Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY
GREYSON
I’m so damn nervous that I’ve sweated through the light cotton button-down I’m wearing. It’s November, but Mother Nature doesn’t appear to work on a regular calendar because it’s still hotter than a preacher’s collar at a strip club.
Unbelievable. Now I’m sounding like Pops. I need to stop spending so much time with him.
I’m also pissed because I had a whole plan, and now the fucking town is going to ruin it.
We pull up to the front of the house, and Savvy gasps.
“Greyson, what the hell did you do?” She’s gaping at the wheelchair ramp Cian built to the front door.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg though. If she gets pissed about that, what the hell is she going to say about…everything else?
“It was necessary,” I say, then jump out of the car before she can respond.
Braxton meets me at the front of the car as though he was waiting for us. Knowing Madi, she probably texted him as soon as we were close.
“Hey,” he says, looking tired but happy. Madi is due any day now, and I can see the fear etched in the lines around his eyes.
“Hey. I saw what you had set up—”
I slap a hand over his mouth, and his damn eyes twinkle while I spin to make sure Savvy didn’t hear anything.
“Do not say a word.”
He nods, and I lower my hand.
“I was only going to say that we…improved on it. It’s all set and ready to go when the sun goes down.”
Meddlers. They’re all a bunch of nosy do-gooding meddlers.
I don’t get a chance to ask him how the hell he improved on my plan because Madi opens Savvy’s door, and I sprint to cut her off.
That’s my job, damn it.
“I’ve got this, Madi.”
She smirks as though she did it on purpose, then steps out of my way.
I squat beside the car. “Do you want the wheelchair or the walker?” She already had physical therapy today, and sometimes she’s in a lot of pain after.
She winces, and I have my answer. She wants to use the walker but needs to use the chair.
“Never mind. I’ve got it.” I hustle to the back of the SUV and pull out her wheelchair, then I set it beside the passenger door and help her out of the car.
She flinches in pain when I lower her to the seat. “Sorry, baby. We’ll get better at this.”
“What if—what if it’s always this way?” she whispers.
I overheard her talking to the doctor. I know that her biggest fear is that her injuries have caused permanent damage, especially the nerve damage in her spine, but the reality is, it’s too early to know what her new normal will be.
Regardless of what happens, I’ll be here for her. If our family only ever looks like me and Savvy, I’ll be okay with that too because she’s who and what I need to feel whole.
I chose Savvy, and I’ll continue to choose her through each stage of our lives. “It won’t be.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. “But if it is, we’ll figure it out together. I’m in this, Monroe. You’re not going to scare me off with your doomsday fears. Now, are you ready to go see our new and improved home?”
I haven’t abated her fears—a shadow lurks behind her sad eyes—but hopefully the changes Elle and I have made will show her how serious I am.
“I’m ready.” She pouts. She’s so damn cute when she pouts.
“Then let’s welcome you home, sweetheart.” I push her chair up the newly paved driveway, up the ramp, and through our front door.
“Holy shit,” she gasps the moment I get her over the threshold.
Elle has redecorated the entire space to fit the coastal vibe Savvy had at her condo.
Slowly, I push her chair into the family room so she can take it all in.
The couches are a shade of light grayish-green I can’t remember the name of, but they’re huge and make you want to sink into them and never get up. The coffee table is made of old driftwood that Cian pulled from the bay that Moose transformed into a statement piece for the room.
“Everyone helped,” I tell her. I’m thankful that even though I can hear what sounds like a herd of elephants outside, they’re giving us the privacy of this moment.
“You changed your entire house.”
I chuckle. “I did because it’s not my house anymore, it’s ours, and I wanted you to be comfortable here.”
“But you have to live here too. What about what you want?”
“That’s easy. There’s only one thing I want, one thing that can make me happy, and that’s you. The rest of this is just…jewelry.”
“Grey.” It’s a half sob, half gasp as I turn her chair to head to the kitchen. She holds up her hands, silently asking me to wait.
On the far wall are framed photos. Photos of us as children, photos of us together, photos of our friends who have become our family. They’re all positioned at the ends of branches of an iron tree that’s been hung against the wall.
“It’s our family tree. Our family, Monroe, the way we create it.
Elle and I had it made, and sourcing some of the photos wasn’t easy because your friends are a nosy bunch of asses, and it was supposed to be a surprise, but I…
” I pinch the back of my neck. “Well, I thought it was important. This, here, these people, this is our life—our family, and it’s beautiful because we chose it. ”
“Geez, Grey. I wasn’t prepared for this. It’s…it is beautiful and so meaningful. Thank you.”
