Before I knew it, little Gracie was hauling ass as she ran toward me, all wobbly and adorable. Her arms flailed as I scooped her right up and spun her around. My niece owned my heart in every way.
“You smell like pumpkins,” I said, kissing her cheek.
“Grammie and Pops and me carved pumpkins today.” She placed a hand on my cheek and smiled before reaching for Reese.
My best friend scooped my niece into her arms and hugged her. Reese had babysat Gracie dozens of times over the years, as she was one of the few people outside of our family that Cage trusted with his daughter.
“I’m happy you’re home, Ree Ree.” My niece settled her head of curls on Reese’s shoulder.
“Me, too, Gracie girl. I’ve missed you big.”
“Are you Uncle Finny’s girlfriend now?” she whispered, and I raised a brow at Cage.
“Don’t shoot the messenger. The whole town is talking about it.” He shrugged.
Reese’s sage-green eyes found mine, and for the first time, I saw the doubt. This was all fun and games, but she’d never do anything to hurt Gracie.
I gave her the look that I knew she needed from me.
It’s fine. There won’t be any broken hearts when it’s done.
We’d always been able to communicate without words, and she nodded.
This was temporary.
No one was going to get hurt.
There would never be anything that could come between me and Reese. Not even her dickhead ex-fiancé.
When we entered the kitchen, all hell broke loose. We made our rounds hugging everyone, and in typical Reynolds-Murphy fashion, we all talked at the same time, but somehow it worked for us.
When they were all done fawning all over Reese, we made our way to the table. My mom had made chicken marinara, and after the long flight, I was ready for a home-cooked meal. The dinner conversation was light as Gracie, who was sitting between her dad and Hugh, filled in Reese on how her first few weeks of kindergarten were going.
“I can’t believe you’re in Mrs. Clifton’s class. She’s been teaching for so long. She was my favorite,” Reese said, shaking her head. We’d all been in her class back in the day.
“She’s the best,” I agreed.
“Just don’t try to tell her how to do her job.” Brinkley reached for her glass of red wine and took a sip. “She told Mom that I was too bossy.”
My mother’s head fell back in laughter. “She had something to say about each of you, but it always came from a good place. She thought Brinks needed to be reminded that she wasn’t the teacher.”
“Well, my girl does things better than most people, so it only seems right that she would take control of her classroom.” Lincoln chuckled as he leaned over and kissed the top of her head. He was the best quarterback in the league, and we were all hoping he was going to lead the New York Thunderbirds to the Super Bowl this year. They tried to fly home to Cottonwood Cove on the free weekends that he didn’t have a game and Brinkley could work remotely.
“Can’t argue with that.” My mother gazed around the table, her eyes landing on her firstborn, my older brother, and a wide grin spread across her face. “And she said that Cage needed to work on his patience. I think we got called in several times about that.”
“Didn’t Cage pop someone in the nose because they cut him in line? He got sent home for the afternoon if I’m remembering right,” Dad said, and the table erupted in laughter.
“You got suspended from kindergarten, brother,” Hugh said with a chuckle.
“Tony Landry cut me in line one too many times. A kid can only take so much.” Cage rolled his eyes before looking at his daughter with a brow raised. “But you’re better than Daddy ever was as a kid, so don’t do what I did.”
“Sounds like the kid had it coming,” Maddox said. He and my sister, Georgia, had been married for a few weeks now, and they were ridiculously in love. “What did she have to say about Mrs. Lancaster?”
“I think I recall her telling us that Georgie was a bit of a daydreamer,” my father said as he smiled at my youngest sibling.
“Yes. She said that Georgie had her head in the clouds sometimes,” my mother added.
More laughter.
“I’ve always liked the clouds and the stars,” Georgia said, smiling at her husband.
“Didn’t she call me a stubborn child?” Olivia huffed, looking from her father to her mother.
“Yes. She’d said Reese was a people pleaser and that you were too stubborn for your own good,” Jenny said.