Chapter 33 Lucy
THIRTY-THREE
Lucy
Unfortunately, I freeze as I stare at the two picnic tables pushed together and the people starting to gather around them.
Family dinner. Two ominous words.
Anytime I’ve gone to family dinners with other dates, I’ve been grilled and asked about my family, my upbringing, my hopes and dreams, and I think even my bank account number. I have never enjoyed the grilling process.
I know it’s just a thing that families do when they want to get to know someone who’s spending a lot of time with their son. But it’s not like I’ve ever had a lot of great things to say about my family. I’ve always fallen back on talking about Willa. And I guess that’s what I’ll do tonight.
I’m sure there are going to be about one hundred million more questions because not only am I showing up as Miles’s date, but I’m showing up as his wife. This family deserves to ask a hundred questions. I just hope I can answer some of them.
“I got you a plate already!” Ainsley shouts at me as I come closer. “I had to hurry and save you one of those rolls that Mom made because they’re too good. And if Ben gets there before the rest of us, they’ll be gone.”
I walk over to her. She hands me a plate with one roll on it. I glance at her plate—she has two.
“Are we sure he’s the problem?” I ask her.
“Half the problem,” she says, pointing over my shoulder at Miles. “He’s the other problem. And I’m just greedy.”
Miles and Ben, his cousin—thank goodness for those late-night family tree lessons, are in the line that’s forming at the side table set up that connects to a picnic table.
This is not what I pictured with camping. I imagined sad little hot dogs and bone-dry granola bars.
This is practically a seven-course meal. There’s some kind of barbecued meat, rolls, a corn dish, a salad, and two big platters of fruit. Then, at the end, there are some huge chocolate brownies.
They are not roughing it with their camping experience.
“Miles said you would cook hot dogs,” I tell Ainsley.
“That’s because Miles doesn’t trust my cooking skills,” Ainsley mutters.
“Neither do I. Which is why I cooked dinner,” Lillian interjects as she walks by.
“Hey! I bought the groceries!” Ainsley defends herself as she digs into her plate. That pan of rolls are going to go quickly.
Miles sets his plate down next to mine. “I would have gotten you a plate, but Ainsley beat me to it.” Instead, he sets a can of Mountain Dew in front of me.
I smile at his thoughtfulness. “You’re a sweetie, aren’t you?”
“Only for you.” He smiles down at me as he reaches behind me to poke his sister’s shoulder. “Ainsley, you took half the pan of rolls.”
“I could split my extra roll with you, Lucy, if you like them,” Ainsley says reluctantly.
I look at the table. “Well, doesn’t look like we’re going to go hungry. I feel bad for not helping with dinner.”
“Oh, well. We always take turns doing the meals. Dad said you guys are making breakfast tomorrow.”
I laugh at that. “Well, I just found out about that about five minutes ago. But I guess that would explain why we bought so many eggs and bacon at the store the other day.”
She leans over and whispers in my ear, “Are things getting a little domestic over there, Lucy?”
I raise my eyebrows. “Don’t push it.”
“Tempted to spill the beans?”
“I feel like I’ll have to with your family.”
Her smile turns positively evil. “We never fight fair.”
“I’m beginning to suspect that.” I look at the people gathered around. “Who is here?”
I recognize a couple of Miles’s aunts and uncles from the pictures he showed me. There’s another young woman and someone who looks like her boyfriend—or husband?
Ainsley points at her. “That’s our friend Penny. She’s like a sister, but not actually related. We just kind of adopted her into the family. But she’s here to stay.”
Penny looks in our direction and waves, as though she can hear us talking about her. I wave back.
Ainsley continues, pointing at a man in his late twenties.
He looks as though he’s ready for a hike to break out.
“That’s Tuck, the second oldest cousin. Miles holds the oldest title.
Tuck has three little brothers that aren’t here this weekend, which is why it’s so quiet.
And then, over there, is Kelly, Ben, and the baby.
Ben’s a cousin on my mom’s side. Ben’s mom and dad passed away in an accident his senior year of college, so this side of the family has pretty much claimed him, and now Kelly and Penny too.
And then there’s Ellie, Mason, and Chelsea.
That’s Dad’s sister Alice and her husband Chance. ”
My head’s spinning. Though I’ve discussed the family with Miles, it’s still overwhelming. “Is this the whole family, then?”
