Chapter 23 Evangeline
EVANGELINE
For Evangeline, the next week seemed to fly past in a happy blur of holiday activities.
She was grateful that they were all keeping busy, because it allowed her time to think about her feelings.
She had been half in love with Grayson anyway, but learning about the circumstances surrounding him taking Leo in had absolutely floored her.
Grayson Ward wasn’t just a good man, he was an angel.
And somehow, impossibly, it seemed that he cared for her too. Though he hadn’t said it out loud, the way he took her hand told her everything his words didn’t.
The only thing holding her back was the thought of Rory back in the city.
How can I let myself open my heart to such happiness, knowing that my brother is in trouble?
But there was no answer to that question, and no answer from Rory to her many text and voice messages.
She knew deep down how he felt about that house. It was the home where they had shared so many happy memories with family and friends. If he couldn’t let it go, she would have a hard time blaming him.
She was certain that if he was willing to leave the city, then her pay here would be enough to cover a rented room for him while he tried to get on his feet in a new place, far from the bad element that currently surrounded him. But until he decided to respond, all Evangeline could do was wait.
And in the meantime, there were so many things to keep her busy—the endless rhythm of Leo’s care, and the fun things that happened in between, like decorating the tree, frosting all the cookies, and delivering them to the center and to Ana and her mother and other new friends around town.
So the week had melted away, and suddenly it was Saturday again. Leo was having a happy morning and she was excited that they were heading into town to check out the Hometown Holiday celebration that Grayson had told her so much about.
“We won’t be able to do everything,” he told her on the way over, glancing at Leo in the mirror. “But I think he’ll last an hour or two at least.”
“More if he naps a little while we’re out,” Evangeline said, thinking about how her tiny bestie would often sleep in her arms even in the most distracting of circumstances.
“Of course,” Grayson said with a fond smile.
He smiled more often now, and it made her heart ache every time she saw it.
Between the pain he carried over Isaac Jones lessening a little from seeing one of the men he had saved, and the removal of the stress she hadn’t even understood over Leo, she was seeing a new version of the man she already respected.
They found a parking spot before they got to Park Avenue, since the main streets in the little town were closed for the occasion.
“Oh, wow,” she murmured as Grayson helped her out of the SUV. “This is incredible.”
To Evangeline, the little town always looked like something out of a storybook with its Tudor-style shops and the candy cane decorations hanging from the lampposts.
But today the streets were lined with booths decorated for the holidays, and people walked among them, bundled up in colorful coats with cups of hot cocoa, waving to each other and stopping to catch up as light snow flurries danced down like graceful ballerinas.
Grayson helped to put Leo in the front carrier and pulled a fleece hat onto his little head before taking Evangeline’s hand and leading her onto the street to join the rest of the townsfolk.
Her heart thumped helplessly at the thought that this time he wasn’t holding her hand for strength or faith, but because he wanted to—because he didn’t mind the whole town knowing he had feelings for her.
He glanced down at her, as if to be sure she didn’t mind, and she found herself smiling up at him like a lovesick teenager with a terrible crush.
He winked and led the way to a booth selling hot chocolate to support a worthy cause.
“After this, we’ll have a carriage ride,” he told her.
“A carriage ride?” she echoed.
He nodded toward the end of the block where a real, horse-drawn carriage was clopping its way up Park Avenue. The beautiful animals were awfully familiar.
“Peanut Butter and Pickles,” she breathed.
“See,” Grayson said. “You already know everyone in town.”
She had to laugh, and that made Leo turn in his carrier to look up at her and reach for her face, chuckling so hard his chubby cheeks practically covered his eyes.
“Your daddy is so funny,” she told him, offering him her finger to grab.
Leo let loose a waterfall of squeaks and chirps while he yanked her finger around like he was conducting an orchestra.
“I think he likes the Hometown Holiday celebration,” Evangeline said. “Don’t you, Leo?”
They shared a hot cocoa and walked around, admiring the booths.
Grayson bought handmade gifts, and put so many bills in donation cans that Evangeline had lost count of how many charities he had supported.
And he introduced her to everyone they bumped into, earning more than a few knowing looks from people who obviously thought they were together.
When Leo started getting sleepy, they took a carriage ride all the way down Park Avenue and back up again.
Joe Cassidy, the owner of Cassidy Farm, was at the reins and he was tickled to hear that Evangeline had already been introduced to the horses.
After a long but fun day, they headed back home again as the afternoon sun painted the sky a flaming pink.
“I’ll start dinner if you want to get him ready for bed,” Grayson offered.
But before any of that could happen, she heard the roar of a familiar engine outside.
She floated to the front door with Leo still in her arms, unable to believe what her ears were telling her.
But when she opened the front door, she saw Rory hopping off his motorcycle.
Tears blurred her vision as she called out her brother’s name, and she felt Grayson’s steady presence joining her in the doorway.
“Hey, Buttons,” Rory called to her as he jogged up the steps.
She padded across the snowy porch in her socks to embrace him, baby and all. His leather jacket was cold against her cheek, but she felt warm inside at the knowledge that he was here, that he was okay. She wished she could hug him close forever.
“Rory, this is Grayson,” she said, letting go of him at last.
“We’ve met,” Rory said, extending a hand to Grayson.
What?
The two men shook and then pulled into a quick embrace, patting each other heartily on the back.
“Good to see you again, man,” Grayson said gruffly. “Come on in.”
“You’ve really met before?” Evangeline asked, sure that she must have heard him wrong.
“We’ll explain everything,” Rory said with a smile. “But let’s get you and that little bundle back in the house first.”
Grayson took Leo when they got inside so she could go peel off her wet socks and shove her feet in a pair of fluffy slippers.