“We’re not done yet. Want to see the kitchen? We put the elevator back there too.”
She nods, and I wheel her through the house.
“Holy shit,” she blurts when we enter the kitchen. It used to be all dark wood and—Elle said—very masculine-feeling. Now it’s white, and bright, and straight out of a magazine. “Grey, what did you do, completely gut the place? What about Moose? Isn’t he upset?”
“No, he actually helped with almost everything. He wants this to be a family home. He wants us to be happy here. I should also mention that Cian finished the apartment above the new garage, and I’d like Moose to move in there eventually, if that’s okay with you.
He isn’t doing so well on his own anymore. ”
“Yes,” she forces out. “Of course.” Her emotions are getting the better of her. “You shouldn’t have done all this though. Not for me.”
I whirl her chair around, and she makes a startled sound.
“Always for you, Savannah. Always. The sooner you learn that, the better off we’ll both be. You’re not going to come in second anymore. You’re not going to be last on the list, even if that list is your own. You, sweetheart, deserve the world.”
“But.” Tears well in her eyes. “I’m still so fucked-up, Grey.”
“So am I. We’ll be fucked-up together.”
“No, what I mean is, I have a lot of trauma that I still need to work through. A lot of ghosts I need help burying. It isn’t fair for me to ask you to wait while I figure out who I am.”
“Still so stubborn,” I whisper. “You’re not asking me to do anything.
I’m here because it’s where I want to be, end of story.
And I’m so glad you want to talk with someone.
I have a list of the best therapists in the state, but if you don’t like any of them, we’ll keep looking until you find someone you’re comfortable with.
Sage told me that the most important thing is that you’re comfortable. ”
“You…” She frowns, and I feel like I’m messing something up. “You looked into therapy for me?”
Shit. “Just to have in case you wanted to. The doctors suggested it, so I took the initiative, but you’re definitely in the driver’s seat.
You choose whoever you think is best. I’m just here to support you.
And…” I release a heavy sigh that slows my racing heart.
“I’ve been looking for someone for me to talk to as well.
I want us to work, and I want us to be the best versions of ourselves for that to happen. ”
“You want to go to therapy too?”
I shrug. “I know I’m not perfect. Close, but not quite there. If someone can help with that point five percent of myself that’s damaged, it’s worth a try.”
“Humble. Always so humble.”
“I try. Now, the elevator is over here,” I press a button hidden in a panel on the wall, and a moment later, the doors slide open.
“I didn’t even see that there.”
“That’s the point. I wanted it to blend in. Now, do you want to see what we did upstairs, or do you want to go say hi to everyone?”
“Grey?”
“Yes, sweetheart.” I bend at the waist and press my lips gently to hers.
“Thank you…for all of this. It’s completely over-the-top and unnecessary, but I appreciate the effort you put into making this feel like…our home.”
“You will always be worth the effort.”
I kiss her again, and someone clears their throat. I’m about to curse them out when Sage walks into the room.
“Welcome home, Savvy,” he says. “Your visitors are getting anxious to see you. Most of them weren’t allowed to visit you in the hospital because someone was playing bouncer and gave your room a guestlist.” He raises his brows at me, but I simply shrug and look away.
“She was trying to heal.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Her laughter is a balm to my weary soul.
“Because you love me?” There’s no masking the hope in my tone. I sound like a love-starved six-year-old.
“Yes, Grey. Because I love you.”
A loud whoop echoes in the kitchen, and then I realize the sound came from me.
What can I say? I’m a man in love, and I needed to hear her say that more than I realized.
“Now.” She raises a brow in my direction. “Let’s go say hi to our friends.”
“Acquaintances,” I correct. “If they’re not on the wall, they’re acquaintances.”
“Oh my God, Scrooge. Lighten up,” Savvy admonishes. “Everyone in Happiness is a friend.”
They can be friends when they’ve proved themselves worthy. But I know better than to voice that opinion. The way Sage is laughing makes me think he might be a mind reader though.
“Fine,” I grumble. “Let’s go say hi to our friends.”
I squeeze the handlebars of her wheelchair, and she reaches around to press her fingers into mine. “I don’t know if I can ever thank you enough for everything you’ve done, but I do love you, Grey. I’m in love with you, and I think I probably have been since the night we met.”
Lowering myself, I kiss the top of her head. “Me too, Monroe. From first fight to first kiss, and everything in between, you are my true north, and I promise to love you until my last breath.”
She squeezes my fingers again, and then I push her outside to start the first day of the rest of our lives…as one.