Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
A na had always called the island a fishbowl. And as Quinley peeped out the pulled blinds and saw the small crowd gathered across the street, she knew it would take time for those assembled to grow bored of her.
It had taken exactly forty-five minutes for someone to notice the guards hanging around outside. And since Axel’s weather-worn and rugged face had been pictured with her quite a bit in the past several months as her guard, word had quickly spread.
At least it was a Monday and the full summer season hadn’t officially begun. Otherwise there might be more than just reporters and a handful of curious neighbors and tourists out there.
She’d given up all thought of going out to get her own items and sent up a cry for help to Ana, asking if she could pick up some things from the local superstore on her way over to visit. Now that Quinley had officially returned, the crowd outside of Ana’s had disappeared, freeing her friend.
Ana had asked what she needed, and Quinley had reluctantly admitted bare-bones basics, like an air mattress, a few groceries to tide her over, and a cheap but cute chair to sit in. She could have asked Rhys for Paul’s help again, but knew it wouldn’t be right to do so. She also considered having some things delivered, but she hated the thought of stranger picking up her items and possibly talking to the press just because they could.
So that evening when Ana appeared? When she backed into the driveway?
She didn’t come alone. No, she brought a veritable army with her.
Quinley watched, her entire body beginning to quiver with emotion as Ana got out and opened the rear gate and doors. Quinley gasped, spying Ana’s packed to the gills Rav4.
Elias’s truck backed into the yard next, with what looked to be a round dining table and chairs inside. Then Cole’s Wrangler, then one of those rent-by-the-day moving trucks and two other vehicles.
She couldn’t see the crowd across the street anymore but knew they had to be as curious as she was at what was happening. The front of the house was shielded from view by the height of the vehicles parked tightly together.
The door opened to Elias’s Gladiator, but he wasn’t the young man who emerged. Quinley fought her disappointment at the sight, then searched the tall, dark-haired men getting out of the other vehicles. But no sign of Elias.
Ana greeted Axel warmly, and Dawson appeared from next door, a petite brunette at his side. They also nodded to the guard, setting the guard at ease with low murmurs.
Quinley left the window and moved to the door, opening it as two more women joined Ana at her Rav while the men began to lower rear gates and compartments and unload furniture .
Even more surprising was that some of it looked familiar. What on earth?
Quinley stood frozen, shocked and unable to process what was happening—until Cole carried the first item to the porch. She stepped out of the way while Cole backed his way into the house with a cream-colored canvas couch.
“Any idea where you want it?” Cole asked.
A choked laugh bubbled out of her, and she waved a hand toward the longest wall. “Over there for now. Where did this come from?”
“Ana will explain,” Cole said with a grin.
Quinley had spent the afternoon hanging her clothes and storing her boxes out of the way in the walk-in closet. Other than her laptop and the lap desk she’d held onto and found in the bottom of one of the boxes Paul delivered, the house was one big open space.
The younger man who’d arrived in Elias’s truck carried the opposite end of the couch, and he winked at Quinley as he moved by her, biceps bulging as he hefted the weight and flashed her a very friendly smile. Did he… flex?
“Down boy,” Cole growled, catching the young man in the act.
“Quinley, that’s Hudson, the youngest Blackwell brother who’s barely out of diapers,” a man said as he came into the house, carrying a metal bed frame. She really laughed now and wondered what had been said by the youngest Blackwell male beforehand to warrant such a warning to her.
“I’m Brooks, married to Allie,” this brother said, yanking his head to indicate the women outside. “My wife is on her way in with the other girls.”
“Nice to meet you, Brooks. And Hudson,” she added, giving the flirtatious young Blackwell the side-eye but still smiling.
Ana and the other “girls” entered next, carrying throw pillows and couch cushions, along with a beautiful teal and silver throw blanket.
They got out of the way of the door, and Ana made the introductions to her future sisters-in-law—Mia, Allie, and Sophia—before the ladies set about putting the couch to rights.
Ana stayed behind and hugged Quinley close in an embrace only shared by longtime friends. “I can’t believe you… Where did all of this come from?”
Ana smiled up at her. “You don’t recognize any of it?”
She took another look, her gaze falling to the lower right-hand side of the couch where a barely perceptible wine stain peeked at the corner of the piping. “My mother ?”
“You had no sooner sent me that message when your mom called to ask me how you were doing. I…told her—please don’t be mad at me—and she said she had a sudden urge to redecorate the downstairs, but the stuff would have to be gone before your dad got home from work. So we made it happen,” Ana said with a grin. “It helps to have a slew of full-grown and able-bodied men in the family.”
“But I’m not their family,” Quinley said softly, touched by the fact these people—Ana’s future family—had done so much for her when they didn’t even know her.
“You’re extended family,” Ana countered with a pointed stare. “And my sister. That counts.”
Unbidden, Quinley glanced toward the doorway, and her silent question must have registered on her face.
