I walked through the house, lingering in the doorway of the kitchen toward the back of the small home.
“Hey, Fiona,” I greeted. As she turned around, I smiled and held out the pie I’d purchased from Jena after a delayed opening at the bakery because the power went out on one side of Main Street. The whole strip was running on backup generators.
“Grace,” she said flatly, her voice gravelly with age and irritation, which normally wouldn’t bother me. But I wasn’t prepared for how much it hurt me when her disdain was so plainly directed at me.
Fiona grabbed the pie from my hands and set it on the counter, not even bothering to open it as she went back to her coffee machine.
“Surprised you even remember where I live,” she muttered, stirring her black coffee that she spiked with rum. Fiona thought nobody noticed the little flask she’d pull out at the coffee shop. It was one of her endearing qualities.
Her words stung, but I wasn’t expecting a warm welcome either. “I’m sorry, Fiona. I really want to make things right. I’m here to stay.”
“I thought so for a minute too,” Fiona spat, and then shook her head, composing herself. “I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
“You’re right. I disappointed a lot of people. I messed up. I’m sorry it isn’t a quick fix, but I’ll prove it to you and everyone. I’ve changed. I finally know that. I know what’s important. What I want.”
“You know I’m not the forgiving type. You think pie and those doe eyes will work on me like they do on CJ?” Fiona rolled her eyes and waved me off.
“I’ll be here to annoy you every day.” I smirked, knowing she needed to see results.
Fiona’s lips upturned slightly. “We shall see.”
“I love them, you know. Noelle and Caleb. I never meant to hurt them,” I admitted honestly.
“You did though.” Fiona shrugged, and while I didn’t like the truth, I appreciated that she didn’t sugarcoat it for me.
Last thing I wanted to do was gloss over my loved ones’ pain.
“I know what you’ve told me about your scandal in the big city. But newsflash, darling, we don’t give a shit about any of that. Although I do like some of those sparkly bags of yours. Anyway, we care about how you treat our people. Anne is one of my best friends, more like a daughter to me than my kid. Ms. Kenzie and I were there for her and CJ from the beginning. You’ll never get it. We saw the struggles.”
“I know,” I muttered, looking down ashamedly, but I was quickly cut off.
“No, you don’t know shit. Not about what they went through. If you put him or that sweet girl, Noelle, through any more shit, I won’t hesitate to break your kneecaps like my last son-in-law.”
My eyes widened but I stayed quiet.
“We love ya, Grace. Now you just gotta love yourself.”
CHAPTER 43
Caleb
AUGUST
Noelle saton the porch swing, her legs tucked beneath her, as she stared out at the late summer, stormy sky. I stepped outside, two ice cream sundaes in hand. She took hers without a word and started eating.
“You okay, kiddo?” I asked, nudging her with my shoulder.
She swallowed a bite of ice cream before answering, “Yeah.” A small smile tugged at her lips. “Grace will be over soon.” A moment passed, and then Noelle said, “I’m glad you met her.”
My chest tightened at the sound of it. She loved Grace as though it was the most natural thing in the world now. I wrapped an arm around the back of the swing, letting it rock gently. “Me too.”
Noelle was quiet for a moment, staring down at her ice cream. “I was scared she wouldn’t come back.”
I swallowed hard, feeling all the emotions again. “Yeah. I was too.”
She leaned her head against my arm, her voice quieter now. “I didn’t want to tell you this at first, but I was scared she left because of me.”
“Hey.” I turned to face her fully, my parental instincts in full gear. I gave her a fierce look. “Grace leaving had nothing to do with you. Not even a little bit. She had her own things to figure out. Sometimes … sometimes, grown-ups fuck up.”
