Ryland is Theo’s younger brother. He’s the same age as Bella and they’re both sophomores in college.
“Alright, everyone, come help yourself to food. We’ll eat first and have cake afterwards.”
My dad rises from his seat, the same time everyone else does, but he walks directly to my mother. A smile tugs on his lips and he wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her close as he quietly says something to her.
She laughs softly, he plants a kiss on her forehead, and they break apart. My father’s always been the hardest on me, but if there’s one thing I can’t say anything bad about, it’s the way he’s always treated my mother.
Andi Ford is the light of his life.
I wonder if he ever thinks about those five years that I was alive and he had no idea I existed.
“Come on, Matty.” Theo throws his arm around the tops of my shoulders. “After that practice Coach put us through, you have to be starving.”
My stomach grumbles as if in response to his statement, and Theo laughs. We file around the island with everyone else, dishing food out onto their plates buffet-style. The house is loud, filled with laughter and flowing conversation, just as it always is whenever our families are together. The seats fill up at the table and around the island in the kitchen. I opt to stand by the counter, taking it all in as my chest warms.
With all the kids grown, some in college and some not living right here in Hillford, it’s not always easy for everyone to show up. We try our best to make it work if we can. There are two non-negotiables every year that everyone has to attend.
Christmas Eve and our annual summer getaway at the beach house.
Our parents all went in on a house together and it’s open for all of us to use whenever we’d like, except for that one week in the summer. That’s when we all show up and spend the entire week as one big, blended family.
There’s a twinge of guilt as my mind drifts to Jade. Her family is all on a different continent. Here I am, surrounded by family—blood and chosen—and she has to get on a plane to fly across the ocean just to see hers.
I can’t even imagine what that must be like for her.
“Did you and Dad make up yet?” Bella says as she slides next to me. I look over at the table as Theo drags Lucy’s chair right next to his.
Pursing my lips, I look at my sister from the corner of my eye. “No.”
“You know, he only has your best interest in mind, right? He wasn’t trying to be a dick. You both blew it out of proportion.”
I suck in a deep breath. “He said he wants to talk, but I don’t feel like I should apologize first.”
“Because you don’t think you’re wrong?”
It’s not just me. We’re both wrong with how we handled things.
“Because he started it.”
Bella huffs. “That’s so childish.”
“Well, isn’t he being childish too if he can’t be the bigger person and apologize?”
“Remember what Uncle Caleb used to always say to us when we were kids?”
I bite the inside of my cheek, not wanting to answer her. I know what she’s going to say before she even speaks the words.
“Don’t wait until it’s too late,” she echoes the words from inside my head. “Stop waiting for him to be the bigger person and do it yourself.”
My face contorts as my eyes slice to hers. “That’s a little extreme. Dad’s not dying.”
“Neither was Amelia, and look what happened to her. Do you think Uncle Cale expected her to just be gone like that?”
My stomach twists into a knot. Neither of us ever met Uncle Caleb’s first wife, Amelia. She was killed in a car accident when a drunk driver hit her head on.
Bella shrugs and pushes away from the counter. “Nothing is guaranteed except for the present moment.”
I tilt my head to the side, letting her words creep into the crevices of my brain, knowing she’s right. “When did you get so smart, little Belle?”
