by Kathi Daley
“He is still working through things. I think he will be fine after he has a chance to get used to the idea. He loves the girls, and he loves being a father. He always wanted a son.” Jenna put a hand on her stomach. “Maybe he’ll finally get one.”
“I hope so. I’m sure whether a boy or a girl, this baby is going to be awesome.”
Jenna held her stirring spoon off to the side and hugged me with one arm. “I think so too.”
Jenna returned to her gravy and Rosalie came in to check on the rolls. I had to admit she had done a fabulous job with them. They were light and airy and perfectly browned.
“The rolls turned out really good,” I said, as I helped transfer them from cookie sheets to serving baskets. “And you made plenty for sandwiches.”
“That was the plan. I’d love to have leftovers out at the resort tomorrow. Grandpa and I talked about inviting Doc and, of course, we would love it if you, Kyle, and the girls were there. Jenna and her family too if they want.”
“I think that is a wonderful idea. I’ll check with Kyle and invite Jenna. As long as we are talking food, I thought we’d provide dinner for everyone who comes to the tree cutting on Saturday. Grandpa usually makes a huge pot of his famous spaghetti, but I realized that this year I should probably run our plans past you. You are, after all, the lady of the house now.”
Rosalie smiled. “I appreciate that, but one of the reasons I love being part of your big wonderful family is because of all the traditions. I really wouldn’t want to change a thing.”
I reached out and hugged Rosalie. “And we are happy to have you as a part of the chaos.”
Grandpa came up from behind and gave me a hug after Rosalie went in search of butter. “Great turn out,” he said.
“It seems if as everyone made it just fine. I’m sorry about those who are not with us this year, but I’m glad to see that Bookman was feeling well enough to come.” I glanced through the open space between the kitchen and dining room. “Helen seems to be doing better, as well.”
“It feels odd to be having a big Thanksgiving dinner without Harriet. I just hope she is happy wherever she ended up and able to rest in peace. I felt like she never really did recover from Judge Harper’s death.”
“It hit all of us hard, but I have to agree that it seemed to hit her the hardest of all.”
“The road back from what has happened is going to be a difficult one.”
“It is. But Kyle and Jeff are working hard to get the town back in business, and Roy has assured me that he is doing everything he can to make sure that everyone involved in what happened will get exactly what they deserve.”
“That’s good, although I do feel bad about Mrs. Edmonton. I know what she did led to the death of two people, but I really don’t think she meant to hurt anyone.”
“I’m sure the court will take that into consideration. Personally, I’m just happy that we were able to wrap things up before the holiday.”
“Me too, pumpkin.”
“So are you up to making your famous spaghetti this year for the tree cutting crowd?”
“I already bought the ingredients. I’ll make the sauce tomorrow, so all we have to do on Saturday when we get back with the trees is make the noodles and the bread and salad.”
“Just so you know, I’m going to invite Jenna and her family.”
“I already spoke to Bookman, and he felt they would want to come to dinner, although he didn’t feel up to the tree cutting part of the day. I figured we’d need some extra muscle this year, so I invited Jeff as well.”
“That’s a great idea. He has really stepped up to help Kyle since the explosion.”
Kyle’s mom called everyone into the dining room and instructed them to take their seats. Grandpa joined them, while Jenna poured the gravy into the gravy boats. Kyle came in to help with the last-minute chores, while the rest of the guests picked out seats and poured their beverage of choice.
“It looks like everything is ready,” Jenna said, heading into the dining room with the gravy.
“So do we make our announcement or do we wait?” Kyle asked once we were alone.
I had to admit I was torn. “I don’t know. Part of me wants to share our news with everyone, but I’m still not sure the girls are ready, and I did tell them I would wait until we had time to work out the details. What do you think?”
“Maybe we should wait. I want everyone to know how much I love you, but if there is a chance that the girls will be upset, I think we should wait. I really want them to be okay with this.”
“I agree. We told our families and have plenty of time to tell everyone else.”
Kyle took my hand in his. “Okay. Let’s join our guests.”
Kyle sat at the head of the table. I sat on one side, and Gracie sat on his other side. Ashley sat next to Kristi. Once everyone was seated, I thanked everyone for coming and suggested we go around the table and say what we were thankful for. I made a general statement about being thankful for friends and family. My dad said he was grateful for Rosalie, who had brought so much meaning into his life. Grandpa was grateful for Ashley and Gracie and the smile they brought him each morning. Ashley was grateful for Rosalie, who was teaching her to sew, and Frannie was grateful for friends that felt like family. Helen was grateful that Bookman was on the road to recovery, Doc was grateful for the same thing, Jenna was grateful for her family and the joy they brought to her life, and Dennis shared that he was grateful for wife and daughters, and the shared blessings he looked forward to in the following year. I glanced at Jenna, who seemed to only have eyes for the man sitting next to her and knew deep in my soul that they’d be okay. I smiled as each of our guests spoke until we finally made it around to Gracie, who was sitting next to Kyle. She didn’t speak at first, which I had to admit had me worried, but eventually, she started in a soft voice.
“I’m grateful to Papa for giving me a home, and Rosalie for making Papa happy, and Grandpa for starting each day with a hot breakfast and warm hug, and I’m grateful for Ashley for being my sister, and Tj for being both my mom and my sister, and I’m especially grateful for Kyle who loves me and wants to marry Tj, so he can be my dad.”
Everyone looked at Kyle and me. Kyle turned and hugged Gracie, who hugged him back.
“Marry Tj?” Helen asked. “Is there something the two of you want to share?”
Kyle glanced at me, and I nodded.
“Yes, Gracie is correct,” I said. “Kyle and I are engaged.”
Everyone who didn’t already know about the engagement stopped to congratulate us.
“If you are engaged, where is your ring?” Kristi asked.
I was about to explain that we’d been waiting to make it official, when Kyle pushed back his chair, took a ring out of his pocket, and got down on one knee. “Tj Jensen, will you marry me?”
Before I could answer, Gracie spoke up with confusion evident in her voice. “I thought she was already going to marry you.”
Kyle winked at her. “She was, but I think we should make it official.”
“Say yes,” Ashley whispered as she squirmed up and down in excitement.
“Yes,” I said as Kyle slipped the ring on my finger, and everyone at the table broke into applause. “Yes, a million times, yes.”
THE END
(Book #10)
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About the Author
Kathi Daley lives with her husband, kids, grandkids, and Bernese mountain dogs in beautiful Lake Tahoe. When she isn’t writing, she likes to read (preferably at the beach or by the fire), cook (preferably something with chocolate or cheese), and garden (planting and planning, not weeding). She also enjoys spending time in the water, hiking, biking, and snowshoeing. Kathi uses the mountain setting in which she lives, along with the animals (wild and domestic) that share her home, as inspiration for her five cozy mystery series: Zoe Donovan, Whales and Tails Island, Tj Jensen, Sand and Sea Hawaiian, and Seacliff High Teen.