Chapter Twenty-Six #2
Noah turns his back to us, holding up the phone so we can all see his shaggy-haired, scruffily bearded cousin, and says, “Say hi to everyone.”
“Hey, guys. Sorry we couldn’t make it out for your mom’s big day,” Zev says, his voice almost as deep as Seth’s. “We’re on the island to wrap up a few things and got hammered with snow.”
As we all say hi, Noah interrupts with, “Whoa, dude. Who just walked behind you?”
Zev looks over his shoulder. “That’s Randi Remington. You met her. She’s on my dive team.”
“I thought that was her. Is she still dating Ford?” Noah asks.
“No, man. She never was. They’re just good friends,” Zev says.
“You couldn’t’ve made that clearer when I was there? Now I’m even more interested in this project you mentioned.” As Noah walks away, he says, “I’m sick of being landlocked. Talk to me…”
“Hey, Sutton,” Seth says. “Isn’t Randi the one who barely acknowledged him when we first went to the island to see you and Flynn?”
“Yup, that’s her,” Sutton says. “She’s a tough cookie, and probably the one who gave Noah the impression she was dating Ford. She turns down every guy who asks her out.”
“Sounds like someone else I know,” I say, looking at Becca.
“Did you all miss the most important thing Noah said?” Seth asks.
“What? That he’s sick of being landlocked? He’s been saying that for months,” Victory says.
“Not that,” Seth says, like it was a silly thing for her to say. “That Ellie and I are headline official. You know what that means?”
“That she’s going to be annoyed by strangers who think they have a right to know everything about her?” Aubrey asks.
“Probably. But more importantly, now she’s stuck with me.” He pulls me into a kiss, and everyone laughs.
We all chat for a bit, and then Aubrey says, “I want to suggest we all get together for dinner sometime, but before I do, Taylor, how are things working out with Knox? Is he behaving?”
I smile. “As much as Knox ever behaves. Between him and Seth, I’m surrounded by demanding men who are far too charming to deny.”
Seth draws his shoulders back and says, “You can admit that I’m more charming than Knox.”
“I’ll debate you on that,” Aubrey says.
“You can try, but he’s got nothing on me,” Seth says.
Aubrey arches a brow. “He’s over there schmoozing a member of the board from the Collective. What are you doing?”
“I did that twenty minutes after he arrived,” Seth says proudly. “Now I’m giving my date the attention she deserves.”
“Seth’s not too competitive,” I tease as Belinda and Lara join us. “He’s a lot, but I wouldn’t trade him for the world.”
Seth hugs me, beaming like a proud peacock, earning adoring looks from his mother and grandmother.
“I can vouch for Braden men being a lot,” Lara says. “I’ve got three with my two sons.”
“Try being married to a Braden man and having four Braden boys and one stubborn Braden girl underfoot in jungles and deserts,” Belinda says. “And then wrangling all five of them in a small town, where it’s even easier to find trouble.”
We all laugh.
“I’m not sure Bentleys are any less trouble,” Aubrey says, putting a hand on her baby bump. “If you’ll excuse me, my little Bentley is dancing on my bladder.”
“And if you’ll excuse me, I think I hear champagne calling my name,” Becca says.
“Oh, me too,” Sutton says.
“I’d better go with them so they don’t stir up any trouble,” Victory says, and follows the others into the crowd.
“Speaking of trouble,” Seth says. “Mom, were you matchmaking Patsy and Frank?”
“You saw that, huh? I thought I could do it on the sly.” Belinda looks at me with a spark in her eyes and says, “I couldn’t help myself. Your father is an extraordinarily interesting man, and Patsy is an extraordinarily interesting woman. I think they might be good together.”
“Maybe they would be,” I say, feeling surprisingly hopeful for that. “I love my father to the ends of the earth, but you might want to warn Patsy that he can be stubborn and a bit reckless.”
Belinda smiles. “Extraordinary men are never easy, honey. Patsy knows that. I know my husband seems laid-back and easygoing, and he is most of the time, but he wasn’t always that way.”
“He was as far back as I can remember,” Seth says.
“Where do you think you got your penchant for working every waking hour?” she asks. “Your brain works just like your father’s. When we were raising you kids, he’d stay up until all hours working on projects, analyzing data and the behavior of animals and everything else under the sun.”
“I don’t remember him working late like that,” Seth says.
“That’s because when we lived overseas, you kids wore yourselves out every day, and you’d read yourself to sleep every night.
When we moved back to Ridgeport, you were thirteen and too busy trying to figure out how to conquer the world to worry about what your parents were doing.
I’m not saying your father was alone in his desire to do whatever it took to get his job done.
I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to stay in one spot for hours just to get the right picture. ”
“I do remember that,” Seth says. “Fondly—mostly.”
“It wasn’t easy with a gaggle of kids underfoot, and oftentimes wrangling you kids fell on your father,” Belinda says.
“That’s because extraordinary men need extraordinary women,” his grandmother says, smiling warmly at Belinda.
“Which brings us back to your father, Taylor,” his mother says. “He may be stubborn and even reckless, but he raised two lovely daughters, and that tells us the kind of man he really is.”
“Thank you. My father has had to put up with a lot. Under all that gruffness, he has a big heart, and I want him to be happy. He definitely deserves a lot better than what he got with my mother,” I say honestly.
“Yes, he mentioned something about that,” his mother says. “I’m sorry she wasn’t there for you and Becca. I don’t know if Seth told you or not, but my parents are very conservative, and my relationship with them is troublesome.”