When she came out of her room, she found her three favorite men in the kitchen.
Rory sat on a stool, sipping a Coke, while Grayson held Leo and put a platter of leftovers in the microwave with his free hand.
Rory and Grayson were already deep in conversation, talking a mile a minute about a local repair shop and a friend of Grayson’s who owned a Christmas tree farm.
Their deep voices filled the space, reminding her of being back home with Rory and Grandpa and their friends talking late into the night while she went to sleep in her room.
When she stepped into the space, the men both went silent and turned to her, while Leo wiggled his little fingers in her direction.
“Okay,” she said, smiling as she took the baby back from Grayson. “Now, will somebody please tell me what’s going on?”
“Do you want to explain?” Rory asked Grayson.
“It’s all you,” Grayson said, gesturing to Rory.
“Your, uh, Grayson came to see me last week,” Rory said. “He offered me a way out of my mess. But I was too stubborn to take him up on it right away.”
“You have roots in the city,” Grayson said. “It’s understandable.”
“A way out?” Evangeline echoed, her eyes moving between the two of them.
“He helped me line up a job outside of the city,” Rory said. “I can start as soon as I finish my training.”
“What job?” she asked. “What training?”
“We need more mechanics in Trinity Falls,” Grayson said. “My buddy Beau is buying a local shop. He’s ready to hire Rory as soon as he’s got his certifications.”
“I’m going to learn to work on cars, trucks, and tractors,” Rory said. “And anything else they have out this way with an engine in it.”
“That’s amazing,” she said, unable to keep from smiling.
She tried not to think about the cost of that kind of training. She was sure it couldn’t be cheap. Grayson’s phone buzzed on the counter, and he picked it up and glanced at a message.
“Group chat that Sam set up for some of the vets,” he explained. “A couple of the guys from the center are getting together at The Barrel tonight. I was thinking maybe I’d join them so you two can catch up?”
She opened her mouth to say that wasn’t necessary.
“That would be unbelievable,” Rory said.
Grayson smiled and tapped out a quick reply, then turned back to Rory.
“Let’s get you set up in one of the upstairs guest rooms then,” Grayson said.
Grayson and Rory disappeared up the stairs, already thick as thieves, leaving Evangeline alone in the kitchen with baby Leo, who was now fast asleep in her arms.
She held him close as she looked out the big window at the snowy fields, trying not to weep with relief and gratitude as her biggest worry disappeared like magic.
Later that evening, when Leo was fed, bathed, and sleeping peacefully up in his crib, Grayson said good night to Evangeline and Rory then headed out to meet up with his friends.
Evangeline ran after him, catching him in the dark hall just before he reached the front door.
“What is it?” he asked, looking a little worried.
“I… thank you,” she told him, suddenly unable to look him in the eyes.
“You mean the world to me,” he said, his deep voice husky. “Next time you need help, just tell me.”
He was gone before she could fully process what he had said.
She watched out the glass of the front door as the lights of the SUV disappeared up the drive. Then she turned and hurried back to her big brother.
“You weren’t kidding,” Rory said when she came back in. “This place is beautiful. And I love all the Christmas stuff.”
She smiled, thinking of how she and Grayson had chosen it all together and decorated with the radio playing Christmas songs.
“I was kind of intimidated when I first got here,” she heard herself admit.
“Understandable,” Rory said, nodding. “I was too, when he came to the house.”
“He went to the house?” she asked.
“Oh yeah,” Rory told her, taking a seat on the couch. “The night I called you, he showed up. Told me I didn’t have to join a gang to hold onto the house, that he wanted to help.”
“Wow,” Evangeline said.
“I thought you put him up to it,” Rory said. “But you really didn’t know?”
“No,” Evangeline said. “My head is still spinning.”
“Well, mine was too,” Rory said. “I couldn’t say yes, not right away. He told me to give it some thought and that the offer was open anytime.”
“Wow,” Evangeline heard herself say again.
“Wow is right,” Rory said. “Imagine you’ve got all this—a nice house in a nice town and a cute little baby, and you offer to let a guy you never met who owes money to a gang come and live with you.”
She hadn’t really thought of it that way, but he was right. Grayson was taking a real chance on him—on both of them.
“He cares about you,” Rory said softly. “Clearly.”
It was funny to hear Rory echoing what Grayson had said earlier.
“So, you’re doing training?” she asked him, eager to change the subject.
“Grayson is paying for that, too,” he said, shaking his head.
“And he already paid what the Vagabonds said I owed for that bike. He insisted on it, so I wouldn’t be worried about them tracking me down.
But I want to stand on my own two feet. So, if you’re okay with selling the house, I can pay him back for all of it right away out of my half. ”
“You want to sell the house?” she asked equal parts stunned at that news and relieved to hear that he was out of debt to the gang.
“I know,” he said, sighing. “Would you believe me if I told you it still makes me a little sad, even with all this?”
He gestured around Grayson’s opulent living room and the view outside.
“I do,” she said, nodding. “That was our home.”
“Yeah,” Rory said, smiling sadly. “We had a lot of good times there, didn’t we?”
She smiled back and nodded slowly, picturing all the holidays and regular days, the friends and family they had spent time with there.
“But it was only our home because we were in it,” he said. “It seems nice out this way, and we’ll both be here. I’ll get an apartment, and we’ll have a new home. I mean, I will. Looks like you’re already home, Buttons.”
He winked at her.
“There’s nothing between Grayson and me,” she said quickly.
“Maybe not yet,” Rory said, his gaze serious. “But he’s a good man, Eva. And he cares about you.”
Tears prickled at her eyes as she smiled at her brother, feeling wildly grateful that he had made a good decision and that he would be close by again.
And maybe just a little pleased that she had his blessing to keep falling for Grayson…