Chapter 14 #2
The last thing I want to do is say the wrong thing and scare him away before this has a chance to be anything.
“Ready to eat?” Griffin announces.
Relief floods me that I didn’t need to come up with a reply.
I jump from the stool and lose my footing.
Dallas grips both of my arms to balance me.
His warm palms hold me steady, and I look up at him.
The room stops moving around us, or at least that’s what it feels like.
Everyone who was just here is gone. It feels like it’s just the two of us now.
Not my family, my friends, or Sage. I don’t move, I can’t move.
With every stare, touch, and word out of his mouth, I sink deeper into my feelings.
They fight to reach the surface and for more, while I fight to keep them stuffed.
“Are you good?” he asks.
I nod, looking anywhere but into those captivating brown eyes.
We all move effortlessly around the kitchen island to prepare our plates before bringing them to the oversized table Griffin has set up in his dining room. I feel Dallas’s eyes on me with everything I do.
And I like it.
Dammit. I really like it.
“Can I sit next to Miss Barlow, Daddy?” Sage asks while Dallas follows her with a plate of food for both of them in her hand.
“It’s up to her.”
“Of course you can,” I smile, taking my seat. She sits beside me with Dallas on the other side of her. “And hey, you can call me Poppy while we’re not in school. But only outside of school, okay?”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Thank you, Poppy,” she whispers, cuddling herself into my arm to give me a side hug.
“I love that name. It’s so pretty.” I look down at her and smile.
Sage has imprinted herself in my heart, as all my students typically do, but I think it’s different with her since I’ve been seeing her so much outside of school.
When I lift my head, I find Blair staring at me.
But her face doesn’t tell me she has questions or is ready to scold me.
Her eyes are soft, and they tell me she approves of whatever is happening here.
Little does she know, this is how I am with my students.
I love and protect them as if they were my kids.
But her look only reminds me that he’s not staying here, and that realization sends a sharp pain to my chest.
“Everyone hold hands,” Nan announces. “We’re going to go around the table and say everything we’re thankful for.”
“This isn’t Thanksgiving, Nan,” Griffin grumbles.
“Can’t I be thankful for the people in my life and all of us getting together finally? It’s been too long.”
Griffin rolls his eyes. “And we have to hold hands to do this?”
“God forbid you hold my magical hands.” Tucker rolls his eyes.
Griffin glares at Tucker. “How are we related? Honestly.”
“I have magical hands, too,” Sage chimes in. “I can color with them for hours!”
Tucker’s eyes widen. “Wait, I want to color with you. I love coloring.”
“You would,” Griffin murmurs under his breath.
“I have a coloring table and everything in my room. Daddy set it up for me.”
“Your dad is awesome!” Tucker says, excitedly punching the air before taking Griffin’s hand in his. “Now, hold my hand like you love me, Griffin.”
“Anyway,” Nan draws out. “Let’s begin so we can eat.”
“I’ll start,” Blair says. “I’m thankful for the people around this table right now. Each of you has changed my life in ways I could never begin to thank you for. Finding home here in Bluestone Lakes has become more than expected.”
“I love you, sweetheart,” Griffin says, leaning over and kissing her cheek. “I’m not good with words like you, but I’m thankful for the same thing.”
“Boring,” Tucker drawls out. “I’m thankful for the same thing.”
“I hate you.” Griffin laughs.
“Let me finish. I’m thankful for the people around this table, specifically the Barlows.
You already know I’d be lost without you.
Thank you for opening up your family to me.
I know we’re already family.” Tucker chuckles.
“But now we’re more like brothers and sisters, and I love you guys more than you know. ”
Tucker rarely allows himself to get emotional, but when he does, I want to wrap my arms around him. He had a really rough childhood, and my parents’ taking him in helped him overcome so much. He’s changed.
Nan clears her throat. “I’m going to piggyback on that. I’m not related to a single one of you, but you’ve welcomed me into your lives—except for Griffin most days—and you all have brightened my life more than you know.”
Sappy Nan has a tear ready to form in my eye, but I blink it away.
“We love you, Nan,” Lily says next to her, giving her hand a tight squeeze. “I truly can’t figure out what I’m thankful for. Is it weird to say my bakery?”
“Not at all,” I tell her, squeezing her hand on my side.
“The bakery has given me something to hold onto. Something I’m proud of. Something that has brightened my days and brought me immense joy.”
“It brings us joy, too,” I say.
“Is it my turn?” Sage whispers to me on my opposite side.
“Go for it.”
“I’m very thankful that you all invited me and Daddy here tonight. But I’m very, very thankful for my daddy. He’s the best and gives the best warm hugs, even if he doesn’t know how to braid my hair. He’s my superhero, and I hit the biggest home run with him as my daddy.”
I look up to find Dallas gazing at his daughter with a flat expression. Not quite a smile, but not quite a frown. It seems as if he’s processing this information as if it’s being told to him for the first time.
“I love my daddy the mostest. And Miss Barlow, too. Oop. I mean Poppy,” she adds, facing me. “She loves puzzles just like me. I want to be just like her when I grow up.”
I swallow, fighting the emotions that threaten to reach the surface. Sage had slowly been tugging at my heartstrings, and I believe that just pushed me over the edge.
Lifting my eyes, I find Dallas already looking at me, his expression flat yet filled with so many questions, want, and need. It’s an uneasy feeling to have him looking at me the way he is, without a smile. My stomach nearly bottoms out at the thought, and I instantly feel sick.
Did I do something wrong?
Have I said the wrong thing?
Is he mad at me for her response?
Averting my gaze to my plate, I smile, trying not to show the table that my thoughts are racing or that I feel completely out of control in this situation.
Lily must have caught on just enough that she forced everyone to dig into their food without the need for me to tell everyone what I’m thankful for.
Right now, the answer is her.
Everyone participates in conversations around the sound of forks clicking on plates, while I maneuver mine along the edges of my plate, forcing a smile on my face.
These feelings? These irrational thoughts?
This is exactly what I was afraid of.