“I can’t remember the last time I made a pizza from scratch. I’m in.”
Birdie links arms with mine again. “Well, now. Looks like today’s goin’ to be fun. But first, how about we go outside and introduce you to everyone.”
She leads me arm in arm out the back door and toward a crowded wooden table under the shade of some old trees. Seated around the table are six men of varied ages and two females who look like the spitting image of each other with a few decades between them. Then there’s a friendly face I haven’t seen in years that I’ve been dying to see more than anything.
“Uncle George!” I slip my arm loose from Birdie and run over to him, his wide smile and warm embrace so comforting that my eyes sting with unshed tears.
“Blair Bear. I’ve missed you,” he says, squeezing me tight before we both step back and take each other in. “I swear you get more beautiful every time I see you.”
I blush and shake my head. “You always say that.”
He dips down to meet by gaze. “Doesn’t make it less true.”
“I thought I’d missed my chance at seeing you. Weren’t you supposed to leave today?”
He scoffs. “And not see my niece before I left?”
“I’m glad.”
“Besides, you think I’d turn down some good ol’ homemade food up here on the mountain?” He rubs his round stomach. “I need sustenance for my trip.”
That makes everyone chuckle, reminding me that we’re not alone.
Uncle George moves to my side and slings an arm over my shoulders. “Coopers, soon-to-be Coopers, Jessica, Wyatt, and Mayor Walker, I’d like to formally introduce y’all to my darlin’ niece and medical superstar, Blair Littlefoot.”
Without realizing it, my eyes glide toward Sutton who’s watching me closely with a mix of wariness and curiosity.
“Let’s introduce everyone. Startin’ closest to us, that’s Will,” my uncle says, snapping me out of my stare.
I step forward and shake Will’s hand. “You’re Birdie’s ‘City Boy’, right?”
His lips curve up into a warm smile as he looks lovingly at his fiancée. “Sure am. Nice to meet you.”
“You too. Thanks for having me.”
My uncle continues, moving me with him. “Next is Jude. He’s a gardener. Got a real pair of green thumbs on him too.”
Jude laughs. “Landscape architect, but I guess that’s just a fancy name for a gardener.”
“I’m so sorry for my part in destroying that beautiful meditation space. I’m happy to help fix it back up,” I tell him.
Jude cocks his head. “From what I hear, that was all Grumps’s doin’. But I ain’t gonna say no if you’re keen to get your hands dirty.”
“I haven’t had much time or opportunity to do anything like that lately.” I arch a brow. “Besides, isn’t helping out part of my stay here?”
“Itchin’ to get to work already?” Will says. “You’re definitely in the right place.”
Isla and Birdie share a silent conversation, Isla nodding what looks like approval at her best friend before she clocks that I’m watching her. Instead of looking guilty, she just grins knowingly.
Those two remind me so much of Alex and Cate, and that just puts me more at ease.
I’m very much a creature of habit. I have my career–which I’ve worked hard for–and I have my two best friends. There’s my family of course, but distance and a severe lack of downtime means I’m lucky to visit them for just a few days every year.
Standing here in front of this obviously close group of people, it hits me yet again just how much my job has cost me.An unfortunate consequence of ambition and talent, I guess…
“Stick with me, Blair Bear,” Uncle George whispers in my ear. “Next is Isla and her mom, Jessica. Isla is gettin’ married to–”
“Case.” I nod. “We’ve met already, yesterdayandthis morning.”
