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As talk swirls around me, my thoughts get stuck on Kylie and the nursery. I’m sure the idea of having to pick a new theme is breaking her heart, but I wonder if there’s a way to incorporate the old theme with a new one in some way.

An idea begins to form, but I need to speak with an expert before I follow through on it.

CHAPTER 30

Kylie

“It’s not too late, Mom. You could come with us,” I offer again. As much as I avoid spending prolonged time with my mother, I also hate the idea of her spending Thanksgiving alone. Plus, she’d likely play nice because she cares more about people’s opinions of her than making angry digs at me.

Mom delicately sips from her cup of coffee. She’d put out a nice spread of breakfast items on her kitchen table for us. Jacob was supposed to come with me this morning, but we decided to stagger our visits so Mom wouldn’t be alone the entire day. “No, no. It would be rude to change my RSVP at the last minute.”

I make a face. “You know Caroline wouldn’t see it that way. She’d love to have you there.”

“I would see it that way. And besides, you’ve got your new family to spend time with. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.”

The verbal slice cuts deep. It takes a long breath to keep from responding to the barb in anger. She’s hurting because she wants to join in, but her grief over Dad not being here stops her from doing it. It’s as if her whole life stopped the day he died. As hard as it is to deal with her anger, I understand it a little better now. If I lost Gray as early as she lost Dad, I’d probably want to shut myself away too.

It doesn’t excuse the way she speaks to me, but I can empathize with her more than ever before.

Standing from my chair, I start gathering my dishes. “I’m going to go before I say something I don’t really mean. Jacob will be by in a little while. Come over to Caroline and David’s if you change your mind.”

“Leave the dishes. I’ll get them,” she says quietly—her way of offering an apology. It’s not enough. It’s never been enough, but I’ve yet to find the backbone to stand up to her.

I gently squeeze her shoulder to offer my own silent olive branch as I walk out. Gray and London are already at his parents’ house, so that’s where I go next. Before I back out of the driveway, I shoot Jacob a text to warn him Mom’s at her worst today. He responds with the saluting emoji, which makes me laugh. She’s never as vicious to Jacob as she is to me, but he’s still on the receiving end of her cutting remarks.

Multiple cars are parked outside the Reed house when I arrive. I didn’t expect everyone to show up this early. We’re not supposed to eat for a few more hours. Then again, Gray’s family likes to gather no matter the occasion, so it shouldn’t surprise me they’re already here.

Walking through the front door, I’m immediately met with a wall of noise. It’s jarring in comparison to my mom’s house.

I follow the chatter, finding the kitchen full of people. Caroline and her two sisters are moving seamlessly around each other to prep the food. David and Damien are sitting at the table while Gray’s cousins weave in and out of the melee, chasing their kids. It’s straight chaos.

Not quite ready to be part of the mosh pit, I search for Grayson and London. They’re not anywhere downstairs, so I head up to see if they’re in the playroom. I stop at the threshold of the guest bedroom where I find Gray, squatted down in front of London, who’s currently bawling her eyes out.

“B-b-but I d-d-d-don’t want s-s-something dif-different,” she stutters out through her tears.

“I understand. Mama did your hair so pretty this morning,” Gray says softly. London’s hair is now down and soaking wet instead of in the double braids I’d done this morning. She’s also wearing a T-shirt and pants instead of the dress she’d chosen.

Grayson holds his daughter, waiting until she calms down a bit before offering, “I’m not as good at braids as Mama, but I can give it a try.”

London nods in acceptance, turning around for Gray to attempt to fix her hair. “If you can’t do it, I’ll wait for Mama to get here.”

“Good idea, sweetheart.”

I keep myself hidden, soaking in the moment of seeing the two of them together. Watching Grayson be a dad is one of the greatest honors of my life. He was made for fatherhood. His well of patience never ends, and I’m always in awe of how he tackles London’s biggest woes.

They don’t get as much one-on-one time anymore now that I live with them. I’ll have to encourage them to do that a little more often.

Grayson’s deft fingers make quick work of the plaiting. It’s not quite as even as mine, but he still nails the style. He ties off the end of the second one, and I decide it’s time to make my presence known.

“Hey, you two.”

They turn in sync, and I grin at the identical smiles they beam at me.

“Mama!” London comes racing over to me. “Cousin Wayne spilled chocolate milk all over me. I had to get a bath.”

I wince at the visual. I can only imagine how big a mess that was. Grayson presses a quick kiss to my mouth in hello. “It was a series of unfortunate events. Luddy had just bent down to pet Russell. Wayne miscalculated where his cup was, and said cup’s lid was not screwed on correctly.”

“Yikes. Well, it looks like Daddy fixed your hair perfectly.”