Chapter Thirty-One Thanksgiving
RYLEE
Waking up on Thanksgiving morning, I feel surprisingly well rested. I honestly didn’t think I’d get much sleep at all considering being so close to Zander had my heart racing and my blood running hot, but it only took a few minutes for me to fall asleep once my head hit the pillow.
Blinking, I roll over, and am a little relieved to see that Zander is already gone.
I run my hand over his pillow, which is cool to the touch, and let out a long sigh.
Being here, seeing Zander with his family, it’s getting really hard to hold onto my anger toward him.
He really is such a good guy, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to curl into his side before I fell asleep last night.
Grabbing my phone, I check if I’ve got any messages and see there’s a text from Sutton. Uh oh… that’s probably not good. She’s with her family today, and that doesn’t usually end well. I open her message, bracing myself for the chaos.
Sutton: Is it too early to get totally wasted?
I wince. Nope. Not good.
Rylee: Depends on how messy family time has been.
Unsurprisingly, she responds right away.
Sutton: Family time has been its usual nightmare. I get home and the first thing Mom does is show me pictures of her friends’ eligible bachelor sons. Like a fucking PowerPoint presentation!
Rylee: Are any of them cute?
Sutton: I will cut you.
I chuckle at that.
Rylee: I’m sorry. That sounds like it really sucks.
Sutton: Yeah, well, it’s not like I was expecting anything else from Mommy dearest. How’s it going on your end? How’s your mom?
I hesitate, debating whether I should tell her I’m with Zander or not.
Rylee: I’m actually with Zander’s family right now.
Sutton: WHAT??? YOU’RE WITH ZANDER?? WHAT THE HELL??
Ooph… maybe I should’ve kept that to myself.
Rylee: I’m just getting to know him better. Seeing if we can make this work.
Sutton: Oh my God! This is so exciting! You have to tell me everything!
Chuckling, I shake my head.
Rylee: Later! Now I’ve got to get up and go downstairs so they don’t think I’m hiding from them.
Sutton: Ughhhhhh, fine! Go have fun with your hunky boy-toy while I navigate the minefield that is my family. Love you
Rylee: Love you too.
Throwing the covers aside, I get out of bed and make my way to the bathroom to shower and get dressed for the day.
Wanting to look nice for his family, I throw on a short-sleeved sweater dress with buttons all the way down the front.
After doing my hair and makeup, I head out of the bathroom and downstairs to the kitchen.
I hear Zander and his sisters as I approach the door and can’t help but grin. They’re so close and comfortable with each other. It’s really sweet to see… and really hard not to feel a bit envious of them.
Could Aidan and I have had this kind of relationship if he’d stuck around? If Dad hadn’t taken off, could we have been a happy family like the Caldwells?
Shaking my head, I quickly push the thoughts away and continue into the large kitchen with tiled floors, maple wood cabinets, and shiny, stainless steel appliances.
I find Zander standing at the island, chopping vegetables, while his sisters and Mom buzz around him, stirring pots on the stove, mixing salads, and prepping a large turkey.
The moment I walk into the room, he looks up at me and smiles.
Zander is dressed in dark jeans and a blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.
Damn… he looks so domesticated and sexy.
The chorded muscles of his forearms flexing as he yields that knife like he’s been hiding years of culinary skills.
“Good morning, Wildcard,” Zander greets. “Coffee? There’s also some doughnuts if you’re hungry.”
Paige, Lauren, and Rosie all look at me with bright smiles.
“Morning, Rylee!” Rosie exclaims as her green maxi dress swishes around her legs.
“Did you sleep well?” Lauren asks, shaking out the sleeves of her floral blouse.
“I’ll get you that coffee,” Paige, wearing a navy figure-hugging sweater dress, offers, moving toward the coffeemaker to pour me a cup, even though I didn’t actually say I wanted any. I do, of course. I need that sweet bean juice to function.
Michelle looks up from stuffing the turkey and gives me a wide smile as well.
“Good morning, dear,” she says, sending warmth rushing through me. I suddenly miss my mom so much my chest aches.
“Good morning,” I reply, not moving from my spot inside the door, feeling a little awkward and uncertain of where I should go or what I should do.
At that moment, Paige reaches my side with a cup of coffee in one hand and a glazed doughnut and napkin in the other.
“Here you go.” She hands them to me. “Come on over and sit down and relax.”
She directs me to a stool on the opposite side of the island from where Zander’s standing. I settle in the seat and meet his amused gaze.
“How’d you sleep?” he asks.
“Good,” I reply. “Really good, actually.”
“Glad to hear that,” he chuckles, dropping his eyes back to his vegetables.