“I told her,” Seth says carefully.
“I thought you might,” she says. “I learned early on not to go to my parents for comfort and support unless I was making decisions they agreed with. They love me, but their support is selective. When Charles and I decided to raise our children less conventionally than they approved of, it led to a rift that never healed.”
Becca’s voice whispers through my mind. The only time she was really happy was when you were talking about traveling with her. “I’m sorry to hear that. I think my mother’s support was selective, too.”
Seth holds me tighter and kisses the top of my head.
Belinda and Lara exchange a glance that tells of years of shared confidences and comfort.
“I know a little something about selective support, too,” Lara says.
“My parents were a piece of work. It took me a very long time to learn that when parents make choices that distance them from their children, it’s not a reflection of who we are.
It’s a window into who they are and the love they’re not able to give. ”
Tears spring to my eyes, taking me by surprise, and I fan my face. “Why does that hit so deep?”
Seth holds me tighter. “Because they understand what it feels like when someone who should protect and love you turns their back on you, and they don’t brush it under the carpet.”
I know he’s thinking like my family does, and he’s right.
“I brushed it under the carpet for a long time,” Belinda says.
“It’s hard not to. The world doesn’t stop for matters of the heart.
I always knew what a mother’s love should look like, which is why I longed for it.
I saw friends with their families and felt the differences.
Then I met Charles, and Lara showed me what a mother’s love should feel like.
I think I mourned that, too, but then I realized how blessed I was to have it from her. ”
My throat thickens as Lara takes Belinda’s hand, then reaches for mine and says, “Gals like us need to stick together.”
Tears slip from my eyes, and right there in the corner of the gallery, the three of us embrace. “We’ve got you, sweetheart,” Belinda says. “And we’ve got Becca if she wants us, too.”
As Seth’s arms circle us, a collective tearful laugh falls from our lips, and in the safety of their embraces, I realize I’ve spent years mourning what I never really had.
Maybe this is what healing feels like. Not trying to fix a broken past but moving toward a future that’s waiting with open arms.
The night winds down, and after the last of the guests leave, we put on our coats and make our way outside.
The snow has eased to flurries, but the city has been transformed into a winter-white wonderland.
Seth and I are staying at the hotel around the corner from the gallery tonight with the rest of our families.
It’s a short walk, and I’m looking forward to it.
I haven’t taken a walk in the snow in forever.
As we gather on the sidewalk, Seth slips his hand into mine, and I notice even my father is smiling.
Charles puts his arm around Belinda and says, “What a night! I’m so proud of you, honey.”
“I still can’t get over how many people showed up, and all that press,” Belinda says.
“It’s well deserved, that’s for sure,” my father says. “I’m glad we were all able to be a part of it.”
“This was an unforgettable night,” Belinda says.
“I’m glad we got to celebrate you tonight, Mom,” Seth says. “It was nice to see other people appreciating your keen eye and hard work.”
We all chime in with agreement as we head down the sidewalk. Seth’s parents lead the way with Sutton and Flynn. His mother glances over her shoulder and says, “Why do I have a feeling there were elves at play tonight?”
As she turns around, I notice Noah and Seth exchanging a mischievous glance, and all at once, they scoop up snow and holler, “Hey, Mom!”
Belinda turns just in time to take a snowball to the shoulder and another to the chest.
I gasp. “Seth! You beaned your mother!”
But Belinda laughs along with the rest of her family. Then she says, “Who do you think taught them to throw?” scoops up a handful of snow, and nails Seth in the chest.
Laughter erupts around me, and mayhem follows in an explosion of snowballs and shrieks.
Wells hits Lara and ducks behind Victory as Bradshaw takes aim.
Seth nails his father, who’s launching a snowball at me.
Seth dives in front of me, taking the hit.
He presses his lips to mine in a quick kiss as his mother takes aim, and I turn, catching it on my back.
Flynn and Sutton peg us all with snowballs rapid fire, and Clay hauls Pepper into a mock-hostage situation, dragging her behind a car to kiss her.
Noah sprints past and pummels them with snowballs, then dives for cover around the back of the car.
My father yells, “Cowabunga!” and nails Becca in the side. She’s in her glory, throwing snowballs and threats in equal measure.
Noah runs onto the sidewalk and throws his hands up. “Time out!”
The rest of us launch snowballs at him, and he gives a dramatic “Oomph,” stumbling backward. We all crack up, and I throw my arms around Seth, his carefree laughter making the night that much better.
“Who’s up for a karaoke club?” Noah hollers.
Someone groans, others say, “No thanks,” and Becca and my father yell, “I’ll go!”
“You two rock,” Noah says, then turns to the rest of us, blue eyes shimmering with excitement. “Come on, fam! When are we all together like this in the Big Apple? Don’t be party poopers!”
As the others exchange glances, Seth turns to me and arches a brow. “What do you say, sweets? Think you can handle round two of Braden family bonding? You, me, and a little singing off-key?”
I smile. “Only if there’s alcohol.”
He laughs and calls out, “We’re in!”
Noah and Becca cheer, and everyone else agrees to go, too.
I press into Seth’s side as we make our way down to the sidewalk and say, “Fair warning. I think I’m falling in love with your family.”
“Good,” he says with a coy smile. “With any luck, it’ll help you fall in love with me, too.”
My heart nearly explodes. As he leans down to kiss me, I say, “Don’t be silly, Mr. Braden. You don’t need luck for that.”