9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Emily
“Not so close to the fire—” Nicole, James and Susan’s niece, cringed as she hopped out of her camp chair.
She chased after a little toddler with curly brown hair and a gnawing ache wrenched my heart. The little girl giggled and ran around a patch of wild strawberries growing in the grass. Nicole caught her and spun around, the two of them dropping to the ground, laughing.
I wanted that.
Bash snuck up silently, nudging my shoulder with his. “Cute kid.”
I smiled up at him and sighed. “She really is. I’m glad we came.”
After our talk that morning, starting a family was weighing so heavily on me. I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but I wasn’t sure how Bash and Mac would react to that. It was a conversation for a different day. I didn’t even want to broach the subject before the final game.
“Where’s Mac?”
Bash motioned behind him, and I glanced over my shoulder, snorting when I saw how high his plate was piled. “What’s he doing?”
“Someone realized he’s Mac Savage from the Evergreens ,” Bash whispered, sending shivers down my arm. “They’re plying him with food and he’s happily accepting all of it.”
Mac was navigating a minefield of little kids as he balanced his plate. Countless little boys around nine years old and a few girls a little older swarmed him, asking him a million questions.
“Hey. Let the man breathe.” Ivan, one of James’s countless family members, guided the kids over to a table. “At least let him sit before you bombard him.” He winked at Mac and pulled out a chair. “Need another burger?”
Mac’s eyes widened. “Maybe in a couple minutes?”
“Good, good.” Ivan bustled off, returning to endless rows of burgers sizzling on what had to be a custom-made grill.
“Should we rescue him?”
Bash watched Mac fielding more questions than any press conference and shrugged. “He’s handling it just fine.”
“Are you, though?”
Bash scowled. “Am I what?”
“Handling this.” I nodded toward the small crowd of people that made up the biggest family I’d ever seen.
I had an aunt and a few cousins, plus my grandma was still alive, but it was nothing like this. Even when we had shared vacations with Bash’s family, we didn’t have a third of the amount of people here.
James walked up, a s’more dripping down his wrist. “Ready for dessert?”
I licked my lips, certain I could taste the marshmallow in the air. “Where do I get one of those?”
James pointed to the fire pit, where Nicole was helping her little girl roast a marshmallow. “The sticks are in the box over there. The marshmallows are next to Laurie.” An older woman with hair just like the toddler’s waved to me. “She should have a stack of chocolate bars there, too. Graham crackers are—” He looked around. “Somewhere?”
I laughed and squeezed Bash’s hand. “I’m sure I can find them.”
James tipped his s’more to me and turned to Bash. “Are you a hockey player, too?”
I walked away, giggling at the snort Bash couldn’t contain. As much as my late brother, Rob, had tried to get him interested in sports—especially hockey—Bash had refused every step of the way.
“Here for a marshmallow?” Laurie loaded a roasting stick and handed it to me.
“Thanks.” I grinned and held it over the fire. “You have a pretty spectacular family.”
Despite three large canopies and a yard full of kids clamoring for Mac’s attention, everything was peaceful. Not quiet, but jubilant. Everyone was chatting and eating, making more food, cleaning up as they went along.
“We do?” Nicole asked, keeping the toddler from touching a smoldering marshmallow.
“You really do. I don’t know if my family could ever get together like this. How often do you see each other?”
Laurie frowned and watched the man grilling burgers. “We’re at each other’s houses all the time.”
“Do you live around here?”
“No, we live in Vancouver. James and Susan own this property and invite us to stay as much as we want during the summer.”
“We’re from Vancouver, too. No wonder some of the kids have heard of Mac.”
“My husband played hockey, too.” She motioned toward a man who was making his way to us. “On the east coast, though. And not professionally.”
The man stretched, running his hand down his stomach and groaning. “Those days are far behind me.” He flopped into a folding chair next to Laurie and reached for a marshmallow.
“Emily, this is Patrick.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I handed him a roasting stick.
“You, too.” He grinned and held his marshmallow so far from the flames I wasn’t sure it would even brown.
