“Are you ready for breakfast?” Chadwick motioned toward the hall that led to the dining room. “I believe it’s all ready.”
“Thank you.” I looked around the room. “Will the others be joining us?”
“I’m coming!” Sam closed her phone and headed in my direction. Her black wraparound dress showed off her adorable pregnant belly. She was wearing flats instead of heels and a string of silvery pearls. “If I don’t eat soon, I’ll be sick.”
The dining room had a huge spread of food, including Marty’s Pop-Tarts. Maybe I was a bad mother for letting him eat them the last few days, but with everything else going on, I wasn’t going to force him to eat sausage or eggs.
By the time we were ready to leave I had started to really worry that Max wasn’t going to show up. What would I do if he wasn’t there? I’d have to find someone else to help carry Granddad.
And even more importantly, why now? Why would Max flake out on me today of all days? I’d pushed and pushed to get him to leave me alone and he’d refused. Then the day I specifically asked for help he hadn’t shown up. And no one was saying anything about it. I had slept with him yesterday—given him something important to me. And now? I didn’t even know what to think.
“There are cars out front,” Chadwick said. He handed Samantha a dark gray sweater to go over her dress.
Unable to stand it any longer, I looked over at Cathy. “Have you seen Max?”
“He’s already gone.” Cathy cocked her head to the side. “I thought he told you he was going early to make sure there were no problems.”
“Oh.” Relief flooded my body. He wasn’t avoiding me. He was doing what he said he was going to do. Trying to help me. “No, he didn’t mention it.”
Or maybe he had? I’d almost fallen asleep last night while watching the water. I remembered him talking to me, but his deep voice had all but lulled me to sleep. I just remembered being content and relaxed before finally making our way back to the house. He had kissed my head before I went in my room and I had passed out easily on the giant bed. It had been the best sleep I’d had in years.
I let them lead us to one of the black limousines out front, not really paying attention to who all climbed into the car with me and Marty. Instead I took my phone out of my purse and looked up Max’s number to send him a text message.
You didn’t have to go without me.
I closed my phone and looked out the window. When my phone beeped I clicked on the message.
You didn’t need to worry about everything.
I shook my head. What was it with him wanting to take care of everything for me? Pretty soon he was going to insist he wash my socks or help me bathe. That last thought brought heat to my cheeks. I’m not sure I’d mind letting him help me in the shower.
Thank you.
There, nice and simple. No talk of bathing each other. That was probably for the best. Probably.
Welcome.
Our ride to Thysmer was relatively quiet, except for Cathy and Marty. She had brought a handheld video game and currently was talking Marty through a level with tomato zombies. I was scared to even look at the game. The squishing sounds were bad enough.
The closer we came to the church, the more my nerves began to bubble and froth in my stomach. I’d chosen a song to sing that I’d heard a while ago on the radio in England. The lyrics were beautiful and summed up the feelings of loss. It was something I’d fallen in love with the second I’d heard it. I knew the song by heart, so it wouldn’t be something I’d be focused on getting right. I could just sing it and hopefully touch the people who had known my grandfather.
As we drove through Thysmer I noticed that flags had been lowered to half-staff. When the church came in to view it was surrounded by cars and people mingling outside. The media was a respectful distance away, which relieved me to no end. The last thing I wanted was to wade through people asking questions or wanting pictures. I wondered if that had been Max’s doing.
As our limo pulled up, Max made his way out of the church, followed by Rachel, and headed straight for the car. He adjusted his suit jacket before opening the door. Cathy motioned for me and Marty to go out first.
Max held his hand out to help me, his fingers squeezing mine gently, before letting go to help Marty and his sister out of the car.
“My lady.” Rachel bobbed a quick curtsy before moving to my side. Leaning close, she lowered her voice. “How are you?”
“We’re fine.” I nodded my head. “Is everything ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.” She bobbed her head at someone she knew. “Everything is as you wished.”