“Dad, come on. Nobody gets to eat without helping to get everything onto the table.”
For an instant, Sam looked startled, but then his lips curved slightly. “I’ll carry the mashed potatoes and gravy,” he offered. “That is, if you trust me not to make off with them. It’s my favorite part of the meal.”
Cora Jane gave him a startled look. “I never knew that.”
Sam actually winked at her. “See, even at your age and as wise as you are, you haven’t learned all there is to know about me.”
After an instant of stunned silence, Cora Jane chuckled. “And that’s another thing I’d forgotten, you actually do have a sense of humor.”
“I’ll try to show some evidence of it more often,” Sam promised.
When the moment had passed, Boone claimed the bowl of stuffing. “This is mine,” he announced, heading for the dining room.
“I can carry the cranberry sauce,” B.J. offered.
The turkey was left to Jerry, who brought the golden bird to the table and presented it as if it were the crown jewels.
“My best ever,” Cora Jane said, standing at Jerry’s elbow. “If I do say so myself.”
“Hey, I had a little bit to do with it,” he grumbled. “I was the one in here basting it.”
“With me looking over your shoulder to make sure you did it right,” Cora Jane retorted. “Other than that, you lifted the turkey off the counter, put it in the oven, then took it out at the end.”
“And if I hadn’t, it would have been on the floor,” he insisted, giving them a wink.
She gave him an indulgent look. “That’s what you think. The man is starting to think he’s indispensable to me.”
“I know I am,” he corrected.
Boone watched as Sam took in the exchange with dawning understanding. He waited to see if he would comment, but he didn’t. There was no denying, though, the smile that settled on his lips.
Cora Jane just shook her head. “Okay, enough of this. Let’s take our places, thank the Lord for our blessings and enjoy sharing this meal together.”
During the prayer, Boone glanced around the table and realized it was the first time all day he’d truly felt like part of a family. The meal he’d shared earlier at Jodie’s had been tense, and there’d been none of the teasing and laughter that were commonplace with the Castles. Sure, a few issues had come up, but in the end, Cora Jane somehow brought them all together as a family.
He gave Emily’s hand a squeeze before releasing it. She smiled at him.
“Do you realize this is the first Thanksgiving we’ve been together since we were in college?” he said.
“It’s the first time I’ve been back for the holiday,” she admitted.
He held her gaze. “What was the draw this year? The huge turkey?”
“No way.”
“Me?” he asked hopefully.
“You, B.J., the whole family,” she said, her tone heartfelt. “Suddenly I have a whole new appreciation of the importance of family and the kind of love that Grandmother has always shared with us.”
“Oh?”
She nodded. “It’s been quite a week. Helping with the opening at the safe house opened my eyes to a lot of things, Boone. I can’t wait to tell you about them. These women and kids...” Her voice trailed off and her eyes filled with tears. “You have no idea what they’ve been through and how blessed we are in our lives.”
“I think I have some idea,” he corrected. “Being here right now with your family has brought that home to me.”
“Even with all the fussing and fighting?”
“Even with that,” he confirmed. “You want to know why?”
“Why?”
“Because underneath it all, there was no mistaking the love.”
And that’s what he wanted for B.J., and for himself.
21
Emily felt as if she’d stolen a moment out of time when she, Boone and B.J. were in Charleston. For the first time since she and Boone had started seriously seeing each other, she didn’t feel as if they were under disapproving scrutiny...or even her own grandmother’s hopeful gaze.
She and B.J. had wandered along the Battery and then past the row of “painted ladies”—brightly colored houses along the waterfront called Rainbow Row. They’d bought souvenirs and Christmas gifts in a few shops, then gone back to the restaurant where they were to meet Boone after he’d concluded his meeting.
B.J. was happily sipping a soda, and Emily had a glass of sweet tea as they waited for Boone’s arrival. When he finally joined them, a half hour late, he looked harried.
“Everything go okay?” Emily asked after they’d ordered.
“It could have gone better,” he admitted. “The seller wanted me to up my offer to meet a competing bid. I told him it was out of line. We’ve been haggling over it ever since. I finally had to tell him to forget it. We’ll find another location.”
Emily frowned. “Oh, no. I thought the deal was all set, that you were just here to sign paperwork.”
“That’s what I thought, too.” He shrugged. “Pete’ll be disappointed, but things like this happen. If we can’t find another great location in Charleston by spring, we’ll opt for another city. Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be.”
Emily didn’t believe for a second that he was that philosophical. He was just trying to keep his disappointment from casting a pall on the day. She gave his hand an understanding squeeze.
“Okay, tell me what you two have been up to,” Boone said. “I see a lot of packages. Have you spent all your money?”
B.J. nodded. “I spent my whole allowance,” he confirmed. “And Emily and I bought a Christmas present for you, but we’re not telling. It’s a surprise.”
Boone laughed. “I love surprises.”
“I’m not sure how thrilled you’re going to be with this one,” she said, thinking of the print they’d found of the historic old building he’d been planning to buy. As lovely as the image was, it would be a bittersweet gift now. She doubted B.J. understood the significance
