Chapter 26
You'll Never Walk Alone
Once they were back at the farm, Mara and Seth headed to the inn’s kitchen. Their happy place. Well, one of them, anyway.
Seth grabbed some cider from the fridge while she scrounged in the freezer for snacks.
They’d grabbed Ginny’s cinnamon buns for the group while they were in town, but they’d save those for later.
Maybe even for the morning because the kitchen smelled like heaven.
Gray’s lasagna sauce simmered on the stove, and the scent nearly made her drool.
There was also bread rising and the distinctive smell of genettis in the air.
The delicious Italian cookies would be a welcome treat.
She sighed as she sat. “I need to call my dad and my brothers, let them in on what happened last night.”
“Good idea. How do you handle a video chat with that many people?”
She grinned. “The squares get very, very small when you’re using a phone. It’s better on a tablet.”
“Want me to grab yours from your room?”
She nodded her thanks. The meeting with Marcus had drained her more than she’d expected. Or maybe she still wasn’t quite over the previous night.
She texted Ford, letting him know she was talking to the group. He replied that he’d come to the inn to do the chat with her.
With a deep breath, she composed her text to the family chat. We had an incident last night I’d like to tell you all about. I’m fine, but it’s too complicated to text. Fifteen minutes in a video chat?
By the time Seth returned with her tablet in one hand and Fritter in the other, everyone had given her a thumbs-up on the phone. She rarely asked for a group chat, so she imagined she’d piqued their curiosity.
Fritter yowled and leapt into her lap, making her smile. Seth ran his hand down her hair and sat beside her. “Are they all in?”
She nodded. “Ford’s coming up to do it with us. I’m sorry it’ll be so many at once. We’re a lot.”
Seth grinned. “No problem.”
Ford and Jolie entered through the back door, while Amber, Gray, and Boomer came in from the dining area. Gray moved to the stove, while Amber smiled at them. “I’m glad you’re home. How was the visit with Marcus?”
Mara blew out a breath. “More emotional than I expected.”
Boomer sniffed at Fritter, and the cat snuggled his snout. Amber patted her dog’s head. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Tears misted, but Mara blinked them back. She’d shed far too many recently. “I’m good. Thanks. We’re going to video call my family.”
Amber’s eyes softened. “Good idea. That’s going to be a very crowded screen.”
Gray turned from where he was assembling the lasagna. “I can leave this for a bit if you want privacy.”
She smiled. “It’s okay. We’re not used to much privacy in our house. If it’s okay with you, I’d like my family to see that everything here is okay. That we’re coping, and I’m surrounded by friends and my bonus family.”
Seth’s arm squeezed her. “Good idea.”
Amber smiled. “We’ll be mostly quiet for you, but if you need us to leave, please tell us.”
If she wanted privacy, all she had to do was go to her room to place the call. But she wanted this instead. Wanted her dad and brothers to see for themselves that her friends were kind and protective.
Ford and Jolie squeezed in to be on screen with her and Seth, and her brother hugged her. “I’m glad you thought of this. It’ll make it easier to tell them at once and let them see that you’re good.”
It was still going to be hard. She placed the call, and her father logged in first. “Hi, Dad.”
His eyes studied her closely, looking for evidence of injuries. “You’re okay?”
She nodded, focusing on the way Seth’s fingers drew circles on her shoulders, keeping them connected, and lending her his strength.
Her dad looked at Seth. “You too, son?”
Seth nodded. “We’re good, James.”
Her brothers popped up in quick succession. Like her dad, they all looked her over and then checked in with Seth.
There were no happy to meet you comments. She thought for a moment they were being rude, but then it clicked. “You’ve talked to them before today?”
Seth nodded. “Sure.”
Sure? Her eyes returned to the screen to find all the men smiling at her like they’d pulled off a good one on her.
Sam grinned. “Seth called us all over the past few days. Wanted to introduce himself.”
Mara turned back to Seth. “You did?”
His eyes softened as he smiled at her. “Of course. They’re your family. Most of them are great.”
There were immediate protests of laughter over the line as they pointed fingers at each other, trying to decide who wasn’t great.
Mara laughed and turned to brush her lips over Seth’s. “Thank you. You’re pretty great yourself.”
Cries of ick and ewww and watch it, that’s our sister filled the room, making everyone laugh.
She grinned at them all and then kissed Seth for real.
When she turned back to the screen, every face was happy. He’d already won them over. No small feat when faced with so many.
Her dad’s eyes turned serious. “Tell us what happened.”
