Wynter gasped. “Grams…”
“I hope it’s okay that I didn’t wrap it.” Nora smiled at Marcus. “It belonged to my Jack. And there’s more to it.” She gave Wynter a pointed look before turning her firm gaze to Marcus.“The shop out back and all the tools that come with it. All of it belongs to you now.”
Marcus frowned. “The shop? Nora…”
“Grams, what do you mean?”
Nora held up her hand to stop both of them, then she held out a folded piece of paper and gave it to Wynter with tears shining in her eyes. “Merry Christmas, dear.”
Wynter dipped her eyes to the paper, then took it. When she opened it and scanned the contents, she brought a shaking hand to her lips to cover them. “Grams, it’s… too much.”
“It’s yours,” Nora insisted. “All of it. And I expect both of you to play nice and share.”
Mathew’s quiet gasp behind Marcus mirrored his own sentiments. Then he answered the question everyone seemed to want to ask. “She’s gifted them the shop, the house, and the property.”
Marcus found Mateo’s eyes. They both knew what this meant. Marcus would be moving on. He’d leave the family business to start on his own path. Some part of him knew this was always a possibility, but now that he held the evidence in his hands, there was no denying he’d be taking this leap.
His oldest brother gave him a curt nod, one of encouragement. Then he lifted his glass of orange juice to show his support before taking a drink.
This was it.
Marcus turned to Wynter and read the agreement in her gaze. They were setting off on a new adventure, and this was only the beginning.
Theirnew beginning.
EPILOGUE
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
WYNTER
“Ican’t wait for you to meet River when you get here,” Rose’s voice came through the phone. “Dad said we could only hire one person, and we needed someone who could double as a mechanic. We hit it off right away.”
“Mechanic? Wow, I bet that wasn’t cheap.” Wynter laughed.
“Well, when most of our income comes from the food we grow and how we harvest it, what do you expect? Dad says he can handle everything else that my sisters can’t do.”
“And your sisters? They like River?”
“Oh, everyone does. I’m telling you, this is the best hire ever.”
Wynter laughed again and glanced to her side to find Marcus sneaking curious looks her way. “Well, we’re almost there.”
“I hope you brought Nora along.”
“It wouldn’t be a barbecue without her.” Wynter tossed a smile over her shoulder to find Grams smiling warmly at her.So much had changed in the last eight months. Work was going well. The changes Marcus had been making to her house only added to the appeal. One day it would belong to both of them. He already planned on expanding the house to accommodate children because he insisted on having a lot of them.
Wynter was confident he’d be a fabulous father.
“Anyone else coming?” She turned her attention to Rose on the phone again.
“I invited everyone. Well, except Morgan. Her brother is getting on my last nerve. I think he’s finally figured out we’re friends, and he’s giving her a hard time about it.”
“That’s disappointing,” Wynter said. “You’d think being an adult he’d act better.”
“Oh, everyone knows he’s just a big man-child. Who in their right mind holds a grudge that their grandparents started? I mean, seriously.”
If Wynter wasn’t careful, Rose would continue her tirade. It was best to get her off topic. “So, what about your cousins? Are Penny and Mathew going to be there? I know Isabelle said she’d be showing up with Jason a little late.”
