Chapter 42
Gracie
“Ineed to fix that fence,” Stephen says quietly as we step outside together after breakfast. He’s not looking at me, his attention on the backyard. I can almost see the list he’s building in his head.
“You don’t have to do anything,” I counter. “I can pay someone to fix the fence.”
He furrows his brows as he looks at me. “I know you can, but why would you when I have the skills and the time? It’s what family does for each other, Gracie.
” He takes a seat on the back step, patting the space beside him.
“It feels like we haven’t had a chance to talk much lately.
Not since we finished Raewyn’s present, anyway. ”
“You’re sneaky,” I say as I sit beside him, warmth once again filling me at the memory. “I had no idea you were planning on putting me on the tree.”
Stephen smiles. “That’s the point of surprises,” he says quietly. “And you haven’t had nearly enough of them in your life.”
I let out a light laugh. “I feel like I might have had too many,” I confide, “and not all of them good.”
“Brax told me your parents called last night.”
My throat tightens, and I look away. The party and Braxton proved to be the perfect distraction from that phone call, but it also means that I haven’t really dealt with my feelings about it yet.
“Yeah. Well, my mother, anyway.” I don’t look at him as I admit, “She didn’t remember it was my birthday.
I haven’t heard from her in months, but she calls on the one day you would think she would remember…
just to tell me that she and Dad are going on a three-month tour of Europe and, oh, am I really sure I don’t want to be a lawyer? ”
Stephen hums. “I can’t explain why your parents are the way they are, Gracie.
I can’t even pretend to understand.” He looks up at the sky, a subtle flush crawling into his cheeks.
“But you don’t need them.” I open my mouth, not even sure what I’ll say, but he rushes on, “My son messed up. Badly. But one thing he’s done right—”
“One thing?”
Stephen chuckles. “One thing is bring you into our lives. I hope you know that. You may not be a daughter of my blood, but you are just as much mine as Analise is.”
My eyes are leaking before he’s even finished, and I quickly brush them away, shoving my shoulder into his side. “You’re not supposed to make me cry on my birthday.”
He shrugs. “Good thing that was yesterday,” he jokes. “I’ve got carte blanche to make you an emotional mess, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
I let out a wet laugh. “You’re a menace,” I declare.
“Just as bad as your son.” I fall quiet, thinking over everything that’s happened.
The people who have been there for me—and the people who haven’t.
“I was already done,” I tell Stephen. “I went to see my parents in January, and after spending so much time with you and Raewyn…You’re right.
Life’s too short to keep inviting their negativity into my life.
I guess I always hoped things would change, but… ”
He looks at me as I trail off. “Family isn’t about blood. Not always. Sometimes it’s about the people you choose.”
“And you chose me?” I ask quietly, needing to hear it one more time. Anything to quiet the voice of the little girl still waiting for her parents to show up, even when she learned a long time ago that they never will.
He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. “Yeah, Gracie. We chose you. Plus, you know too much, so I have to keep you on my side. I can’t have you snitching to Raewyn about the air fryer.” His mouth twitches. “She’s been asking questions.”
“I won’t say a word,” I promise solemnly. “I can throw her off the scent by telling her about the toaster.”
Stephen’s mouth drops open, and he claps a hand right to his chest. “I call you my daughter, and you stab me right in the heart.”
“I’m learning from the best.”
He narrows his eyes and, before I realize what he’s doing, pushes to his feet and stalks inside, yelling, “Raewyn, we’ve made a grave error. There is just no way we’ll ever survive Analise and Gracie being sisters.”
A laugh bursts out of me, but I don’t move, playing each of his words over in my head again and again and again.
I don’t know what I expected to find when I upended my entire life and picked Sterling Creek at random.
I was searching for a home, a family—something I had never had before, but I could never have guessed at what would be waiting for me here.
I know that things aren’t going to be easy, but I feel real hope for the future that is waiting for me to just reach out and grab it.
Braxton’s glaring at his phone, ignoring the thriller we’re watching about a serial killer and the FBI agent who’s got personal stakes in catching him.
