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She hoped Zach would come but wasn’t holding her breath for tonight. He would be here soon, he’d promised, but he was still wrapping up some kind of investigation. She missed her brother, missed that strong shoulder she’d leaned on over the years. Now that she was back in Clayton for good, Brooke wanted her siblings home, too. She even had the crazy idea that she might convince Zach to take Sheriff Digger’s position now that he was retiring.
Ah, well. Tonight was going to be wonderful, and having given his blessing to Gabe and her, Zach was here in her heart.
She took a long, happy breath.
Spicy barbecued pork fragranced the air. Gabe had ordered the meal, and the Hicks brothers catered the food with Arabella’s able assistance. She’d baked the breads and desserts that had Brooke calculating how many miles she’d have to run this next week.
“You’re killing me with those pastries,” she teased as she helped line the desserts on a long, plastic-covered table.
“You can’t live on love.”
“Who says?”
Arabella sobered. “Speaking of which, I guess you noticed Jasmine isn’t here. She’s off somewhere with Cade.”
“I invited both of them.”
“Cade refused. Apparently, he thinks his presence would make waves.” Arabella slid a knife across a pecan pie, deftly cutting the gooey sweet into eight equal pieces. “This is one of the reasons I don’t want them to get married. She’ll be an outcast from the family from now on.”
“The feud has exacerbated since Gabe fired Vincent. I feel bad for Jasmine and Cade.”
“Vincent is furious with you, that’s for sure,” her cousin said. “He’s told everyone in town how you’re out to ruin him.”
“You and I know that’s a lie. At least there have been no more problems at the Lucky Lady.”
“For now,” Arabella replied. “We also know that side of the family is not going to stop until they get their hands on Grandpa George’s fortune or until someone proves they’re to blame for the recent mischief.”
“If Zach ever comes home, he’s the perfect choice to investigate.”
“If. So many ifs, Brooke.” Arabella pointed a cake lifter. “Here comes your gorgeous man.”
Her gorgeous man. Hers. Gabe Wesson loved her. She loved him. She could hardly believe how God had worked out a life plan once she’d gotten out of the way and given Him control.
“Can I steal my woman?”
Arabella handed Brooke a napkin. “Wipe that smirk off his face.”
“I happen to love that smirk.” Laughing, Brooke hooked arms with her gorgeous man and strolled away. “What’s up?”
“Just wanted to be with you.”
“Same here.” She sighed, content. “Where’s our boy?”
“Macy and her new best friend took him to the nursery to play.”
“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?” She no longer broke out in sweat every time the boy was out of her sight. Neither did Gabe, though they both kept a careful watch. If Vincent had taken the toddler before, he might try again.
“I think we should tell Darlene about our decision tonight.” Gabe nodded toward the frail woman sitting at the far end of the hall. The pastor’s wife sat with her, talking.
“Tonight is perfect.” They’d talked and prayed about Macy for days and both had reached the same momentous conclusion. If anything should happen to Darlene, they wanted to adopt Macy as their own. Gabe had already set up a college fund for her.
“You are such a good man. No wonder I love you madly.”
“I hope you don’t change your mind when I tell you what I’ve done.”
She stepped back. “What?”
He reached into his suit jacket and took out an envelope. “A little gift.”
“Gabe, you don’t have to buy me things.”
“What good is money if I can’t spend it on the woman I love?” He prodded her with the envelope. “You want this. You may not know you want it, but you do. Remember how I told you Emmanuel Corporation always gives back to a community?”
She removed the folded document and read. “You’ve started a trust fund for the Lucy Clayton Recreational Facility?”
