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“I know, hun. I’ve seen the Calamity website. I saw your performance last night.”
“You did?” She’d been so overwrought she hadn’t thought to look. “I don’t want to know the reviews. The Mini Callows are going to light me on fire.”
“There are always going to be haters, but you’d be surprised at how much they loved you. Let’s just say it’s safe for you to scroll when you get to the airport. Now, tell me about this boy.”
“Well, first, he’s Ian’s friend. He was one of the groomsmen.”
“That ranch boy?”
“Yes. He’s amazing, Mom. And he’s got a daughter.” She heard her mom’s sharp intake of breath. “And that’s why I didn’t tell you. I knew you’d spend the whole summer worrying I’d never come home. But it didn’t work out.”
“That’s why I always say it. Friends come and go, boyfriends break your heart, but family is always there for you.”
“Yeah. I get it now. I do.”
“I’m sorry he hurt you. But that’s what happens. Love has so much power over us that we get carried away. We forget that friends and boyfriends aren’t tied to us. Not the way family is. We’re a tribe, forever connected. We look out for each other no matter what. It’s in all of our best interests to band together.”
But what if Jaime’s the one? Then what?
“As soon as you come home, I’ll make pasta e fagioli, your favorite comfort food. I can’t take care of you two thousand miles away. And imagine if you’d had children with that man. You wouldn’t have all of us to help raise them.”
“Yeah, I know. I thought the same thing.”
“Now, this brings me to why I called. I talked to the Adlers, and they told me about the building they bought for you. They want you to open a Renzo’s, but your dad and I talked about it. You ran away this summer so you could do this thing you love—”
“I ran away from my wedding. I stayed here to make money to pay you back the money Ian stole.”And because I fell in love.
With a man who doesn’t feel he deserves to be happy.
“But if you were happy here, you wouldn’t have done that. And hear me when I say, I want you happy, Grace. If you’re happy, you’ll stay. And so, the bakery is yours, sweetheart. It’s not a Renzo’s. Elise has agreed to stay on, so you can bake to your heart’s content in Newport.”
“You don’t mind me not working in the bakery?”
“I mind you being two thousand miles away from me. Two hours and a ferry ride, I can handle.”
This was huge. Something her mom never could have done three months ago. “Thank you. That means the world to me.”
“I’ll see you tonight, right? Text us when your flight lands. We miss you, sweetheart.”
“I miss you, too.” Grace ended the call and got up. With a renewed purpose, she set the apron in the suitcase and finished packing.
She tidied up her cabin and left a note for the Duprees.
And then, she walked out of the cabin and closed the door behind her.
ChapterEighteen
Jaime could barely lifthis fork. Did he have the flu?
He was pushing too hard, he knew that. Between caring for his daughter and onboarding the goalies, he hadn’t had a minute. He hadn’t even spent time with Grace.
During last night’s show, he’d gotten a text from his mom saying Kinny was grumpy. He’d taken that to mean she was in pain, so he’d stayed to watch Grace’s performance—wouldn’t have missed it for the world—but then, after a quick hello, he’d hurried home.
After the family dinner, he’d head over to her cabin.
And yeah, on some level, he knew he’d been avoiding her. He’d seen how much he’d annoyed her with his overreaction. But it wasn’t like he could snap his fingers and make the anxiety go away. He just needed time. A few days to pull his shit together.
How did he explain what it felt like to be back in that hospital, right near a stairwell? No, it wasn’t exactly where he’d encountered Ms. Hayes. But it didn’t matter. It threw him back to the woman’s anguished cry, that finger pointing at him, telling him it was all his fault and that if her son died, he’d have to live with it.
