Page 104 of Guarding Over You
“Can I get a donut and a brownie with frosting?”
“Why don’t we get six donuts, Gracie’s brownie, and I’ll take that big lemon bar. Do you want anything, Blaze?”
“How about one of those black and white cookies? Just hand it over. I’m eating it now.”
“You can just put the donuts in the bag,” Arden said. “We’re going to eat these while we walk around.”
Meredith handed over their treats wrapped in napkins, then put the donuts in the bag. “Do you want to say hi to Reenie?”
“She looks to be busy. We’ll pop around back so I can get something to put the fruit in we are picking, then we’ll chat more later,” he said.
Arden pulled her card out, Blaze stopped her, but Meredith was already shaking her head. “I’ve got orders not to take it.”
There was no reason to fight about it, so she put it back in her purse, then walked out the door, around to his SUV to put the donuts in, then into the back door.
“Reenie,” he said. “This is Gracie and her mother, Arden. My other brother’s wife, Reenie Ridgeway. I’m going to steal a bowl and a bin for the fruit.”
“Help yourself,” Reenie said, her hands moving fast as she cooked the lunch orders and plated sandwiches.
Gracie was making her way through her brownie, chocolate smeared all over her face. She’d let it go. Her daughter was relaxed and having fun. That was what she needed right now more than anything.
Fifteen minutes later, they were in the patches in the back, slowly picking blueberries, when Blaze’s mother walked out.
“Hi, Mom,” he said. “I thought for sure you’d be here sooner.”
“Your father said I had to give you some time.”
“Arden, my mother, Brooke. Mom, this is Arden and her daughter, Gracie.”
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” his mother said quietly. Gracie was a few feet away looking for the perfect blueberries to put in the bowl. The bigger fruit would go in the bin.
“You too,” she said.
“I know my mother is itching to have a chat,” he said.
“Nonsense. I wouldn’t make her leave her daughter.”
“I’m right here,” he said. “And it’s not as if you’re going off the land.”
“I wouldn’t mind looking at this garden I’ve heard so much about. That’s it over there, right?” she asked.
It was massive. She couldn’t imagine having all this land and caring for it with the food they’d had. Even the chickens they were going to visit soon.
“Then let’s take a walk,” Brooke said. “My daughter will be here soon. She’s looking forward to meeting you also. Hope it’s not an overload with Gracie.”
“It might be. Doing it slowly like this is helping. She didn’t even realize she had met Meredith and Reenie in another way. So when they come to dinner, she’ll be fine. Honestly, it’s more about Blaze’s brothers. Gracie is still a little skittish around men. Big men.”
“I’ll make sure they each come out individually. Clay is actually outside doing some work so he can come over that way.”
“I appreciate everyone being so good about this.”
Brooke reached for her hand and gently grasped it. “You’re the first woman Blaze has brought around our family in years. I meanyears. The last one, she wasn’t well liked.”
“Kristin?”
“He told you about her?”
“He did. He knows so much about my life and my ex. It’s complicated.”
