Chapter 17 Gracie #2
She was right. Adrenaline dumping hard, Gracie said goodbye and headed toward the main lodge road, needing to get out of the woods.
She didn’t want to pass Cabin Two again—but it was much faster and safer that way.
The curved path forced her right past the front porch…
where light spilled from the open doorway.
He’d left the door open—that was encouraging. He would risk freezing rather than be alone with Bianca.
Voices drifted into the night, both strained, then she spotted their silhouettes in the doorway.
Gracie moved carefully behind a clump of shrubs and pines, hidden in shadow again. How many times had she reprimanded Benny for eavesdropping on conversations?
Many. At least he came by it honestly, since she had no intention of not listening to this.
She stayed perfectly still and narrowed her eyes to concentrate on hearing the words that floated through the chilly night. Whatever they were saying, she was invested enough in Marshall that she had to know. She had to.
Bianca stood in the open doorway, arms folded tight across her chest, her breath fogging in angry bursts.
Marshall stood just inside, still barefoot but he’d pulled on a sweatshirt. Even from here, he looked braced, his shoulders tense.
“…just hear me out,” Bianca pleaded. “I know I made mistakes. I know I wasn’t perfect. I know I—I messed things up. But things can be different now.”
Marshall exhaled, patient but wary. “Bianca…”
“No, Marshall, please.” She stepped closer, sounding desperate. “Olivia deserves both her parents under the same roof. Don’t you think she does? Don’t you think she misses that? Don’t you think she needs that?”
Gracie’s heart twisted painfully. Playing the Olivia card was just not fair. Everyone knew that child was Marshall’s weakness. He’d do anything to protect and love her.
“I love you, Marsh,” she continued, undaunted by Marshall’s lack of response. Or maybe encouraged by it—he wasn’t telling her no or please leave or we shouldn’t even be talking.
He just stood, strong and stone silent.
Gracie dug deep into her soul and tried to decide how to feel about that. Trusting. She wanted to trust him. If she was ready to fall in love with the guy, she had to trust him. Starting right this minute.
“I never stopped loving you!” Bianca wailed. “The divorce was a huge mistake. My choices were…can we just say it? Stupid! Foolish! Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance? Especially the mother of your daughter! The woman you swore to honor and cherish till death do we part?”
But she’d cheated on him!
Gracie bit back her response, blood pumping as hard as it had when she thought Bigfoot was on her tail.
“I’m so serious, Marshall. I’m yours. I love you. I’ll never hurt you again.” The sincerity and crack in her voice—fake or not—was powerful. Bianca rarely sounded vulnerable, but she did now. “I will even go to church with you, Marsh! Like you always asked. I will. I promise!”
Whoa, she was pulling out all the stops now. And how would he react?
A long moment passed and Gracie held her breath.
“Bianca.” Marshall stepped all the way outside, easing Bianca further out onto the porch. “Listen to me.” His voice was quiet, steady, and just forceful enough that Gracie could listen, too.
“What, honey? Anything.”
“Nothing you say or do will change my mind,” he said. “You are Olivia’s biological mother, and, for that reason, you will be in the outer space of my life as long as she is, which will be forever.”
“Outer space?” Bianca choked. “What does that mean?”
“That means I don’t want you close to me.”
Gracie let out a stunned exhale.
“Olivia and I are happy here. We’re building a life. And I’ve met someone very, very special.”
The blood thumped too hard in Gracie’s ears for her to hear Bianca’s response—but she didn’t need to. What she said didn’t matter. But Marshall? That mattered.
“The truth is,” he continued. “I’m falling in love.”
Gracie’s knees nearly buckled. She grabbed a nearby branch for balance and felt tears sting her eyes while a clump of snow meandered down her wrist, icy and frozen.
“In love?” Bianca sputtered. “With…with that redheaded bakery girl?”
Gracie fought a laugh that she heard Marshall let out.
