Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-six
Cormac
A long time ago, my dad had built my mom a kitchen table out of old barn wood. A heavy thing, solid enough you could probably park a truck on it without a sliver of complaint.
When I was a kid, the six of us fit around it fine. We’d scoot over when my grandparents came over, and it’d worked.
Then the family had started growing.
Caleb had Jesse. Hannah brought Remi home, and a couple years later, Silas showed up loud and wild, followed by mellow little Brooks.
Phoebe married Deke, then came little Abigail.
Caleb married Alice, and now we had Desmond too.
We’d more than doubled in size but continued scooting over, laughing when we bumped elbows.
One by one, chairs got dragged in from other rooms, another place setting got laid out, and soon, it was like it had been there all along.
The table hadn’t changed. Same boards. Same burn mark from when Hannah had forgotten a hot pan. Same gouge Caleb had put in it with a pocketknife. And it kept holding more of us.
Tonight—a random Wednesday, no special occasion—it would be full again.
My siblings, the kids, and their spouses were spread around the kitchen and spilling into the living room when I arrived. Silas was chasing Jesse with maniacal glee. Brooks was building wooden blocks with Caleb and Remi on the rug. Desmond was snuggled up with Phoebe on the couch, reading a book.
Silas whizzed by, making me jump out of his way so I didn’t get run over.
“Hi, Uncle Mac,” he called. “Bye, Uncle Mac!”
I laughed, waving at the back of his head. “See ya, kid.”
Remi chuckled. “He’s on a tear tonight. Watch out.”
Caleb shook his head. “Lucky for us all, Jess has the energy to spare.”
I tilted my head toward the kitchen. “I’m gonna see if they need help in there.”
They turned their attention back to building towers with Brooks, and I gave Phoebe’s cheek a kiss and squeezed Desmond’s chubby little hand before venturing into the kitchen.
The sliding door was open, and my dad was out on the back patio with Deke cooking something on the grill. Mom and Hannah were at the island, chopping up fruit and prepping side dishes. And at the table, Alice was sitting with Zara, who held Abigail in her lap.
Zara turned her head when I walked in, the smile she’d already been wearing growing brighter.
“Hey, Maccie.”
I put my hands on my hips. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
She wiggled her fingers. “Surprise. Here I am.”
Since our run Sunday, I’d only seen her in passing. A quick visit to my office yesterday, waving from a distance out on the ranch, passing each other in the lobby. This week had been busy for us both, but the fact of the matter was, I’d needed some space to recalibrate.
Seeing her now, I questioned why I’d been avoiding this. Her long, glossy hair spilled down her back, and my fingers itched to sink into it. And her smile…Christ, I knew exactly what it tasted like. How it felt on my skin. How she felt and tasted everywhere.
What was there to think about? I was already in deep. Not a chance it was going to be an easy recovery, even if I avoided her for the rest of the summer. Why the hell had I thought it was a good idea to waste what little time we had?
My mom waved a wooden spoon, drawing my attention. “Do I have to run my guest list by you, Cormac Kelly?”
“Nope. You always invite the best people.” I crossed the room, giving her cheek a kiss. “I didn’t know everyone was coming tonight.”
She lifted a shoulder. “They just started showing up. You know how it is.”
“I do. Your kids like to eat you out of house and home.”
Hannah held up a grape. I opened my mouth, and she tossed it in. “If we stopped showing up to glom off Mom and Dad, they’d be lost.”
Mom snorted a laugh. “As long as my grandchildren keep coming around, I’ll be just fine.”
Hannah gasped. “I’d be insulted if I didn’t know that was a bald-faced lie.” She snaked her arm around our mom’s waist. “You’re obsessed with us all.”
Mom resisted for all of two seconds before she lay her head on Hannah’s shoulder. “Obsessed might be too strong of a word, but you’re not far off. You didn’t have to be such incredibly delightful people, did you? It’s not fair to everyone else.”