He doesn’t even look up when there’s a shootout at the docks, the characters running between the shipping containers and every single bullet missing their mark.
I bump my elbow against his. “What’s wrong? You’ve got a face like thunder.”
He darkens the screen, looking up at me, green eyes filled with irritation and concern. “It’s Nick,” he admits. “I don’t know what the hell he’s doing, but it’s not going to end well.”
“He’s dealing with a lot,” I remind him. “There’s rumors circling town that Joseph and Esther are looking at filing for divorce.”
Braxton sighs, resting his head on the back of the couch, phone forgotten beside him. “Nick’s not talking to me about it, and he’s not talking about the Halsey thing, either.”
I still. “Halsey thing? I thought he liked her.”
I’ve only met her once—that night at Benson’s—but she seems really nice.
I can’t help but feel sorry for her, knowing her life can’t be easy with a brother addicted to drugs.
I might not know the details of her background, but the haunted look in her eyes seemed to match the same one I sometimes see in the mirror.
Braxton shakes his head, but then shrugs. “He might. But I don’t think that’s his only reason for spending time with her.”
“He’s not doing it because of Halsey’s brother,” I say, tone filled with disbelief. “She’s a victim just as much as I was, and Gerard is gone. There’s no way he would be dumb enough to come back here, right? He has to know everyone would be looking for him.”
Braxton gives me a small smile. “You’re right, and Nick has to know that too. I think he’s latched on to this so he doesn’t have to deal with the shit show of his family.”
I chew on my bottom lip. “He wouldn’t hurt Halsey, though. Right?”
Braxton reaches out, cupping my face and drawing me closer, his breath coasting over my lips. “That’s not Nick,” he reassures me, his mouth brushing against mine. “I’m just worried about him. That’s all.”
“Maybe you should invite him on a nature day with you and your dad,” I suggest, and Braxton pulls back enough that I can see the way his face softens.
“That’s a good idea, Rumpel.” He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “Not sure what I’d do without you.”
I laugh softly, sliding my leg over his so I’m straddling him, my arms around his neck.
“You do know,” I say. “You’ve lived it, and so did I.
I think the difference is that living without each other is like…
” I trail off, trying to think of a way to describe it.
“It’s like living in a world of gray when we know what it’s like to live with color. ”
“That’s pretty poetic.” Braxton hooks his hands around my neck, drawing me close. “And so fucking true. I don’t ever want to lose you again, Gracie.”
I smile. “So don’t,” I say simply.
“You make it sound so easy, but it scares the shit out of me, knowing how much I hurt you. If you had asked me a year ago if I was capable of doing that, I would have laughed you right out the door.” His green eyes are bright with sincerity, and I brush my thumb over his lips.
“That’s why I trust you,” I admit in a whisper.
Braxton huffs. “Why? Because I’m scared.”
“Sort of.” I waggle a hand in the air. “Feeling that terror?” I tap a finger against his chest. “It means you know you have something to lose, and I know that you’re not going to let that happen.” I pause. “Are you?”
“No,” he says firmly, sitting up, our chests pressed together and his hand tangling in my hair.
“I’m going to keep working with Stevie, keep going to the counselor.
I’m going to check in. With you, with Dad, with my crew.
I’m never going to assume that I have a handle on it, never overestimate my ability to carry the burden on my own.
” He closes his eyes, dropping his head to my shoulder.
“I’ll never give pieces of myself to someone else. They belong to you.”
My heart feels like it might burst out of my chest, thinking about everything that’s happened to get us to where we are. I know the blame doesn’t solely lie on Braxton’s shoulders, or even Paisley’s, but I have hope now that we are capable of moving past everything to create something new together.
“I’ve been responsible for myself for such a long time, and it’s scary to lean on someone.
To trust them and believe they’ll catch me if I fall.
” Braxton doesn’t say a word, just watching me.
“I think that we both got so lost, trying to protect ourselves, that we forgot to lean on each other.” I smile, leaning down to brush my nose against his.
“I’m leaning now,” I whisper. “And I trust you to catch me.”
“I won’t ever let you fall again.” Braxton’s throat moves on a swallow. “And that’s something you can absolutely trust.”