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“My Uncle Jacob told me that this is the first year that they’ve had Christmas lights here at the Jacobs Estate since his mommy and daddy died.”
Hannah gripped Grady’s hand tighter and looked up at him.
“Shit! Is she supposed to be saying that?” Grady hoped like hell that she hadn’t just decided to share an extra story with the crowd. One glance at Jacob’s face reassured him. He rested his hand on Ava’s shoulder and nodded encouragingly when she looked up at him.
“I haven’t had Christmas lights since my mommy died either.”
Grady squeezed his eyes shut; he’d hated that for Ava.
Even with his eyes closed, he could feel Hannah looking at him. He blew out a sigh. “Braydon and his wife don’t do Christmas. Her family doesn’t, so …” He shrugged, not wanting to start a rant on his opinion about that. “I begged them to let me have her for Christmas for the last few years, but …” He clenched his jaw. “Vanessa thought it was better that her experience shouldn’t differ too much from the boys’.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not as sorry as I am. And look, she’s almost done.” Even as Ava continued speaking, the big switch in front of her lit up.
“I’m so happy that we get to have Christmas lights this year, and that we get to share them as a family.” Ava grinned at Jacob. “We hope that these lights will mark the beginning of your holiday season and that you will share lots of love and light with your family this Christmas.”
She looked at Jacob again and nodded. He stepped forward to join her and, in a move that Grady would bet wasn’t planned, he scooped her up and sat her on his hip.
Ava smiled at him, and he smiled back before they both turned to face the crowd again and shouted, “Merry Christmas!” Then they flipped the big switch and the huge Christmas tree lit up.
Grady had wondered how big of a deal the tree would be since there were already so many lights, but he needn’t have worried. They’d chosen the huge fir that stood in the flower bed in the middle of the circular driveway. It was as tall as the house, and it … Grady smiled. It was the most beautiful Christmas tree he’d ever seen. And that wasn’t the kind of shit he’d ever say out loud, unless it was to Ava.
Hannah grinned at him. “Wasn’t she awesome?”
“She was. And Jacob was, too.”
Hannah laughed. “I bet it’ll take a while before he comes over. He was all choked up; could you tell?”
“Yeah. Don’t give him a hard time about it, though, huh?”
She raised her eyebrows.
“I’m not telling you what to do with your own brother. It’s just, as a guy, it can be hard to process a whole bunch of emotions that come at you out of nowhere when you’re not expecting them.”
“Okay.”
He brushed away a strand of hair that had escaped from under her hat, and she caught his hand and leaned her face into his palm. “Thank you for coming into my life and for bringing Ava with you. You’ve already made our family a whole lot better.”
Grady swallowed. Thinking about them becoming a family should scare him. It would have in the past. But it didn’t, and it wasn’t just for Ava. He loved that she was getting Hannah and Uncle Jacob out of this deal, but he loved it for himself too. He could see becoming friends with Jacob. He looked down into Hannah’s eyes. If she became his wife, Jacob would be his brother-in-law. Damn, the thought made him smile instead of breaking out in a cold sweat. He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Thankyou.”
Hannah looked over his shoulder. “Here they come. Oh, wait, no they don’t.”
Grady turned around and saw Ava leading Jacob by the hand. “What the …?”
Hannah’s eyes were wide. “They were coming this way but then Ava spotted Becca and changed direction.”
“Do you think we should go rescue him?”
“Err, no!” Hannah jerked her head toward where Ava was now introducing Jacob to her teacher. “Look at that!”
A smile spread across Grady’s face as he watched Jacob and Becca shake hands. Jacob said something, and Becca laughed. He kept hold of her hand as they carried on talking, and she didn’t look like she had a problem with it.
“Tell me you can see the sparks flying?” Hannah asked.
“Oh, yeah.” Grady chuckled. “Do you think we should invite Uncle Jacob to Ava’s carol concert next week?”
Hannah grinned at him and planted a kiss on his lips. “Absolutely! I love the way you think, Grady Pierce.”