Weirdo.
I take a drink of my coffee and am surprised that it’s exactly how I take it - a little sugar and Califia hazelnut creamer. Did they just have it, or did Zander tell them to get it for me?
The thought makes me smile, but I lower my head so he can’t see it.
As I drink my coffee and eat my doughnut, I watch them work in a kind of controlled chaos, side-stepping each other and moving around the kitchen with an ease and familiarity that seems second nature.
They talk and laugh as they work, the same rapid fire chatting as the night before, and as I watch them, that feeling of envy inside me grows.
This camaraderie between the siblings is something I never had. Aiden is way older than me, sure, but he never really tried to get close to me, and then he was gone, just like Dad.
“So, Rylee,” Rosie suddenly says, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts. “When will Zander’s article be out?”
“Well, I’m supposed to submit it sometime in the next few days, and it’s set to come out first Sunday in December. They always release on the first Sunday of every month.”
“That’s so awesome,” she gushes.
“Ahhh, our little Zandy is going to be a celebrity!” Paige teases.
Zander rolls his eyes. “I’m not a celebrity.”
Michelle grins and says, “Zander, why don’t you go keep your Dad company, hmm? You know how much he enjoys watching football with you.”
Zander looks between the vegetables and his mom and shrugs. “Okay, sure. If you don’t need my help… ”
“Go on. We want some girl time.” Michelle waves a hand at him, and Zander gives me a grin before slipping out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with his sisters and mom.
“Any excuse to watch sports, he takes it,” Lauren chuckles as he leaves.
“I can take over for him,” I offer.
Lauren shakes her head. “You’re more than welcome to just continue hanging out, Rylee. You’re company, and we don’t usually put company to work.”
“No, it’s okay!” I quickly reply, grabbing the knife and pulling the cutting board covered in chopped up celery and carrots that he abandoned closer to me. “I’m happy to help!”
“That’s sweet of you,” Michelle says, beaming at me.
I smile and start to work, chopping up the rest of the carrots Zander didn’t finish.
“So, Rylee,” Lauren says, looking across the island at me. “Zander told us you grew up here in Nashville.”
“Uh, yeah,” I reply. I feel a flutter at the thought that he’s talking about me with his family. “I still live downtown, and my mom is still here too.”
“Oh, nice!” Rosie exclaims. “Are you and your mom close?”
“We are. Really close, actually.”
That seems to please Michelle because she gives me a soft look. “Family is really important to Zander, so I’m glad you have that in common.”
I fight not to visibly wince at her words. Family is important to me… but my family is way more fucked up then this one. I don’t want them to worry about Zander being part of that, so I don’t say anything about Dad or Aiden.
“It’s really nice seeing him with you all,” I say. “It’s a side of him I haven’t seen yet… and it’s nice.”
All four women smile at me, and I can read the approval in their gazes. I relax as I slice and dice, and the Caldwell women move about the kitchen, chatting and laughing and including me as if I’m one of them.
And it feels… good. Really, really good.
“You know what we need?” Lauren declares, moving to a cabinet beside the fridge. “Some wine.”
She pulls out a bottle and a corkscrew, and Paige gives a cheer.
“Rylee?” Lauren grins at me. “Want a glass?”
I chuckle and nod. “Sure, why not? It’s a holiday, after all.”
At about noon, Zander pops back into the kitchen to find me, his sisters, and his Mom standing around the island, enjoying a glass of wine each as the food cooks away.
“Hey, Rylee, it’s time to head to your mom’s,” he tells me.
“What?” Rosie gasps, her eyes going wide. “You’re leaving?”
“No, no, no,” I assure her. “My Mom likes to eat earlier, so I’m going to go have lunch with her, and then I’ll be back here for dinner.”
“Oh, thank goodness!” Lauren releases a dramatic breath. “Here I thought you were going to ditch us before the husbands and kids showed up… not that I would blame you, escaping the chaos that will inevitably follow.”
“I’m kind of looking forward to the chaos,” I admit. “Holidays are usually pretty quiet at home, since it’s typically just me and Mom. Hanging with you guys has been really fun..”
“Oh, we know,” Paige teases. “We’re a delight.”
“Rylee, dear, why don’t you invite your mother to join us later?” Michelle offers.
I meet her gaze, surprised by her generosity. Part of me thinks that would be amazing - have my mom and Zander’s family hanging out and getting to know each other. We’re not quite there yet, though. Mom hasn’t even met Zander, after all.
But… maybe that should change.
“That’s really nice of you, Michelle,” I reply. “I might take a raincheck. Give my mom more of a warning.”
Michelle smiles. “I totally understand, sweety.”