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He laughed and sat back in his chair. “I wasn’t planning on it, but—”
“But you know, who doesn’t feel drawn to live in a town where you can be stabbed in front of a church?” I said casually. “They should put up billboards.”
Matthew gave a heavy sigh, and I felt the look. “Really?”
I had to snicker. “You really are one of us.”
“I’m just saying...” he continued, shoving at my shoulder. “That... I don’t know. I never had family before.” His jaw clenched and he waited a beat. “Outside of my mom, I never had—” He stopped and gestured in a circle. “This. I like it. I feel it, just being here, even with all the stuff happening. What do I have in Charlotte but an old house and a job?” He shook his head. “I love running the food bank, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just me there. Here it—it feels like you’re never alone.”
Grace and I laughed at the same time.
“Oh, that’s for sure,” she said. “Everyone knows your business the second you’ve done it, and you are never alone.”
He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes and looking so much like our dad in that tiny move that I had to blink away. “What do y’all think?
“I think it’s fabulous,” Grace said. “And my kids can go stay with Uncle Matty every other Friday night.”
“Uncle Matty.” He chuckled. “I like that. It’s a deal.” His eyes met mine and went soft. “Whatcha think, Auntie Faith? Want to go in on that with me?”
Auntie Faith.
My eyes burned and I had to blink fast to push back the emotion. It was all I’d ever be, but my brother was holding me up from two feet away and telling me to own it.
I’d be the best aunt ever.
My lips trembled as I smiled. “You got it.”
“So, what will you do here?” she asked, oblivious to our private interchange.
“Yeah, we didn’t get to that part so much,” I said, clearing my throat. “The margaritas got really good.”
“We ventured into exes,” he said. “Teenage years. Our childhoods.”
“Dad.” I met Grace’s gaze, as one eyebrow raised. “I told him that you and Hope need to take him out one night after the baby’s here when you need a break and give him the rest of the story.”
“It’s a date,” she said, raising her water bottle to Matthew, but I saw the shadow flicker across her expression. Now that Dad was gone, she and Hope talked about it less and less, like they were finally able to shut that door. “So back to you and your job prospects. Although I guess you don’t have to worry right away?”
Matthew shifted in his seat like talking about money was uncomfortable. I got that. When you’d never had anything, suddenly swimming in it had to feel surreal. Especially when the rest of your new family got nothing.
“It’s okay,” I said softly. “We’re happy for you. And we’re glad you might come back for good.”
His shoulders relaxed. “Well, you’re right, Grace, I do have some options. I could move here and live off the trust, eating fancy food and watching Netflix every day,” he said, making us laugh. “Or I could set aside some for my next mission project and use the rest to remodel the church. I can stretch a dollar for food, believe me. It’s something that becomes really important when you see some of these third world countries.”
“Remodel the church?”
He got a mischievous glint in his eyes. “It didn’t dawn on me till I looked around in there—and it would take some serious work to revamp it—but what do you think of turning it into a community center?”
“A community center—like what do you mean?” Grace asked, leaning in.
“Like... a place for gatherings, maybe turn some of those back offices into conference rooms—or party rooms, even—that can be rented out,” he said, his expression taking on a faraway look like he was envisioning it. “The sanctuary would need the most change, but there’s a lot of potential, especially if we keep it generic. We could have after-school programs, summer programs...”
“Ohhh, now you’re talking my language,” Grace said. “Keep going.”
“Even yoga,” Matthew said. “Exercise classes.”
“Self-defense,” I said, surprised to hear it come out of my mouth. I met both their gazes.
“Bingo,” Grace said with a small smile.
