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“I did what my parents told me to do. I did what was expected of me,” Elsa pointed out and Ginny hated how her parents and grandparents’ generations viewed marriage. “That’s why I wanted you and your siblings to follow your hearts and dreams, because life is too short to fit into tiny boxes built by someone else.”
Her mother would never fully understand just how grateful Ginny was that she’d neverforcedher into those boxes. Sure, Elsa had expectations and wishes for Ginny, but she never gave her ultimatums.
“I bet they were unhappy when Joey decided that she was never getting married,” Ginny said, chuckling at the memory of Cyrus’ face when her big sister flat out refused to meet with any more eligible bachelors because she was choosing a single life.
“They called Cyrus and gave him a piece of their mind. He of course put all the blame on me.”
“Shocking,” Ginny deadpanned and when she glanced at her mother, both of them burst out laughing. Until her mother winced and groaned, clutching at her side. “Oh shit, mom, I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay. It feels good to laugh. Feels good to be here with you, where we can laugh and talk about all of that. But ponne—” Elsa set her plate down on the small table and turned to face her “—I hope you know that you are perfect just the way you are. I might not have always said the right thing and made you feel like you weren’t enough, but you, my beautiful daughter, are the most brilliant woman I have ever known. You didn’t let anybody stand in your way and you made a life for yourself.”
“Mom…” she trailed off, shaking her head as fresh tears welled in her eyes.
“I am so proud to be your mother, Ginny. Proud of everything you’ve done with your life and how strong you are. You inspire me, you know that?”
“That’s ridiculous, becauseyou’remy hero,” Ginny countered with a watery smile, sniffling as she held onto her mother.
“I know I sounded skeptical when you told me about Gavin the first time, but I’m glad you have him. All those summers, I watched him pine for you and I worried that he would get hurt.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Ginny scoffed.
Elsa waved off her sarcasm and chuckled. “You were a heartbreaker with your generous smiles and beautiful eyes, I think every boy on the island was in love with you. Gavin was so young and so dedicated to making you happy.”
Even now, after she’d been with Gavin and she’d fallen head over heels in love with him, hearing about his feelings in the past startled her. She must have been so caught up in thegood lifethat she missed all the signs.
“He’s still dedicated to making me happy,” Ginny admitted with a smile.
“You deserve the good kind of love and he deserves you.”
This time the tears were rolling down her cheeks again and Ginny whimpered as her mother pulled her in for another hug. “I love you.”
“I love you too, chakkare.”
CHAPTER36
The sightof Elsa Thomas battered and bruised had knocked the wind out of him, but he stayed strong for Ginny. He knew that she’d been worrying about her mother this whole time, so seeing her like that must have been hard. As much as he didn’t want to leave Ginny alone, his mother shot him a pointed glare and Gavin knew better than to pretend like he didn’t understand what it meant. He stayed in the kitchen, hovering close to the window to keep an eye on her. He didn’t need to know what they were saying, but Gavin wanted to make sure that Ginny didn’t need him.
“She’ll be fine, honey.” Gavin turned to his mother and found her smiling at him. “The Thomas women are strong. They’ll get through this.”
He nodded and dropped into a chair at the breakfast nook. Even without looking out the window, Gavin knew that his girl was in distress. If he was the violent type, he’d hunt down Cyrus and beat the shit out of him. But that wasn’t who he was and he knew that Ginny wouldn’t want that either. He would love and protect her the way he knew best, and that included not bringing her asshole of a father back into the picture again.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
His father walked into the kitchen at that moment and shook his head. “It’s not ours to tell and if Ginny wants to tell you, she will.”
“Come on.” He grunted and rubbed a hand through his hair, one leg bouncing fast. “What do I do now?”
“Get out of here,” his father offered as his mother said, “Go for a drive.”
Glancing between his parents, he saw them share a smile and Gavin sighed as he got to his feet. “Will you call if she needs me?”
“Of course, honey.” His mother stood up as well and pulled him into a hug. “She’s lucky to have you.”
Gavin squeezed his mother and forced himself to breathe slowly and then pulled back to smile at his parents. Reminding them to call him if anything happened, Gavin climbed into his truck and set out with no destination in mind. He kept the windows down, radio playing a classic rock station as he drove. His mind wandered to the last few days and he had to admit that when he saw the look on Ginny’s face that morning, he wasconvincedthat she was going to break up with him. Knowing that she’d considered it had hurt, but Gavin understood where she was coming from. Sort of. Cyrus Thomas was proving to be an absolute tool and it infuriated him that Ginny kept comparing herself to the man. They were nothing alike and he was going to make sure that she remembered it for the rest of her life.
At Ginny’s house, Gavin opened the door to find Cedar and Copper waiting for him. He grabbed a change of clothes for both of them, as well as the necklace he’d spent his teenage summer earnings on, and then loaded the animals into his truck. He might have left his parents’ house without a plan, but once he got to Wildes, he knew where he needed to go.
Before he and Ginny got together, Gavin had been in touch with a realtor about finding a new place. While his house was great, he wanted something with more open space so Cedar could run wild. And one day, he wanted to start a family. He loved the house he’d grown up in and wanted one with a similar set up. Most of the houses were atrocious and would require way too much work, so the realtor kept looking. A week or so after they had not so officially labeled their relationship, the realtor called with news about a ranch home that was away from the noise of Wildes, with ample room on the inside and outside. Gavin had gone to see it, fell in love and put in an offer instantly.
