“How do you think Mabel did?”Maverick asked from the front seat.
“Well, she hasn’t texted me.”I checked my phone.The screen was blank, with no messages or notifications.“So I have to take that as a good sign, right?”
The men bobbed their heads.
“How’re you guys settling into island life?”Jagger asked.
Shrugging, I glanced out the window.“It’s a pretty slow and quiet way of life, that’s for sure.I think we’re still finding our footing.I wish Mabel had more social opportunities.”I scratched my chin.“Though, she’s not a particularly social child to begin with.So I don’t know if it would make a difference if we were here or in a big city.”
“It’s tough being homeschooled too, I can imagine,” Maverick added.“Damon asked to be homeschooled because of issues at the high school, but he can be kind of reclusive too.He’s been making more of an effort to get out and spend time with Austin and Marco, and I think that’s helping.”
“Hopefully, Mabel was able to bond with Laurel, Honor, and Sam a bit,” Jagger suggested.“They might be younger, but that shouldn’t really matter.They’re good kids.”
“They’re all really good kids,” I replied.“I can see that.You’ve done an incredible job.”
The guys both snorted and shook their heads.Maverick glanced back in his seat at me.“Not us, bro.We just arrived on the scene earlier this year.That’s all their moms.Those women are warriors.”His gaze turned serious.“Naomi told you their story yet?”
I nodded.“You mean escaping the Christian fundamentalist cult, abusive husbands, and their aunt who helped them get to the island?”
“Yeah.Pretty crazy shit, right?”
“Makes sense why they value their freedom and independence so much,” Jagger added.“And why they are so firm on notneedinga man.That we don’t complete them, we just add to what is already whole.”
“As it should be.”Maverick faced forward again.“I like that Gabrielle is strong and fierce.”
“And Raina can be a prickly little cactus, but that keeps me on my toes and adds so much spice to our life.”Jagger chuckled as he took the last corner on the road; the rows of grapevines came into view.“I actually bought her a cactus when she still hated me because I said it reminded me of her.Strong, prickly, and cute.”
I huffed an amused laugh.“And how’d she take that?”
“She’s a big plant slut—her words, not mine—so it started to melt some of the ice around her heart.”
“Gabrielle is a cheese slut,” Maverick said.“I’m always surprising her with something new from Fred’s Ched Shed.I even signed us up for a cheese-making course when I was first trying to get her to date me and stop making such a big deal about our age gap.”
“Whatisyour age gap?”I asked.We turned into the vineyard; Maverick’s and my trucks were parked under one of the big lampposts.
“She’s forty-one and I’ll be twenty-seven in a few months.So, fifteen years-ish.”He lifted a bulky shoulder beneath his light-gray Henley.“But age is just a number.We make it work.I don’t need to have kids of my own.I love Damon and Laurel like they’re mine.If you want it badly enough, you figure out how to get it.And I wantherbadly enough.”
A vortex of uncertainty whipped into a froth in my belly.Were they going to ask about Naomi’s and my age gap?It was less than Gabrielle’s and Maverick’s, not that it mattered.They hadn’t asked my age yet though.Not since Tom asked last week.I was sure they were all curious.The whole island was.
Jagger parked the truck and turned off the engine.“Well, boys, another successful night keeping a donkey alive who doesn’t deserve to be.Same time, same place, same shenanigans next Monday?”
Maverick and I both chuckled as we climbed out of the truck.
The light was on in the tasting room, and we could see movement through the windows, so that’s where we all headed.Jagger held the door open for us, and I stepped in to find my daughter sitting at one of the booths wiping bottles with a disposable cloth.A heavy blanket was draped over her lap, instantly setting off alarm bells in my head.
Naomi stood up from her spot at the booth across from Mabel.“We had a bit of a panic attack earlier,” she said, lowering her voice.“But we took care of it.”I glanced at Mabel again, but she was busy with the wine bottles and answering a question Danica had just asked her.“We did some deep breathing with her, had her label her senses, and Danica got her a weighted blanket.Then Mabel asked for some snacks.”I took in the crackers, cheese, pretzels, and fruit on the table amongst the labels and bottles.
“Wh-what was the panic attack about?”I asked, my fingers twitchy at my sides.
Naomi’s long, slender throat moved on a heavy swallow.“Um … death.Abandonment.Fear of losing you.You might want to have some conversations with her when you get home.”
On the brink of my own panic attack, I stepped away from Naomi and crouched down next to my kid.Mabel turned her head to face me, but didn’t smile.“Mabes, you okay?What happened?”
“Anxiety,” she said plainly.“Over you dying.Over Kyla coming back and trying to kill you.Over me becoming an orphan.”Her tone was flat, and she robotically turned back to focus on wiping the bottles.
I stood up to my full height, feeling less and less in control of my emotions, let alone anything else as the seconds ticked by.I grabbed Naomi’s arm and pulled her over to the side.“You didn’t call me.Why didn’t you call me?”
“Shedidn’t want to call you.We offered.Several times.But she said she didn’t want to bother you.That you need friends and to socialize, and she didn’t want to burden you.We all quickly said that as her parent you wouldn’t see it as a burden, but she was adamant that we not text or call.”Her gaze turned serious.“The last thing I want to do is betray your daughter’s trust and go against her wishes.”
