“Sweetheart, I know you love that baby very much. I think we all do. And I have heard rumors about who the mother might be, but, of course, I don’t know. But I think you do.” She looked me in the eye and said, “Daisy, take it from me, if that child doesn’t come clean, it will ruin her life. There are ways to move forward with this, but the secret is not the way. Do you understand?”
My swallow sounded very loud in my head. I nodded and took a deep breath, my heart thudding because I understood two things: One, Tilley was Robbie’s mother. And two, I was being selfish. “Tilley, I can’t just make her tell. And then, what if that changes things for Maisy?”
“Bestie, I love you. But do you mean what if that changes things for you?” She patted my hand. “I’m here if you need to talk. Anytime.But, for now, there is a very handsome gentleman who needs my attention if I am to hook him.” She smiled at me. “See you Sunday?”
Sunday… “Oh yes! Easter!” That felt a world away. “What can I bring?”
“Oh, just that sweet baby. Between us, I don’t really like outside food on my perfectly curated Easter table.”
I laughed as she walked away. Then I looked up at Robbie and waved. This family had a lot of logistics that I was very much unprepared for. But then I looked over at the field, where Mason was holding a boy by both shoulders. And I realized that he was worth it. I’d take a million crazy family members and unbelievable dramas if it meant getting to share my life with him.
MASONSecond Chance
I’ve never been one to keep secrets. And I was realizing that that was a luxury. I hadn’t ever really had a secret to keep because I had lived a life where I wore my most shameful pieces on the outside. But now I felt like I was in a trap with secrets running through my mind on a loop. I’d accepted a coaching position three hours away and hadn’t told Daisy. I knew that Drew was Maisy’s father, but I couldn’t tell him the truth lest it mess up Daisy’s current situation—and, let’s face it, my future too. Because, if I told him and he stayed, would they still want me as a coach? I got that job because I knew how to shine the diamond that was Drew Christianson. And, of course, there was still the possibility that Tilley was actually Robbie’s mother, and I knew, and he didn’t know. Hadn’t life been really simple, like, a month ago?
But, today, none of that mattered. Because today was Easter Sunday, the ultimate holiday in the Thaysden and Saxton families, where the Savior was risen, the pie was legendary, and everyone damn well better be wearing new church clothes. To that end, even now that I was in my late thirties, my mother had ordered me a suit, escorted me to the tailor to have it fitted, taken it to the dry cleaners, dropped it atmy house, and, this morning, called to say, “Sweetheart, I’m not trying to run your business, but—”
“Yes, Mother, I am wearing the new suit. I am so handsome the Savior might rise just to see me.”
“Mason,” she scolded. “That’s a little sacrilegious.”
“How is that sacrilegious exactly?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. Just don’t be late.”
I wanted to be irritated, but, well, there had been years—plenty of them, in fact—that I had shown up twenty minutes late to church or, worse, had shown up hungover in a rumpled button-down and too-small khakis. Those were not moments befitting a Thaysden, as I was reminded in hushed tones. Poor Mom. I had really put her through it. I wanted to make it up to her. My mind wandered to Daisy. Would marrying her and having a family of my own be the way to do that? By taking the position at UNC, had I squandered that?
As I hung up the phone, I walked through the back door of Dogwood and called, “Parker!” I was sure Amelia and Parker could use an extra pair of hands getting Greer and George ready for church—especially if they were also trying to wrangle Aunt Tilley into a Southern lady dress instead of a Queen Victoria one with a parasol.
“In here!” Parker called from the kitchen. He was leaning over the counter, and Dad and Robbie were sitting on stools. They were all sipping coffee, and I went to pour myself a cup, pausing to kiss Tilley—who was fully primped, in a baby-blue dress with so many strands of pearls I was afraid she’d have neck problems. I took a moment to feel guilty that I hadn’t told Robbie the truth about what I had heard. But, well, it wasn’t my truth to tell—if it was even real. I tried to share a secret look with Tilley that she did not reciprocate.
“Tilley, you look beautiful.”
“Thank you, love,” she said, bustling around.
That was code forget out of the way.
Mom walked in the door right behind me and took my arms to examine me. “My darling boy, you are so handsome that you are right: Our Lord and Savior might rise again just to see you.”
I smiled and brushed my shoulders off.
“Um, excuse me,” Parker said.
“My second son is also devilishly handsome. I am the luckiest mother in the world.”
Mom, too, was wearing a pale blue dress that didn’t look exactly like Tilley’s. But, to an untrained eye like mine, it was pretty close. Elizabeth walked into the kitchen, also in a light blue dress, and they all burst out laughing.
“Oh my word,” Mom said. “We have done it again.”
“Oh, good heavens,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll run home and change.”
“No, no,” I said. “The three of you look gorgeous and very appropriate.”
“Appropriate for what?” Tilley asked.
I smiled at her. “Well, I have an announcement—asecretannouncement that must not leave this room.”
Dad put his coffee down, Parker looked intrigued, and Mom motioned that she was zipping her lips.
