Chapter 39
Braxton
The door opens as soon as I pull into the driveway, and Gracie steps through it.
She’s styled her honey-brown hair into loose curls, half of it pinned back, and a sundress dances playfully around her thighs.
There’s a bright smile on her face, and I cut the engine, the air freezing in my lungs as our eyes lock.
I never thought she would look at me like this again, like I am someone worthy of her smiles.
The last few weeks have been a revelation in what I lost over the last eight months.
I knew, but having Gracie let me back into her life really hammered it home, making me even more aware of how I self-destructed us.
This chance Gracie’s giving me…It feels delicate, like I could crush it in my fist with barely a thought. But I won’t screw it up. Not when I know what the world feels like without her love. Not when I know the feeling of watching her with another man, giving him the smiles she used to give me.
It’s taken me a lot of reflection—and talks with Stevie—to come to terms with the role Nolan played in Gracie’s life and her healing after the damage I wrought.
It might always be a sticking point for me, but I don’t hold Gracie’s choices against her…
Not when she made them because I tore the rug, floor, and foundation all out from under her feet.
Her brow creases, her smile dimming, making me realize how long I’ve been sitting here, unmoving.
I swallow past the tightness in my throat and get out of the truck, reaching back for the bouquet of daffodils, irises, and tulips.
I keep the flowers low by my side as I round the hood, Gracie stepping down the front walk to meet me.
“Hey—” Her words cut off when she catches sight of the flowers, her eyes widening. “You got me flowers?”
“Happy birthday, Rumpel,” I murmur. “You look fucking fantastic.” I press the flowers into her hands, smiling when she immediately puts them to her face, inhaling deeply. “I figured not many people buy the florist flowers. Bridget helped me.”
Gracie’s still staring at the flowers, her lashes hiding her eyes. A beat passes, another, and then her head slowly lifts, wet eyes shining as she looks at me. “Thank you.” Her voice is husky with emotion, and, careful of crushing the bouquet, I loop my arms around her waist and pull her into me.
“No tears,” I grumble. “Otherwise, I’ll take them back.”
She lets out a choked giggle. “I don’t think anyone has ever gotten me flowers before.”
“A mistake I’ll keep rectifying,” I tell her. “But I was thinking something more permanent might be in order.”
“More permanent?” she asks curiously.
I nod, humming thoughtfully, a hand stroking down her back, keeping her tucked in close. “I was thinking I could get you a plant or a tree.” I turn my head to the side, eyes on the house.
“I love that idea,” Gracie murmurs, and I turn to look at her, catching her trembling lip before she sucks it between her teeth.
She looks like she wants to say more, but she doesn’t need to.
I know exactly what the idea of permanence means for her, even when it’s my fault that she thought she lost it in Sterling Creek.
Bitter regret tries to crawl into my chest. Even after being in the house for months, Gracie still hasn’t felt comfortable enough to plant anything. Not when she worries that one day, it might all be taken from her.
I did that to her. I gave her trust and security, and I tore it away from her—first with Paisley, and then with the house.
Not wanting her to linger on past hurts, I brush a strand of hair behind her ear before brushing a whisper of a kiss against her lips. “Let’s put your flowers in water. We need to get going if we want to make our reservations.”
Gracie stares out the window at the familiar building, her lips tilting up. “Benson’s, huh?” She turns to give me a smirk. “And you made reservations?”
I grin, and the playful suspicion in her eyes deepens. “It’s not anything fancy, but you can’t beat the nachos.” She shrugs, conceding the point, and I add, “Mom and Dad should already be inside.”
Gracie’s mouth softens at that. “This is actually kind of perfect. You know that birthdays have never been a big deal for me.”
That’s a hard truth to swallow, no matter how many times I hear it. I tamp down my rage at her parents, not wanting to give them any space tonight. “I don’t want that to be your future, Rumpel. I want birthdays to be something you look forward to. Something you want to celebrate.”
Gracie doesn’t look so certain, but she doesn’t argue, just brushing her hand over mine before unclicking her seat belt and stepping out of the truck. I watch her, nerves beating at me at what I’ve set in motion.
Too late now.
She sends a questioning look, and I get out, coming to her side to wrap my arm around her shoulders, squeezing her reassuringly. “Come on, baby. Let’s go eat.”
I pull the door open and usher her inside, but she comes to an abrupt halt, taking in the dim interior and the lack of music. The door closes behind us, and the lights flare to life, a loud cry exploding through the bar.
“Happy birthday!”
Gracie lets out a startled yelp, her whole body flinching back into mine.
“What—” she starts breathlessly, eyes flashing from the crowd to the balloons overhead, the streamers on the ceiling, and the huge birthday banner against one wall.
“What did you do?” Her head is swiveling, taking in the room full of people—Mom, Dad, Annie, Maryann, and her husband, Stacey, Bridget, and Nick.
All my crew from the fire station, including Monroe, and a number of people who have gotten to know and love Gracie since she made Sterling Creek her home.
“Surprise, baby,” I murmur in her ear.
Her mouth opens and closes, eyes filled with more tears that she desperately tries to blink back. Before she can say another word, the crowd shifts as three people step forward.
“Nolan,” Gracie whispers in shock. Her attention shifts to the people at his side, her eyes going impossibly wide. “Elyse?”
Elyse takes that as her cue, rushing forward to yank Gracie away from me into a rib-crushing hug.
“I couldn’t miss another birthday,” she rushes out, her words jumbling together.
