There. The words didn’t sting as much as she’d imagined. In fact, she could taste an odd swirl of relief inside. “I never heard back, so I guess that’s a no from them.”
Her mother stared at her, frowning. “Are you sure? Have you called them?”
“I’m not calling them, Mom. I’ll just sound pitiful. Or desperate.” She hitched Tiger up, relieving the pressure from her arm. “The truth is, maybe I don’t want to leave Deep Haven.”
Ingrid’s mouth had pinched to a tight line. Oh no. Grace knew that look.
“Mom, please—I belong here. You and Dad are here, and Tiger.” She twirled one of his curly locks around her finger. “I’ve never been like all my other siblings. I like Deep Haven. I want to be here.”
“I know, Grace. And a mother never really wants her children to leave home. But she lets them go because she sees how much more is waiting for them. There is more for you than Deep Haven. You need to let yourself discover it.”
“Can’t you trust me when I say I don’t need more?”
Ingrid considered her a long moment, then said, “Let me take Tiger. You’re missing the toasts.”
She couldn’t care less about the toasts. Jensen, Darek’s best man, would say something about how their friendship had somehow survived tragedy; then Claire would mention the miracle of Ivy, a former foster child, finally finding a family.
Casper would probably tell some joke about Darek as a child and hint at stealing the bride. Thankfully, they could all count on Eden, the journalist, to say something profound. Amelia, the youngest, would capture each moment with her camera.
And if they all got lucky, her youngest brother, Owen, former hotshot hockey player turned renegade, would put on a smile and try to make them all forget he’d shown up yesterday on a motorcycle, sporting an eye patch for the wedding photos, and informed the clan he was fighting fires with Darek’s old outfit, the Jude County Hotshots.
Just in case Mom didn’t have enough to worry about.
No, Grace had done her part, and now she just wanted to sit back and watch. Soak in the joy.
But her mother was reaching for Tiger, and what could she do? She surrendered his sleeping body to her mother’s embrace and got up, grabbing her flip-flops as she headed down the dock.
She heard her mother behind her, singing to her grandson.
Inside, the Blue Monkeys played a rendition of “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and nearly all the guests had emptied onto the dance floor. Darek held Ivy in his arms, caught in her gaze, her smile. Ivy nearly floated in her simple strapless gown with the tiered layers of taffeta. She wore an orange gerbera daisy in her hair, matching her bouquet.
Grace spied Eden and her fiancé, Jace—how could she miss him, really, with his six-foot-four hockey-star frame?—taking up a corner of the floor. Eden twined her arms around Jace’s neck, holding on. Casper was making a spectacle in the corner with Amelia, who was laughing at his cornball swing-dancing efforts.
Owen seemed to be absent, as usual. Maybe he’d already left. She hoped he said good-bye this time instead of just sending a postcard from the road.
Grace turned to a table and began stacking plates. Her parents had hired a cleaning crew, but it didn’t hurt to start clearing. In fact, she might just head back into the kitchen, do some supervising.
“Grace! Where’ve you been?” Ivy came up behind her. “We were looking all over for you.” She caught her hand. “Come with me.”
Good thing Ivy had a firm grip on her hand, because Grace had broken the school record for the hundred-meter dash. “I don’t want to dance . . .”
Darek stepped up to the mic as the music died. The congregation on the dance floor stopped, eyes falling on him.
“A round of applause for my sister Grace, who pulled off tonight’s delicious dinner.” Darek smiled at her as the guests erupted into applause. “Someday she’s going to make an amazing chef. Who knows, maybe she’ll even open her own catering business.”
Grace smiled, something sharklike, as she looked at Darek. Stop talking, please—
“Maybe she could even cater Jace and Eden’s wedding.”
She wanted to wince as Eden caught her eye with a dangerous spark of interest.
“Grace, to thank you for your talents tonight, the family put together a little vacation for you. How would you feel about a culinary trip to . . . Hawaii?” He grinned at Ivy, then at Grace.
Hawaii?
Grace waited for Darek to add more as she did the mental math.
Hawaii was two—maybe even three—airplane rides away. One of them across the ocean.
Alone.