“Elias didn’t come. He didn’t want to cause more rumors. Though Finn is here, and they’re identical, so I’m sure he’ll probably cause a stir regardless. But Elias had Hudson get his truck so he could help, so he’s here in spirit. Everyone’s here except for Isla, who volunteered to give the mamas a break with the kids so they could pitch in on the decorating.” Ana finally released her and linked their arms. “So that’s the scoop. Now let’s go figure out where to put the bedroom suite your mom sent. By the way, it’s totally gorgeous. Remember when we went against all the parents and moved into our first apartment with nothing more than air mattresses? This is way better.”
An hour or so passed, and with every trip the Blackwell clan carried in furniture, set it up, and rearranged it until everything looked just right.
Her mom had not only given her a bedroom suite, mattresses and bedding, but also the couch, weathered wood end tables and matching coffee table, and several side chairs.
She’d also emptied her home office and passed on several tall gray bookcases, a beautiful desk, white leather rolling chair and enough framed coastal artwork for multiple rooms. In other boxes were pots and pans, cooking utensils and flatware, and the dishes her mother had kept in the downstairs kitchenette for entertaining.
There was more. So much more. Items her father would probably never notice were missing due to them disappearing from the downstairs and her mother’s rarely used home office, but— The gift overwhelmed her with the love that came with it.
Women like her mother redecorated often, sometimes every year, but she wondered what her mother would say if Victor considered the timing suspect? Or was it a small stick it to her father after so many years of putting up with his emotional abuse?
She thought so. Her mother might not have the courage to leave just yet. Might never have it. But this? This was her showing Quinley support in the only way she could at the moment. By giving her the items she needed to start fresh.
Once all the heavy lifting was done, more than a few of the Blackwell men plopped down on the couch and chairs and stools to rest and await further orders from the ladies.
Quinley ordered pizza and drinks and loads of desserts from the local pizza place because wasn’t that the thing to do when friends helped you move?
Someone turned on music, and everyone got back to work. Quinley and the other women made up the bed and placed the many decorative items her mother had also included around the house and bathrooms. A few lanterns, pillows, a giant ornate seashell, a metal starfish on a stand. Metal, glass and wood adornments that were aesthetically pleasing and coastal in theme.
When they were done her empty house looked like a home, complete with boisterous laughter, lots of teasing among the brothers—and the banging of hammers as the last of the pictures and shelves were hung under Sophia’s watchful gaze.
Quinley stood in the open kitchen, watching, soaking it all in, arms around herself in a hug as she said a prayer of thanks to God for her mama and Ana, her new friends and extended family. She also added one for Rhys, that he would find the perfect woman for him, but one who’d challenge him at least a little so things didn’t get boring. Rhys needed that. Otherwise he’d get too set in his ways and overbearing with a doormat of a wife.
Her thoughts shifted to Elias then, and she fought the overwhelming desire for him to be here, a part of this. With his family. And…with her?
“You okay?”
The soft query came from Mia, Alec’s wife. From what Quinley could remember, Mia had appeared in Carolina Cove one day with baby Willa in tow, trying to find the baby’s father. Mia and Alec had married to provide a stable home for Willa and wound up falling in love after it was all legal. “It’s…just a little overwhelming. But good,” she hurried to add. “I’m so grateful.”
Mia gave a small knowing laugh. “I get it, trust me. The first time I met them was all at once like this. I didn’t know what to make of it. Especially since they didn’t like me.”
Quinley turned to look at Mia, unable to hide her surprise. Mia had been nothing but sweet and kind and helpful. She couldn’t imagine anyone not liking her. “Why didn’t they like you?”
“They were afraid I’d hurt Alec. Afraid I was lying about Willa.” She shrugged. “I don’t blame them. They’re protective of each other and for good reason.”
Quinley felt like the woman was giving her a not-so-subtle warning. “And yet they did this for me. I hate that Elias got dragged into my mess of a life, but—I’d never do anything to hurt him.”
“So you do like him?”
The soft query came from Allie. Quinley turned to face her new friend and her breath stuttered in her lungs as she got her first unobstructed look at Finn. Farmer Finn, Elias’s twin. He carried a box in his darkly tanned hands, his gaze fixed solely on her face with an intensity very similar to Elias’s own as he waited for her response.
Allie stepped out from behind Finn, her expression softening when she glanced between Finn and Quinley. Elias and his brother might be identical but she’d never mistake them for one another.
Ana joined them and held cooking tongs, skewers and other odds and ends her mother must have gifted from the downstairs kitchenette.
Expectant gazes studied her, and Quinley forced herself to smile. “What’s not to like? Elias was a kind and wonderful friend to me last week. He’s…one of the good ones. You are all, from what I can tell.”
Ana frowned, and maybe it was Quinley’s imagination, but she thought they all looked displeased that she hadn’t given them the response they’d hoped to hear, but instead sidestepped it.
But with her life in chaos? With her time, effort and energy needing to be focused on starting over? What else could she say?
Especially since the man in question had made it clear he wasn’t interested in her.