Mara nodded, but it was Seth who spoke first. “When I was overseas, a man on my team was killed when an IED exploded. His brother came to the farm to get revenge. He tried to hurt Mara.”
Seth’s voice was tight, filled with sorrow, so she squeezed his hand. “It wasn’t your fault. None of it.”
Her family echoed her words, and Seth nodded. “I’m getting that, but it’ll take a while to really believe it.”
Her dad’s solemn eyes looked into the screen.
“I haven’t served, but we’ve all been through something.
When Kerry died, it was like half of our family had been ripped away—half our hearts.
The guilt of not spotting signs of cancer earlier will always be with me, but I know it was an aggressive kind that wasn’t anyone’s fault.
You’ll get there, Seth. It gets easier to live with. ”
Mara hadn’t heard her dad talk about her mom’s cancer that way, and she wished he were closer so she could hug him.
“Neither of you is to blame. You’ve always been the best parent anyone could ask for, Dad.
And you’d be so proud of how Seth spoke with Blake yesterday.
His compassion for the man’s pain helped keep everyone safe, and is helping Blake heal, too. ”
That caused more questions until her dad whistled. “It's probably easier if you tell us the story from the beginning.”
She nodded and told it all from waking up in the dark, to her escape attempts, to a device being taped to her, to Seth coming and saving her.
Seth kissed her hair. “Actually, it was mostly Mara who talked him down. She told Blake what she knew about Maki, about what he would want for his brother. And that we’d named a chicken after him.”
“A chicken?” All her brothers echoed the question.
Seth explained how that had come to happen, and how they thought Maki would get a kick out of it.
Tate shook his head. “And not even one bird is named after your brothers? Some sister you are.”
She laughed. “When we grow the flock, we’ll name the scaredy-chicken after you.”
Laughter exploded from everyone.
Over the next thirty minutes, she answered their questions, and they met the rest of the group.
Nash, Olivia, and the kids walked in the back door. Charlie grinned. “Smells fantastic.”
Gray thanked him. “You want to help with the garlic sticks I’m making?”
“Sure. Wait. Who are all those people on the screen, Mara?”
Mara waved him over. “Hi Charlie, I’d like you to meet my dad and my brothers.”
Charlie’s eyes roved over the screen, and he looked at her, eyebrows high. “You have that many brothers? Plus Ford?”
She laughed, and the gang introduced themselves, obviously charmed by Charlie and his million questions.
Again, the desire for a child with Seth filled her up. A glance at him showed his eyes glowing, and she hoped he was thinking along the same lines.
When Charlie bounced away to help Gray, she turned back to her family. Her dad watched her and Seth speculatively. Then he grinned. “Thanks for telling us the entire story this time.”
She flushed and rolled her eyes. “There was actually something to tell this time.”
Clark leaned in. “There was something last time, too. Glad to see the asshole’s reviews have tanked. His new baker isn’t working out either, so maybe we don’t have to visit New York.”
Horror ran through her. “You can’t do that. And you wonder why I didn’t tell you.”
The eye rolls on the screen were almost in sync. Nate grinned. “Anyone who hurts you deserves what he gets, but you handled yourself, kid.”
That brought nods, and Dan added. “Now you have backup. Between Seth, Ford, and the rest of your group up there, we know you’re safe. That’s all we want.”
Another round of nods.
Ford pulled her in for a hug. “We’ve got her.”
Seth nodded. “We do. Always.”
The gazes all turned to Seth, evaluating the words and the intent behind them.
Mara waved her hands at them. “Stop. All of you. I can take care of myself.”
Her dad smiled. “We know, but we’re all glad you’ve got such excellent backup. What will happen with Blake?”
Mara nodded at Seth for him to answer. “He’s facing a lot of charges, but we’re hoping to help downgrade them. Mara and I are going to write a letter explaining that we want him to get help to deal with it all, and that we hope they’ll let him do more community service and less jail time.”
Her dad’s smile grew. “That proves you’re both compassionate people. The man is lucky to have your support after what he did.”
Mara shrugged. “When we know the reason why he did it, it’s easier to feel sad for him. He’s a good man who took a very wrong turn.”
They talked for a few more minutes, and then her dad smiled. “Love you, Mara. Keep in touch. Same with you, Seth.”
A flurry of goodbyes later, she sank back into her chair.
Ford hugged her again, and then he and Jolie stood to help with the food. She leaned into Seth. “Thanks.”
He laughed. “You’ve got a great family.”
She nodded. “I know, but they can be a lot.”