“If you mean Gracie McBride, yes,” he said, his voice warm and proud.
“She’s not in your league,” Bianca scoffed.
“She’s way beyond it,” he fired back.
“What could you possibly see in her? She’s scared of her own shadow, blushes if you look sideways, and never fights for you. Have you noticed?”
He laughed again. “Have I noticed that she’s classy, sensitive, and puts other people first? Yes.” He paused, emotion thickening his voice. “I’ve noticed that she’s an incredible mother and a successful business owner and a loving daughter and…and…beautiful inside and out.”
Gracie didn’t know whether to faint with happiness or hold still and listen to the next heartfelt compliment. He really saw her like that?
“And I plan to spend the rest of my life with her,” he said, his sweet words floating on the cold air right into her heart. “She just doesn’t know it yet.”
She absolutely couldn’t breathe.
“By this time next year, I hope we’ll be engaged if not already married.”
A tiny, involuntary sound escaped Gracie’s throat as she stumbled backwards, a twig snapping under her boot.
Bianca shrieked and jumped behind Marshall. “It’s the bear! It’s back!”
Marshall gently peeled her off. “Bianca. There is no bear.”
He frowned and peered into the darkness, where Gracie froze, lungs locked.
If he saw her here—eavesdropping—she’d die on the spot. So much for classy and beautiful. How about meddlesome and insecure?
Gracie stayed rooted in the shadows, silent and still.
Bianca stomped her foot. “You can’t do this to me!” she cried. “I need you! I’m pregnant!”
Marshall jerked backwards. “What?”
“I am but I want you to be the father!”
He choked a laugh. “Well, I’m not and you know it.” He shook his head. “At least now I know your secret agenda.”
“It could work, Marshall. It could—”
“No, Bianca. You need someone else, but it’s not me. It’ll never be me. But I’m praying for you and will always be there if you need something, but it won’t be my life or heart. Is that clear?”
Red was right! Gracie pressed her hand to her chest, watching Bianca take a few steps backwards and hold up her hands in surrender.
“You know what? You’re right. I should go. In fact, I should leave altogether.”
He didn’t argue.
“Yep, I’m done. Done. I don’t need to be here for Christmas morning. Olivia doesn’t care. It’s all Benny and Gracie and all these dumb mountain people who live in the snow! I’ll Uber to the airport in the morning. Enjoy the bears! Hope one doesn’t get me on the way back!”
With that, she spun and marched down the lodge road toward her cabin, grumbling under her breath.
Marshall watched her go, shoulders sagging a little. Then he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, sighing into the cold. Finally, he retreated into the cabin and closed the door, the light going out instantly.
Gracie stood perfectly still until Bianca disappeared around the bend, then another full minute just to let all his beautiful words replay in her mind.
Classy…sensitive…successful…incredible. And her personal favorite: I plan to spend the rest of my life with her…she just doesn’t know it yet.
Well, she knew it now. And what would a shy, introverted, slightly-overwhelmed-by-life girl do with that information? Sleep on it? Share it with her mother and cousin? Or…
She stepped out from behind the tree, her heart thundering as she carefully walked directly to the cabin. She climbed the two steps and stood in front of the door, hand raised, ready to knock.
She knew one thing—if she did this, she’d never go back. This was do or die. Life with Marshall Hampton would begin right now at dawn on Christmas morning and they—
The door whipped open. “I told you to—”
Gracie launched herself forward and kissed him. She grabbed his head, held him steady, and gave every ounce of pent-up love and longing and hope into one toe-curling, soul-stealing, life-changing kiss.
When she broke away, breathless and snow-dusted, she whispered, “This time next year?”
“You were listening,” he said, chuckling into another kiss.
“Yes, sir, I was. I’m the bear who heard every word.”
He drew back, his brows lifting. “And?”
“And I like the way you think, Marshall Hampton.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again as the snow whispered softly around them and Christmas morning crept quietly into the mountains.