“Nope. We’ve got two more families coming in the morning. You get to enjoy the normal half tonight.”
“I don’t know why you keep thinking something’s wrong with your family,” I say. “So far, everyone seems really great.”
“We hide it well.”
“Hey, everyone. I’m going to pray before we eat!” Miles’s dad practically yells so everyone can hear him.
He quickly says grace, and then the noise ratchets back up.
“Ainsley, did you get that new kayak you wanted?” someone asks as we all try to find a spot to sit at the picnic tables.
“Ha. No, someone beat me to the marketplace deal. I’ll have to keep looking.”
A car pulls up to the campsite, and a young woman steps out, followed by a man—a boy really.
As they come closer, I realize they are practically children. They have to be around eighteen.
Miles hurries and stands up, greeting the girl with a big hug. I finally realize that it’s his little sister, Karis. The one I met on the video call. I stand up as Miles rests a hand on my shoulder.
“Hi, Karis. It’s great to meet you in real life.” I try to give her a quick hug, but she latches on like a leech.
“I’m still mad you guys had Ainsley in the wedding but not me,” she says, but her smile eases the teasing.
“We’ll try to make it up to you,” Miles promises.
“You’re darn right. I want to be in your guys’ Christmas card this year. Smack dab in the middle.”
“Spoken like a true baby of the family,” Miles mutters.
But Karis just winks at me. “Someone has to keep annoying him.”
“Stop letting Ainsley influence you. I don’t need to be annoyed anymore.” Karis scowls up at him, then motions to the boy next to her. “Lucy, this is Holden my boyfriend.”
Holden reaches a hand out to shake mine, smiling brightly. I like him immediately and the way he and Karis seem so perfectly matched in this five minute encounter. “Nice to meet you. You’ve been the topic of conversation ever since you got married.”
I raise my eyebrows and look at Karis. She shrugs and grins. “Prepare for a million questions. I want to know more about my only sister-in-law. But first I’m hungry.”
Karis turns away to grab some dinner, dragging Holden with her. I get distracted by the text on my phone when I sit down next to Miles.
Krystal: We’ll be coming through Sisters tomorrow around lunch time. Does that timing work for you? Where should we meet?
Me: That works great. Maybe there’s a coffee shop in town or something? Thanks so much for doing this. How has the drive been?
Krystal: It was great until Alexander snuck into my Cheetos bag. He’s had horrible gas ever since.
Me: Nasty. I’m so sorry. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow!
I slide my phone toward Miles and lean close so he can hear me over the raucous noise level of his family. “Would it work to pick up my dog around this time?”
“Of course. We can go anytime you need to,” he answers.
“Thanks, sugar lips,” I say with a grin.
He leans close and whispers, “I think that makes you spicy lips.”
I feel my cheeks flush, and I turn my attention back to my plate before I do something silly…like lean over and kiss my husband.
We stayed up late talking with Miles’s family and were the last ones to head to our tent. Inevitably, we couldn’t just stay out by the fire all night long.
Because I didn’t want to get eaten by a bear.
After Miles walked me to the bathroom, which luckily had electricity and even some showers, we started back to the tent like we were walking to our execution.
Miles unzipped the tent flap and we stared inside.
The air mattress is decidedly smaller than Miles’s bed.
Like infinitely smaller.
“Maybe I’ll climb in first so I don’t launch you off the air mattress,” Miles says as he takes off his shoes and bends down to crawl into the tent. I don’t think it’s even big enough for him to stand up in.
He rolls over and lays his head on his pillow while lying on top of the sleeping bag.
“You should probably crawl inside of it. I don’t want you to get cold,” I suggest.
“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he whispers.
I kick off my shoes and climb in after him. The air mattress shifts beneath my weight as I try to get into the sleeping bag.
“The fact that you’re worried about making me uncomfortable makes me feel completely safe with you.” I pull the sleeping bag up to my chin, and Miles sighs and rolls around until he’s under the cover with me.
Reaching for the zipper on the doorway, I pull it closed, sealing us into the tiny tent.
I yelp when I feel his arm around my waist, pulling me toward him.
