24. Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter twenty-four
Peter
Edith was beside herself with excitement about Thanksgiving coming up. Her family was coming in to celebrate, but she also invited Quinn, Lukas, Phil, Chelsea, Cole, and me to join them.
“I want all my kids here to spoil at once.”
I smirked. “You spoil us every day, Edith.”
She waved off my comment. “Pish posh. Holiday spoiling is different. Speaking of different, is there someone you wanted to invite to join us?”
“No. It’ll just be me.” Just like every year.
Edith pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes on me. “It will be different next year.”
“If you say so.”
Thanksgiving dinner was served in the Reading Room of the lodge. It was a loud, cozy affair, and it was not nearly as awkward as I thought it was going to be.
Until dinner was over, and people started slipping off to play games.
No one intentionally said anything, but it’s how things happened.
I’d had enough small talk for a bit, so I slipped out to the lobby and sat in one of the oversized chairs near the fireplace.
Frank had made sure both the fireplace in the Reading Room and the lobby were well-stocked and going all day, and I was grateful for it.
There was something very peaceful and soothing about the dancing flames and the heat. It was nice being able to enjoy the silence. Some people needed company, but I was fine on my own.
Just like them.
My thoughts went to Hummingbird, and I felt the need to check in.
Shield:
Hummingbird:
I chuckled.
Shield:
Hummingbird:
A deep sigh came out.
Shield:
We spent the next few minutes talking about what animals we would and would not want as pets, and I loved how easily the conversation flowed. We both were fans of smaller pets that typically stayed in a cage or a tank.
Edith eventually poked her head out of the doors of the Reading Room, smiling when she saw where I was sitting. “There you are. I was wondering where you had disappeared to.”
I shrugged. “It’s peaceful out here.”
She glanced at the phone in my hand. “Please tell me you aren’t working.”
“Not directly.”
“Oh?” her brow arched. “Peter Alexander Grant, it is a holiday. Even Lukas isn’t working right now.”
He also has Quinn. I let out a sigh. “I was checking in on a friend.” When Edith narrowed her eyes at me, I glanced around, relieved to find the foyer empty. “A certain bird.”
She inhaled sharply. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded. “Oh yeah. I was checking in, and then we got to talking about pets.”
The worried expression melted into a pleased grin. “I’m glad to hear it. Well, I don’t want to pull you away from anything, but I am serving dessert, and I know how much you like my molasses cookies and chocolate cream pie.”
“I could go for something sweet.” After sliding my phone into my pocket, I stood up and followed Edith back to where everyone else was hanging out.
Hummingbird
I hadn’t expected Shield to get so chatty on Thanksgiving, but I wasn’t upset about it.
If anything, it put a smile on my face. The conversation was a much-needed distraction that kept me from being sad the entire day.
He had become the closest thing I’d had to a real friend in a very long time, and I loved it.
It was comforting. It felt like a slice of normal.
He’d even teased me about saving a piece of the chocolate cream pie for me, insisting that I needed to try some of it when Momma E eventually made her way to me.
Edith definitely had something to say about it when she came over a couple of days later. We were barely in the basement when she started in.
“So, I heard you and Shield were getting chatty the other day.”
I grinned and nodded. “We did. It was nice to have a completely normal conversation on a holiday.”
Edith tipped her head slightly, intrigued. “Oh?”
“Tech checks in when he can, but I know if he’s on Lynette’s crew somewhere, he’s a busy guy.
And then there’s his lovely lady occupying his time, as she should.
You and Lynette chat as often as you can, but you are also successful, busy businesswomen.
I’m not saying Shield isn’t a busy man, but being single and having regular off hours definitely facilitates things. ”
She gave me a surprised look. “How do you know he’s single?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not like that, Edith, and you know it. I asked if he had a plus one, and he said no. We talked about pets after that.”
The older woman chuckled. “He was also very adamant that I bring you some dessert.”
“Why?” I was curious what reason he’d given her.
She shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I know it’s his favorite. I also brought all the other delights from my table. You hungry?”
“For your food? Famished!”
“Perfect.”
It took several minutes, but while Edith plated and warmed everything, I set the small table, opting to bring out the one tablecloth I had on hand.
We settled in, enjoying an absolutely delicious lunch, and toasted Derek’s memory. I’d been sad on Thanksgiving proper, shedding more than a few tears, but today I was okay. It may have had something to do with all the comfort food in front of me and having Edith here.
After eating, she insisted on doing the dishes, despite my protests.
“You not only made all the food, but you brought it out here, too. The least I can do is clean up.”
She shook her head and shooed me off to the couch. “Nonsense. Let me spoil my hummingbird.”
I let out a deep sigh as I sank into the couch, pulling the crocheted blanket from Lynette over me. “Do you think I’m ever going to be able to ditch the fake name?”
“I hope so, my dear, and soon. Lynette keeps hinting at a plan she’s cooking up, but we both know she won’t give up any details until she can guarantee it can happen.”
“Fair enough.”
