“Did I just hear my name?” Mack asked as he poked his head out of the door. “What are you guys doing out there? It’s freezing. Come inside before you turn into icecubes.”
As they filed into the house, Hank split off to take her mom’s luggage to the bedroom. Madison rushed back into the kitchen as a timer beeped, and Carol and her mom strolled into thediningroom.
“Come sit with me.” A beautiful, curvy woman waved them over. She was sitting between a man who had to be a Grant brother, and Jimmy, the little boy from thepieshop.
Carol led her mom toward the head of the table where the other brothers usually sat. She settled her mom into the seat next to Jimmy before sitting nexttoher.
“I’m Rachel,” the woman said over the little boy’s head. “And this is my son Jimmy, and my fiancéBrady.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you,”Carolsaid.
“We’ve been in town dealing with wedding arrangements,” Brady said. “I think we’re almost donethough.”
“Is theweddingsoon?”
“Not too far off,” Rachel said. “I heard you’re also engaged.Congratulations.”
“Thank you,”Carolsaid.
“I heard you’re staying with us a while,” Rachel said toVicki.
“Just a bit until I can get on my feet again,” her mommumbled.
“We’ve all been through hard times,” Rachel said as she leaned over to pat Vicki’s hand. “One thing about this family is that we’re all here to support eachother.”
“It sounds like a mighty nice family,”Vickisaid.
“It is,” Brady said as he reached for his fiancée’s hand. He gave her a lovingsmile.
“I hope you’re all hungry,” Madison said as she walked into the room with a huge steaming bowl ofpulledpork.
Mack followed her in with a heaping plate of hoagie rolls. He made two more trips to bring in all the sides. Huge bowls of potato salad, coleslaw, and a cold pea salad were placed in the center of thetable.
The chow bell rang, bringing guests in from the living room. A couple entered the dining room covered in what looked like woodshavings.
“Logan! Didn’t you and Kate shake off outside?” Mack asked in a disapprovingvoice.
“We tried, but with all the sanding we did today, it was like fighting a lost cause,”Logansaid.
“I tried to get him to at least change clothes,” Kate said. “But he was bellyaching about beinghungry.”
“I know the feeling,” Hank said as he entered the room. He took the chair next to Carol then gave her a quick peck on thecheek.
“Well, eat up,”Madisonsaid.
As they ate, Carol gave silent thanks for being able to be a part of this family. Within minutes, her mom was smiling. When Jimmy accidentally knocked some peas off of his plate into her lap, shelaughed.
The meal didn’t end until the Grant brothers had stuffed their faces with more sandwiches than she could count. When everyone finally sat back, Rachel leaned over behind Jimmy and Vicki to tap Carol on theshoulder.
“After lunch, I want to show you something so I can get your opinion on it,”Rachelsaid.
“Okay.” Intrigued, Carol wondered what Rachel wanted toshowher.
“I’m getting pretty tired,”Vickisaid.
“Why don’t you go up and take a nap for a bit,” Madison suggested. “I can show you toyourroom.”
“Is that okay?” Vickiasked.