“What are you doing?” I demand, forgetting to whisper. Hopefully, I don’t wake up the sleeping baby a couple of tents away.
Miles is hovering directly above me and still moving. “I’m trying to sleep by the door.”
We’re a tangle of limbs and a flurry of, “Ouch,” as we switch places.
“Why do you have to be by the door?” I ask as we finally untangle, and I flop back against his pillow.
“This way, I can scare the bears away.” He chuckles.
“I think you’re having way too much fun teasing me.” I sigh and relax into the mattress…and my body rolls to the middle of the bed, bumping against Miles.
Every time I move, I end up rolling right back into him, my face smashing into his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble and try to scoot away.
“At this point, you might as well not try to fight it,” he whispers quietly.
“Does it bother you, having someone pressed up next to you?”
“You don’t bother me.”
And so, we lie there in silence, arms pressed against each other. The heat radiating from him helps to warm the entire tent.
Sleep is an elusive beast while I listen to my heart pound.
“Tell me a secret,” I whisper.
Miles sighs and reaches his outside arm up to tuck his hand behind his head. “I’d like to get out of Kappa Holdings and work more full-time with my dad and his business.”
I lean on an elbow. “Really?”
“Yeah, kind of embarrassing to be a quitter.”
“There are seasons of life that come and go. Maybe your Kappa Holdings season is coming to a close.”
He turns and looks at me. “I haven’t said anything to Kingston.”
“Are you worried he’ll be mad?” I really don’t know my sister’s boyfriend very well.
“I don’t want to leave him in a tough spot. Believe it or not, I actually do some work there.” He laughs dryly. “And he’d need someone willing to buy in and take ownership. I can’t just leave him hanging.”
“If you had a solution, would you feel like you could leave?” I ask.
“In a heartbeat.” He sighs. “Dang, it feels good to say it. You’re the first person I’ve talked about this with.”
Something warm flows through my chest, like I’ve been entrusted with the secret of a lifetime, and I need to handle it with care. “Well, I’m honored. And I have your solution.”
“I suck it up and keep showing up to work?”
I giggle. “No.”
“Then what is it?”
“Thea.”
One word, and his entire body tenses. I wish I could see his face. Maybe my idea is all wrong. It was the first thing that popped into my head as a solution.
“What about Thea?”
“Would she be interested in buying out your half of the company? Every time I talk to her, she goes on and on about what’s happening there and the projects she’s working on. She really seems to like it.”
Miles shifts onto his side and props an arm up to lean his head on. “You’re a genius. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because not everyone can be as smart as me,” I reply.
Miles flops back, jarring the air mattress as his head hits the pillow. “Good thing I locked you in while I could.”
I snuggle back under the sleeping bag. “You’re a good man, Miles. Thanks for sharing your secret.”
It’s all quiet except for our breathing. Miles’s breaths are longer and deeper than mine.
“Tell me a secret.” His voice cuts through the silence.
I suck in a quick breath as I think.
He just told me something he hasn’t told anyone else. So, I return the favor. “The student loan that I’m paying back? It’s Willa’s, not mine.”
“What?” His voice is a little sharp.
“When I went to college, I had gotten a full-ride scholarship. When it was time for Willa to go…she didn’t have that.
And my parents were nowhere around, so she decided she would just not go because she didn’t know how she could pay for it.
So, I lied. I told her she’d been randomly selected for a full-ride scholarship because of her community service hours at the high school. ”
“She never looked into it?” he asks.
“I sent her some emails from a fake account. I just copied a lot of the scholarship letters I had received.” It’s the sneakiest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I justified it by telling myself it was to help Willa.
“And you took on a student loan for her?” Miles sounds incredulous.
“Turns out, when you know someone’s Social Security number and birth date, you can sign up for all sorts of things.”
“Why would you do that for her?” he asks softly.
“She was young and scared. She’d known since she was fifteen that she wanted to go to business school. I wasn’t going to let my parents ruin that for her.”
Miles rolls to his side and reaches an arm over my middle, tugging me toward him in a hug. “You’re amazing, Lucy. I don’t know anyone else who is as kind and strong as you are.”
“I don’t feel very strong sometimes,” I whisper back.
“That’s okay. I’ve got you.”
And my last thought before I fall asleep in Miles’s arms is that I wish this marriage were real.