While Edith cleaned up our lunch, we chatted about Christmas decorations at the lodge, and how some of her employees were already talking about where and how to expand the decor this year. “Those girls are something else, and I love them dearly.”
I chuckled at the lovingly irritated look in Edith’s eyes. “They sound like the kind of people I’d love to hang out with.”
Pride beamed from her face as she looked over at me.
“You would absolutely love these two women. For so many reasons.” Edith blinked away tears that had started to gather and let out a wistful sigh.
“I would have pulled you out of this house for Thanksgiving if things were different. You would have loved it. I would have loved it.”
Silence fell between us as I thought about celebrating Derek’s favorite holiday with anyone other than him.
It wasn’t long before Edith walked to one of the bags she brought with her and pulled out a shiny green gift bag. “Lynette wanted you to have this.”
I took it from her hands and looked inside, breathing in a surprised gasp when I saw crochet supplies. There were ten skeins of yarn in at least three different colors. “What’s all this for?”
“Lynette was pleased with how much you loved her blanket and wanted to give you the tools to try making one of your own.”
I smirked at the gift bag of goodies. “She knew exactly what she was doing, giving this to me.” If my hands were busy, my mind would be less chaotic. I reached out and laid my hand on my blanket as I remembered it was how Lynette made it through the days at the hospital at George’s side.
If it worked for her…
“What do you think you’ll make first?”
I let out a slow breath as I thought. “I don’t know. I don’t think it will be a blanket, though. It might be good to start with something smaller first. Like maybe a potholder? If that goes well, maybe I’ll work my way up to a scarf?”
Edith chuckled. “That’s what Lynette gave to the twins’ significant others the first Christmas they were around. I think she’s planning on doing that for her crew, too. I can’t say it’s not practical.”
I loved when Edith would talk about my other family so openly. It made me feel less distanced from them. Glancing down at the blanket, a thought popped into my head. “I wonder how many years you have to be around to get a blanket.”
She traced some of the patterns in the rows, smiling. “You should ask her later.”
All too soon, Edith declared she had to head out if she wanted to get back to the lodge before it got too dark. It wasn’t until I had returned from taking her back to where she had parked and made myself a mug of tea that I realized just how much food she’d brought over for me.
I love that woman.
I was reading one of Derek’s favorite books when a message came through, startling me.
Shield:
Shield:
Hummingbird:
Shield:
Hummingbird:
Shield:
I couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on my face.
Hummingbird:
Shield:
Hummingbird:
Shield:
Hummingbird:
I smiled at how thoughtful he was. It reminded me again of something Derek would do, bringing a few tears to my eyes.
Oh, Derek. You’d really like this guy.
As predicted, during the storm, several of my alarms went off from flying bits of debris or wildly moving branches. I was fine until one of the camera feeds went black. My phone almost immediately lit up.
Tech:
Hummingbird:
Tech:
Hummingbird:
Tech:
Hummingbird:
Tech:
Yet again, I felt better knowing that even though I was alone on this little plot of land in the middle of nowhere, I had two people actively watching it and me.
I had settled back into reading my book when a message popped up.
Shield:
Hummingbird:
Shield:
I snickered.
Hummingbird:
Not considering I was the one who blew down my last house.
The next morning alarms woke me again, sending me launching out of bed with far too much adrenaline pumping through my veins. When I made it to my monitors and saw it was ‘only’ Shield arriving, I let out a shaky breath and sank into the chair.
Talk about a wake-up call.
I rested my head on the desk for a minute, taking several calm, even breaths before sitting up and looking at the camera feeds again.
Shield was walking around the property, a small backpack slung over his shoulder.
It didn't take long for him to enter my blind spot, and all I could do was hope and pray he didn’t get hurt.
To distract myself, I dove back into the book I’d been reading again, and several chapters later, there was static on the disconnected feed and then a visual of the woods.
That was fast.
“Well, all the wires are connected and that light he told me about lit up. I hope this is working now.”
I grinned when I heard Shield’s voice through the speakers. Without thinking, I leaned forward and tried adjusting the angle of the camera.
“What the… God, I hope someone is doing that on purpose.”
I adjusted the camera up and down, hoping he caught the nod.
Shield chuckled. “Hello Hummingbird or Tech. I need whichever of you is moving things to stop for a second so I can finish tightening a few screws without having to worry about getting my fingers pinched.”
Chuckling, I put my hands in my lap, only for the screen on my phone to light up.
Tech:
Hummingbird: < Yeah… I didn't even think about him still having his hands in there. :( <
Several minutes later, the image on the screen shook.
“Sorry about that. Just making sure the straps are secure.”
The image wiggled a little more, but far less this time.
“That's better. It’s going to take a lot more than a branch to hurt this one.”
Seconds later, Shield was in front of the camera, staring right into it, and nodding.
“Yep. Looks good. You two can adjust to your heart’s content.
” With a little salute, he walked out of frame again, only to reappear a minute later with his backpack slung over his shoulder, walking away from the camera.