold on. You said that wrong. Try it again but say it right this time.”
At first his brows pinched in confusion, but when the awareness hit him, he gave me his softest, tenderest smile and pulled me in closer. “I love you, Tweet. And I always will.”
“That’s more like it.” I slid my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. “I love you, too.”
This time, as we kissed, I envisioned a paintbrush designing the scenes of our life. All of these people gathered around us to celebrate our wedding and the birth of our children. Sitting on the dock with his arm around me, watching the sunset. Holding hands as we walked through the woods. And each of those images was vibrantly colored and highlighted with magical sparkles. Creating a life with Nash would be the greatest masterpiece of all.
Between kisses, I whispered against his lips, “It’s about time, Mr. Tweet.”