“I told Dad that if he didn’t give me a weekend off, I’d sell the business off for parts when he finally handed it over. ”
Gracie’s shoulders are shaking as she hides her face against Elyse. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she says, voice muffled.
“Me, too, girlfriend.” Elyse laughs. “Me too. But hey, look…” She pulls out of Gracie’s arms, turning to gesture the other guy forward. “I brought someone with me.”
I look over just as a lanky guy in black-rimmed glasses steps forward, his eyes shifting around nervously and his cheeks red.
“This is Reed. My boyfriend,” Elyse announces.
Gracie lets out a quiet gasp, leaning forward to whisper, “Online boyfriend?”
Elyse’s eyes are shining. “Online boyfriend,” she agrees.
“Hey. Happy birthday.” Reed steps close enough to hold his hand out to Gracie, and then me, his hand dry and firm. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Gracie grins at him. “I’ve heard about you, too, and I’m very glad that you’re real. Thanks for coming.”
Reed looks confused, but Elyse is lunging forward again, giving Gracie another tight hug.
“We have lots to catch up on,” she says meaningfully, flicking a look at me.
“But you have so many people here for you, Gracie, and I love that for you.” Elyse’s voice goes hoarse, but she shakes it off.
“So, I’m going to go get some drinks for us, and you’re going to mingle with your family. ”
She and Reed move away, leaving space for Nolan to step forward. “It’s only been a month, but it felt wrong to miss this,” he tells her stoically. “Especially after receiving the invite directly from Braxton.”
Gracie glances at me out of the corner of her eye. “Did you just?” she murmurs. “Well, I’m glad to see you, even if it hasn’t been two years yet.”
He cracks a smile at that. “Is that the limit? Two years between each visit?”
Gracie sticks her nose in the air. “At least.”
Nolan chuckles, shaking his head. “Happy birthday, Gracie.” He gives her a quick hug, and my fists clench before I forcibly relax them. He moves away, and everyone moves into something of a greeting line, everyone wanting to take their turn with Gracie—Mom, Dad, and Annie right at the front.
Afterward, Benson turns the music on, he and Randi working in tandem behind the bar to get everyone drinks. Sheryl is moving through the tables with platters of fingerfoods, setting them down at random for people to help themselves.
Gracie is the most social I’ve ever seen her, flitting from group to group, her smile face-splitting. I park myself at one end of the bar with Nick, eyeing him.
“Where’s Halsey tonight?”
His brown eyes darken at the question, narrowing on me. “Don’t push me,” he warns. “This isn’t—” He shakes his head. “I told you, it’s fine.”
“Fine, man. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
” I press my lips together because his jaw is already jutted out stubbornly, so I know there’s going to be no swaying him from whatever path he’s set himself on.
I turn to look around the bar, searching for Gracie and frowning when I come up empty. “You seen the birthday girl?”
Nick lifts his beer to his mouth. “She ducked outside about ten minutes ago. Figured she was getting some air. This must be overwhelming for her.”
“Yeah,” I agree, sitting back down. A second later, I change my mind, getting to my feet and heading for the door. “Be right back.”
I hear Gracie before I see her, her voice ringing out against the quiet of the night outside.
I turn left and head toward the corner of the building, finding her leaning against the wall in a muted circle of light cast by the streetlight above us.
She’s got her phone pressed to her ear and a resigned expression on her face.
“I’m sure you’ll have a good time,” she murmurs.
“Is that the only reason you called?” I step closer, watching as pain washes over Gracie’s stormy eyes before she lowers her lashes, hiding it.
“That’s nice for Martine and Faith, but—” Her voice breaks off as whoever she’s talking to—and I’ve got a real good guess who—interrupts her.
She listens, chewing on her bottom lip before saying, “No, I told you. Okay. Maybe you and Dad could come visit me here in Sterling Creek. You could see my home and the life I’ve made here…
” She trails off, her lashes fluttering as she listens, her shoulders slumping. “No, of course not.”
Done with listening to this, I step right into Gracie’s space, my shoes on either side of her. She doesn’t startle, obviously having heard me come out, but she frowns in bemusement when I wrestle the phone from her and put it to my ear.
“Not sure how you’ve forgotten, but it’s your daughter’s birthday today,” I snap into the phone. “But she’s done with this now.”
“W-what?” her mother splutters. “Who is this? Give me back to Grace right now!”
“Gracie,” I stress firmly, “is busy with her true family, celebrating her birthday. She’s with the people who want the best for her, and who support her no matter what. Gracie is home, living her best life, and if you don’t want to be part of that, it’s your loss.”
There’s a loud screech through the phone, but I am already hanging up, my chest heaving with each breath as I stare down at the love of my life.
She’s blinking, mouth parted in shock as I tell her, “No more. You don’t deserve any of the shit those people dish out, and you don’t need it.
Let them be miserable in their materialistic, empty lives because you. don’t. need. them.”
“I don’t?” Gracie asks quietly, her expression hard to read.
“No,” I practically shout. “You don’t! You have a family, Gracie.
I don’t care if we ever get back together.
I’ll be the one who steps away, because if anyone deserves those people in there”—I jab a finger back toward the bar—“it’s you!
” I reach up, cupping her face in my hands, peering intently into her eyes.
“You are loved, Gracie. Not just by me, but by a whole town, and I won’t ever let you forget it. Not again.”
The corner of her mouth twitches. “Are you done?”
I seriously consider it before grumbling, “I guess.”
“Good,” she says firmly, and then she goes up on her toes, her arms looping around my neck as she presses her mouth to mine.