Page 50 of In Every Chapter

The words sent the heat in my cheeks spiraling down my neck.

“Pais, you made it!” Melissa, Dallas’s wife, wrapped her arms around me in a gentle squeeze. “Ooh, you brought potato salad! I hope you didn’t feel pressured.”

Mama D had said much the same thing. No one expected me to have to cook after my fall.

Or The Accident as everyone was calling it. While I appreciated the sentiment, I was feeling a little too coddled after the ordeal. And my emotional fragility might be part of it. Everyone was walking on eggshells around my missing memory, and it didn’t help that I couldn’t even remember all the faces behind the voices of concern. Physically, I wasn’t feeling too worse for wear. My scrapes were mostly healed, and I’d graduated from the sling with a good riddance. But I hated the pitying looks and the velvet glove approach.

“Just wanted to do my part,” I said lightly, following her into the kitchen.

“Hey, you!” Shawna, Shane’s wife, waved at me, knife in hand as she chopped up bacon into small pieces.

I smiled at her and glanced around the spacious, homey kitchen. It was a heady tapestry of aromas, and even though my stomach was tight with knots, it gurgled softly with appreciation.

Mama D caught sight of me and, after a hug, shooed me away. “We’ve got this, honey.”

“But I want to help!” I protested.

Ignoring me, she gently scooted me towards the living room. “Here, you can take this to Pops. He’s manning the grill.” She thrust a glass baking dish into my hands, presumably for housing all the burgers, and gave me a final nudge.

Huffing softly to myself, I slipped out the patio doors to where Pops and the rest of the guys were gathered around the barbecue. “Mama sent me with this,” I offered quietly when they all glanced my way.

Dallas took the dish from me and offered a nod. “Good to see you again.” In the haze of visitors that had popped in since I’d come home, I remembered seeing him stop by.

“Hey, hon.” Pops’s blue eyes crinkled with smile lines. He stepped away from the grill to give me a hug. A nice comforting hug full of warmth, sunshine, and smoke. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m good,” I said quietly into his shoulder.

Once the burgers were done, the clan (numbering over thirty by my rough estimate) assembled, and Pops said the blessing over the food, adding a special thanks for Cal and Greyson, before we all dug in.

There really was too much food, but it was divine. Juicy burgers with homegrown tomatoes and lettuce. Four flavours of potato chips. A veggie platter with ranch dip. Darling little skewers with fruit pieces cut into shapes. Two cherry pies. A Black Forest birthday cake for Greyson and Cal. And gallons of sweet tea. (Mama D’s Southern roots always showed in the summer.)

After the meal and watching Greyson and Cal blow out the candles, I stood my ground about loading the dishwasher, and Juliet, true to her word, had backed me up before I was ushered into the living room with a cup of half-sweet sweet tea. But the room was hot and close, so I slipped out into the crisp evening air of the shady back porch. It had gotten late, and the sun had just set, leaving the darkening sky splattered with fading colour. A cool wind rushed out of the north and dark clouds climbed high on the horizon.

All the tells of a summer thunderstorm.

The porch swing beckoned, and I sank down to watch the gaggle of kids chase a few of the uncles around. There were six Satterfield kids, and they were all married—or in Cal’s case, he had been. Only four of them had kids (five, if you counted baby Delavan on the way), but somehow there were still seventeen grandkids running around—all ranging from infants to teenagers.

Night air was good for racing minds because mine was remarkably calmer than it had been fifteen minutes ago. Until . . .

“Mind if I join you?”

I glanced up to find Greyson with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the porch railing. Not sure how I missed seeing him. The man had a presence.

When I shrugged, he eased onto the porch swing. I was short enough that my legs didn’t readily reach the floor, so it was nice to have someone else take over keeping the rhythm of the swing. I was average height, but in a house built for giants, my legs still dangled.

“Is it always like this?” I asked, motioning to the screams of delight in the yard and several kids dogpiling their uncle. I think it was Dallas from that flash of reddish-brown hair.

Greyson chuckled, low and velvety.

I shuddered, then shook myself. I was just cold, that was all. Should have brought a cardigan. Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Paisley Grace.

“Family barbecues are a Satterfield family tradition,” Greyson said quietly. “I didn’t get out here much during my military time, but ever since I was a kid, Mom and Pops made family time a big deal. It brought us together.”

I smiled fondly at the figures on the lawn. “Jules brought me here the first year of college, and I’ve never left. Your family was so welcoming it was like I wasn’t a stranger. Like I—”

“Whoa!” Juliet cried, tumbling out the door, dragging Myles behind her. “It’s a little nippy out here, but it’s so loud inside I can’t hear myself talk.”

“That’s never been an issue, Sunshine,” Myles said with a smirk. “You can command any room.”