He was definitely past his prime for keeping up with Mac on the ice, and I knew we’d be there one day. I couldn’t imagine it now as I looked at Mac. He had finished his towering plate of food and was playing flag football with the kids.
He caught me looking at him and grinned. One of the more outgoing kids took advantage of his momentary distraction and ripped a flag off him, running across the yard as he laughed maniacally.
Out of the game, Mac jogged over to us and kissed the top of my head.
“The family is from Vancouver.” I nudged Mac as he sat next to me.
“Seriously?” His gray-green eyes lit up. “We have day camps and clinics for all ages during the summer. There’s even a new academy-like thing opening, but—” He glanced around, a sheepish look on his face. “I’m not supposed to share info yet. If the kids are interested, I can put you in contact with Julie Locke. She coordinates all that stuff.”
Laurie exchanged numbers with Mac as I put my s’more together. The marshmallow was blackened and flaky on the outside. Its insides oozed out as I pressed the graham cracker and chocolate around it.
Three of the kids ran past, giggling as they watched Mac. He was like a celebrity in their eyes, and Mac loved it. He got up and chased them to the fence and back. His energy was boundless—or at least, I hoped. Promises had been made that morning and I wasn’t going to bed without some recompense.
I watched Bash across the yard and smiled. He was discussing something with Ivan as they looked at a seasoning bottle and tuned the rest of the world out.
My two guys were so different from each other and that’s what made our relationship special. We completed each other in so many ways, some of them we probably couldn’t even see yet.
“This is the best family get together I’ve ever been to.” My voice cracked, betraying just how truthful that statement was.
“I’m glad we talked. I guess I’ve been taking this for granted lately.” Laurie’s eyes drifted to an older, white-haired couple sitting in the shade. The man was in a heated discussion with Susan, but they erupted into laughter before it got too intense. The white-haired woman was smiling and looking at the children hounding Mac. “I suppose it won’t last forever.”
That gnawing ache twisted inside me again. After losing Rob, life had become pointless, and I had little ambition to build a future. That changed, though. Now, our love filled me with hope. I wanted my future with Mac and Bash to go on forever. I wanted our days to be filled with as many memories as possible.
When I was white-haired and could only sit and watch, I wanted to be like the old woman beaming as she watched her children and grandchildren play around her.
Bash put his arms on my shoulders and said nothing, but looking up at his face, I heard loud and clear. I exchanged a look with Mac, who got to his feet.
“We have had such a fantastic time. Thanks for letting me play with you guys.” He waved to the kids who crowded around him for a big hug. “We have to leave first thing in the morning, and I promised these two a sunset beach walk.”
One boy jumped up, raising his hand. “We can walk with you—”
“David, let them be.” Laurie shook her head. “Have fun, you three.”
“I’ll pass your information on to Julie so she can get you the summer camp info.”
The kids swarmed Bash and I, hugging us as well.
I held my breath for a second, but Bash handled it beautifully. He even remembered a few of their names and had enough composure to compliment Susan on her potato salad.
The beach was only a ten-minute walk from the property, so after a fifteen-minute goodbye, we linked hands and strolled to the crossroads with the beat up yellow bus.
“You did so great, Bardot.” Mac slapped him on the ass when we were out of the family’s eyesight.
“What?”
“You talked to kids. You chatted with the guy grilling burgers. And you’re still smiling.”
At this, Bash’s grin dropped into a deep scowl. “I might not like being around a hundred people all the time, but I have manners.”
Mac grinned and ran ahead of us, his feet sinking into the sand. “God, it feels so good out here.”
He ran back, sliding in between us, grabbing our hands and tugging us along the beach as the ocean roared to our left.
And for a moment, I forgot about wedding planning. I forgot to check if my parents had RSVP’d yet. And I forgot about anything other than the three of us.
The ocean had a way of putting things into perspective. Nothing seemed that significant when relentless waves were crashing at my feet.
If only I could bottle up that moment and make it last forever.