I stare at her for a solid minute before she reaches across the table to tap a finger against my chin, pressing my mouth closed. “I’m sorry,” I say weakly. “Did you say you bought a house?”
“Notahouse,” she says. “Thehouse.”
The house on Oak Street is something I’ve been desperately trying not to think about, even though Paisley’s words have been haunting my dreams every night since Christmas. If I let myself get lost in the crushed dreams the house represents, I’m worried I’ll crawl under the covers and never emerge again. It took a lot for me to put my trust in Braxton, giving him the power to hurt me that no one else has ever had. But then he turned around and shattered it all with barely a thought about how it was all going to affect me.
‘We saw what Braxton was doing and how in denial he was. We knew he was struggling, and Stephen tried to talk to him, but—” Raewyn flattens her mouth into a thin, disappointed line. “Anyway, Marjorie is an old friend of mine. When Braxton started avoiding her calls”—I wince, and she sends me an apologetic look—“she called me, trying to work out what to do.”
My brows lift. “And you just…decided to buy a house?”
“Braxton didn’tcompletelylie. There was another offer on the house, so we outbid them.” Raewyn smiles self-deprecatingly. “I had this idea of this amazing Christmas present, where it would fix everything”—she snaps her fingers—“just like that! But then Paisley opened her big mouth.” The words are so disgruntled that I can’t stop the amusement bubbling through me.
“That explosion was going to happen no matter what,” I murmur. “And while Paisley and her big mouth playedtheir part perfectly”—I shake my head—“until Braxton realizes the boundaries he’s crossed, he’s just going to keep hiding things, and keep lying…even to himself.”
“Yes, well, no matter. Forget him.”
I let out a bewildered laugh. “He’s your son.”
“He’s a moron, and he gets it from his dad,” she mumbles, before adding, “Don’t tell Stephen I said that, but I need to blame someone. Anyway, the house. Stephen and I talked about it, and we don’t need a second house. So, we want to give it to you.”
I blink. “Braxton and I aren’t together anymore,” I point out. “We’re definitely not buying a house together.”
She shakes her head. “No, we want to give it toyou, Gracie. Not Braxton.” Raewyn looks away, steadying herself with a loud breath. When she looks back at me, her green eyes—a darker shade than Braxton’s—are bright with tears. “I know how much this house means to you. I already knew, but spending time with you this past week…I can’t bear the thought of my son being the person who makes you feel like Sterling Creek isn’t safe. And I absolutelycannotbear that he would be the one responsible for taking your home from you, when you deserve it more than anyone I know. You’re already leaving?—”
“Temporarily,” I counter, struggling to comprehend what she’s saying. I’ve already pushed the possibility of the house out of my head, knowing it was sold and gone. But now…I’m overwhelmed, my mind overloaded with thoughts and emotions, and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do or say next.
“But you’re stillleaving,” Raewyn cries. “And I need to make sure you come back, no matter how manipulative that makes me.” Her mouth sets, eyes determined. “You’ve been in my life for almost two years, and you are family, Gracie. No matter what my moron son did. I know this isn’t normal, and I have no experience with what a normalperson should do with their son’s ex-girlfriend after a breakup, but I’m setting a new standard.”
My laugh is watery. “You adopting me, Raewyn?”
“Making you Braxton’s sister would be one way to ruin his life.” She sniffs. “But we’re family, and family gives people things. My love language is gift giving,” she confides. “I did a quiz online.”
I snort. “So here’s a house?” I demand incredulously. “I can’t accept that from you and Stephen. You have to know that.”
Raewyn smiles like she’s already won. “I knew you’d say that, so we’ve sat down with a lawyer to draft a rent-to-buy agreement. Now, it’ll have to be at fair market price, and you’ll need to consult your own lawyer and get their advice. But we want to do this.” She places her mug to the side and reaches across the table to take my hands. “Now, you going away does not change anything, okay? There’s absolutely no rush. Stephen can look afteryourhouse while you’re gone, and this place?—”
“Maryann’s niece is going to stay here,” I interrupt. “She’s an introvert, apparently, and prefers her own space.”
“Well, that works out perfectly,” Raewyn says, eyes twinkling. “And when you get back, you’ll come back to your house.”
My chin is trembling, and she squeezes my fingers, her eyes soft. “I don’t know what to say,” I whisper. “But I feel like I should say no.”
“Well, you’re not allowed to. Use this time away to really think about it, and we’ll talk more when you get back.” Raewyn clears her throat, blinking her eyes clear. “Now, let me help you finish packing.”
CHAPTER 22
Braxton
Ipress the bag of soggy peas to my face, my head resting against the back of Nick’s couch. “You should take up boxing.”
Across the room, he hums thoughtfully. “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”
“My face begs to differ.”
I pull the vegetables away long enough to catch his grimace, but he’s already apologized more than once for decking me. Nick got turned around on his way to the bathroom, which meant he caught sight of Paisley landing one on me. He read the situation all wrong, reacting before he realized what was actually going on.
He also explained that he hadn’t hit me for Paisley, but for Gracie, hating that I was once again hurting her.I don’t blame him for that either.
“So, Gracie asks you not to spend time alone with Paisley, and you did it anyway,” Nick’s recounting now. “Why?”
