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Hope's heart broke for them all. She knew firsthand what it felt like to lose someone you were closer to than anyone else in the world. At least Sam had lived a long and fulfilling life, whereas Olivia's had hardly begun.
"Can we have more cookies, Gram?"
"And I thought my boys had hollow legs," she said, grabbing four more cookies from the jar and handing them to Zach before returning to the table. "Speaking of my boys, I want to thank you."
Hope arched a brow. "Thank me? What on earth for?"
"For Drew being here for the holidays."
Still puzzled, Hope gave her head a little shake. "Heaskedmeto come," she clarified.
"I know. But if you hadn't agreed, I'm pretty sure he'd still be in Kentucky right now."
Surprised by Anna's declaration, Hope was trying to formulate a response when Drew's grandparents blew into the kitchen. "Ham's here!" Zeke announced, his booming baritone reverberating off the walls and granting Hope a much appreciated but likely temporary reprieve.
Chapter Eight
By four, everyone who'd gathered at the Blackwood table for Thanksgiving dinner was stuffed to the gills. After Sarah and Zeke arrived, the three women finished what was left to get the meal on the table while Zeke took the boys out to locate the rest of the Blackwood men.
Once everyone had returned to the main house, showered, and changed clothes, they all took their seats and bowed their heads as Zeke offered the blessing from his perch at the far end of the table.
As the Amen was chorused, Eli, seated at the other end of the long oak table, carved the turkey, and from there, the food made its rounds, plates were filled to overflowing, and conversation stalled as everyone enjoyed the vast array of delicious homemade food.
Twenty minutes into the meal, small talk began to fill the silence. There was an enviable easiness among them as they chatted, teased, joked, and boasted with each other. No topic within reason was off limits, and Hope could imagine how entertaining mealtimes must have been when Drew and his brothers were growing up.
Then again, she figured anytime they were together was entertainment at its finest.
Well, maybe not so much for Reese these days. Although he had chimed in on a few of their stories, his comments had been few and noticeably brief. Hope could empathize with him. Although her first Thanksgiving without her father wasn't easy, being with the Blackwoods made the transition much easier to bear. Maybe Drew had known what he was doing when he'd invited her to come home with him instead of potentially spending the holidays alone.
Which reminded Hope of Anna's earlier comment that if Hope hadn't agreed to come to Beaumont with him, Drew wouldn't have come either. Something told Hope his mother might be right.
By the time the table had been cleared, dishes washed, and leftovers stashed in the fridge, the men retired to the great room to watch football on the big screen TV. When Hope and Anna joined them, Jack was pulling on his jacket. "You're leaving?" Anna asked, her tone laced with a hint of disappointment.
"Yeah. I promised Tess I'd stop by her parents’." He dropped a kiss on his mother's cheek. "Everything was delicious, as always," he complimented. "Hope, I'm sure I'll be seeing you again while you're here."
"I hope so."
After a round of hugs and a chorus of goodbyes, Jack left, and Sarah entered with a stack of circulars. "Are you a Black Friday shopper, Hope?"
“No. In fact, I’ve never done the whole Black Friday thing,” she confessed. “My father and I usually got our tree and put it up instead.” God, she was going to miss that.
"Anna and I venture out every year. You're more than welcome to join us if you'd like."
Though she appreciated the invitation, Hope didn't think she was ready to delve into the chaos surrounding Black Friday shopping. First, she hated large crowds. Second, she detested waiting in line. And third, Hope wanted to shop for the majority of the gifts she needed in the quaint little shops on Main Street.
"Thanks for offering to include me, but if you don’t mind, I think I’ll pass.”
"Of course, dear. Lord knows it's not for everyone. Anna and I get a charge out of it, though, don't we?"
"Never a dull moment, I'll say that much,” Anna agreed.
When Hope and Drew finally returned to the apartment, it was nearly eight. They'd eaten dessert, watched football, warmed the leftovers, cleaned up the remnants, and watched more football until halftime of the second game. At that point, the crowd gathered at the main house began to dwindle.
Reese had taken Alex and Zach for evening rounds. Holden had disappeared to a post-Thanksgiving destination he chose not to share. And Sarah and Anna had headed out for their annual Black Friday excursion, which seemed to begin earlier and earlier each year, according to Eli.
"You don't think I upset your mother and grandmother when I begged off going shopping with them, do you?"
Drew tossed his keys on the end table and shrugged out of his shearling jacket. "No, why?"