Abigail let out a squeal, stealing our attention. Zara had her standing in her lap, laughing at the silly faces she was making.
My mother sighed.
Hannah gave me a shove. “Go see what they’re doing, Maccie.”
I glanced at her over my shoulder. “You don’t need help?”
“Absolutely not,” she said, pushing me again.
Giving in, I crossed back to the table, bent to kiss Alice’s cheek, and took the chair beside Zara. Abigail waved at me, her round cheeks pink with joy.
I poked her little belly. “Hello, Abby-wabby. Whatcha doin’, angel?”
“Zara,” she cooed.
Alice smiled. “She’s fallen for her Aunt Zara. I’m a little bit jealous.”
“It’s only because I’m shiny and new,” Zara said. “You’ll be back to being her favorite in no time.”
“Zara!” Abigail shouted. “Hi, Zara!”
“Hi, Abigail.” Zara slid a glance my way. “Do you want Uncle Cormac to sing you a song?”
Her eyes grew wide. “Yes! Maccie, Maccie, Maccie, peeeeze.”
There was no way I could turn her down. I didn’t know a lot of child-friendly songs, but I was pretty adept at singing my ABCs and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” which was all Abigail needed to be satisfied.
By the time I finished the second round of “Twinkle, Twinkle,” the house had shifted into dinner mode.
My mom announced it was time to eat, and chairs began scraping across the floor.
Little feet pitter-pattered into the room.
My dad came in carrying a platter of grilled chicken, Deke behind him with corn wrapped in foil.
Everyone else filed in, and within a minute, the table was filled to the brim.
Zara handed Abigail over to Phoebe, but she stayed right beside me. Our knees brushed under the table, and our elbows bumped as we passed dishes around to fill our plates.
Conversations broke out in layers.
Caleb and Dad discussed fencing on the north pasture. Hannah told Mom about a client who’d tried to pay her in homemade jam. Silas loudly said something about dinosaurs to Jesse, who patiently explained why Silas was wrong.
Through the chaos, I noticed Zara kept glancing at my plate.
I leaned closer, not wanting to raise my voice over the noise. “Why didn’t you get any mac and cheese?”
She shrugged, trying to pretend she wasn’t eyeing my plate. “I didn’t think I wanted it.”
“Are you regretting your decision?”
She tipped her head to the side. “Maybe…”
Without thinking much about it, I slid my fork through the corner, scooped up a bite, and held it to her.
She blinked at it, then me.
“Go on,” I said. “Eat.”
A slow smile spread across her mouth as she leaned in and wrapped her lips around the fork, then pulled back, her eyes staying on mine.
“More?”
She swallowed. “Please.”
I fed her another scoop, something deep in my gut immensely satisfied by her hum of pleasure and little wiggle of happiness.
“Want me to get you some of your own?”
Biting down on her lip, she shook her head. “It tastes better from your plate.”
Who was I to argue? I scooped up another bite when I noticed the silence. The conversation around us had died down, the only sounds the scrape of my fork against the plate and the babies’ babbling.
I glanced up.
Every single person at the table was looking at us.
Caleb leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, trying and failing not to grin. Hannah’s eyebrows were somewhere near her hairline. Phoebe looked like she might tear up. My mom had both hands clasped under her chin like she’d just witnessed a proposal.
Even my dad was watching over the rim of his glass.
Silas squinted at us. “Why’s Uncle Mac feeding Zara? Is she a baby?”
Heat crawled up my neck.
Zara didn’t even flinch. She smiled sweetly at Silas. “Because I asked nicely.”
Silas considered that. “Can I have some please?”
Laughter broke out around the table. Caleb ruffled Silas’s hair, and Hannah rolled her eyes at her son.
Grabbing the serving dish, I shoved it toward him. “Get your own, you little animal.”
When I looked back at Zara, she was smiling at her plate, cheeks pink.
Our knees were still touching.
And despite all the eyes on us, neither of us moved away.