Page 24

Chapter twenty-four

Abby

Weddings have a funny way of showing you what—and who—really matter.

Case in point? I’m currently standing in Beck’s farmhouse kitchen while Quinn and Jane argue over cupcake frosting colors. Spotty is trying to eat a stray ribbon, and Jake is using a measuring tape to figure out if Biscuit the cat is longer than Spotty’s tail. (Verdict: barely.)

Me? I’m staring at my closed wedding planner like it holds the answers to life’s biggest mysteries. Except I know better.

Because the one thing gnawing at me isn’t flowers or frosting or seating charts.

It’s Greg. Beck’s brother.

He’s the missing piece to me. I believe that having Greg back with the family will make a huge difference to Beck and his folks, and for our wedding.

“You okay over there, Abby?” Quinn asks, holding up a cupcake with what can only be described as neon blue icing.

“Uh huh,” I mumble.

Jane gives me a knowing look over the rim of her tea mug. “You’re thinking about Greg again, aren’t you?”

I sigh, dropping my pen. “Is it that obvious?”

Quinn snorts. “Girl, you’ve got ‘journalist-on-a-mission’ face written all over you.”

She’s not wrong.

Beck doesn’t talk about Greg much. But that night out on his deck he opened up in a way I’ll never forget. “ Had a brother. Still alive. But gone from us.”

And the ache in his voice? That sticks with me, Jane. It’s like a story I’m not done chasing.

***

Later that night, after Jake’s in bed and Spotty is finally worn out, I curl up next to Beck on the sofa. With his arm draped around me, thumb tracing lazy circles on my shoulder, I whisper: “Tell me about Greg.”

Beck hesitates and gives me a look that says: “Where did that come from.”

But then, quietly, he tells me about chasing Greg across frozen ponds when they were kids. About how Greg was the first one to dream of going pro. About the ACL injuries. The heartbreak. The silence that grew between them.

“I’ve tried, Abs,” he says softly. “Texted. Called. Even sent him birthday cards for a few years. But… nothing.”

I press my hand over his heart.

“Maybe he just needs a nudge,” I say.

Beck huffs a soft, humorless laugh. “Yeah? From who?”

My eyes sparkle. “From a tenacious journalist maybe?”

***

It turns out that Greg isn’t exactly hiding. He’s just… living.

A little digging (okay, a lot) leads me to a bike repair shop in Denver. But that’s not all.

Apparently, Greg now manages a local shoe store downtown named Sole Haven Shoes . He’s married to a man named Daniel, and proud dog dad to two golden retrievers named Murphy and Max.

Normal. Happy. Private.

I stare at his staff profile picture on the store’s website for a long time.

He looks like Beck. Older maybe. A little more guarded. But definitely a Hayes.

And something inside me says… he misses them too.

It takes a few days and about eight drafts of a message before I finally reach out.

Hi Greg, I’m Abby Price… soon-to-be Abby Hayes. I know this is out of the blue, but I’m marrying your brother, and I know he misses you more than he can put into words…

I stare at my phone after I hit send like I’ve just launched it into the universe.

Hours pass. Nothing.

A day. Still nothing.

I’m about to chalk it up to a failed mission when my phone buzzes.

Greg Hayes: This is unexpected…

My heart thuds.

We message back and forth for days. Slowly. Carefully.

Greg is cautious. Kind. Funny, even. But underneath it all? I can feel the walls he’s built. He either can’t or doesn’t want to discuss the reasons he left home, but it really doesn’t matter. The only thing I want is for him to come home and fix that little piece of Beck’s heart that is empty and waiting to be filled, not to mention their parents.

I cannot fathom the pain I would feel if Jake left me for no explainable reason. Just up and left. No note, no call, no reason. It would be soul-crushing heartbreak. That is what Mary and Roger have been carrying for these many years.

Why now? He asks at one point.

I want to say “Why Not” but I take a little time to respond, and my answer is simple.

Because family isn’t just about the easy parts. It’s about showing up, even when it’s hard.

There’s a long pause after that one.

And then…

My husband Daniel thinks I should come.

I think I want to.

***

A week before the wedding, I’m standing on Beck’s porch, trying not to vibrate out of my skin while Beck grills burgers and Jake chases Spotty through the yard.

Jane and Quinn are here. Wes and Griff too, along with Beck’s parents.

Everyone’s relaxed. Everyone but me. Because a car just turned into the driveway.

Beck glances over, casually. “Expecting someone?”

“Actually…” I step closer to him. “Yes, I kinda… invited a surprise.”

He raises a brow, and then the car door opens.

Two golden retrievers leap out like furry rockets.

“Whoa!” Jake yelps, laughing. “Spotty, stay!” I call, but it’s too late. He’s out of the fence like it is invisible. All three dogs collide in a tangle of wagging tails and sniffing chaos.

And then… Greg steps out. Beck goes completely still.

His husband Daniel follows, a warm smile on his face as he looks at Beck, probably questioning the reception he will get.

For one long heartbeat, nobody moves.

Then Beck’s voice cracks. “Greg?”

His brother looks older. Softer around the edges. But his eyes … those are pure Hayes blue eyes.

“Hey, Beck,” Greg says quietly. “Been a while.”

Beck doesn’t say a word. He just crosses the yard in four long strides—and hauls Greg into a hug that looks like it might shatter them both. I’ve seen Beck tearful a few times, but the ocean just overflowed from his precious eyes. Both brothers are sobbing. And I’ll admit, I am too.

And then Roger and Mary come outside seconds later. Mary lets out a sound I can only describe as a sob-laugh. “Gregory Allen Hayes, is that really you?”

Greg glances around—at his brother, his parents, the family he probably thought he’d never see again. “Yeah, Mom,” he says, voice thick. “It’s me.”

The night is a blur of tears, laughter and stories. Daniel fits in like he’s always been here.

Jake immediately decides that the golden retrievers are his dogs now too.

Greg and Beck sit on the porch, side by side, long into the night.

No blame.

No anger.

Just two brothers finding their way back to each other.

***

Later, as stars scatter across the sky, I step outside to find Beck leaning on the railing, watching Jake toss a ball for the dogs.

Spotty’s trying to herd them, bless him.

Beck wraps an arm around me when I step beside him.

“You did this,” he says quietly.

I smile. “We all did.”

But he shakes his head.

“No, Abs. This… this was you.”

His voice breaks a little. “I didn’t know how much I needed this until it happened.”

I lean into him, love spilling through me like sunlight I can’t contain.

Because this? This is pure love.

With all the bedrooms upstairs now ready and waiting, Beck naturally hopes Greg and Daniel will stay here at the farmhouse. It is so him — wanting to fold his brother right into the chaos and comfort of his life now. Jake is already making grand plans about which dog could sleep where, and Spotty seems entirely ready to share his domain.

But it turns out Beck isn’t the only one with plans.

The moment Mary Hayes catches wind of that idea, she shuts it down with the kind of gentle but unshakable force only a mother could summon.

“Oh no, sir,” Mary announces, hands firmly on her hips. “Gregory Allen Hayes is coming home. ”

Roger stands beside her, silent but with that rare glimmer in his eyes—the one I’ve only seen when Beck proposed or when Jake called him Grandpa without thinking.

“Our house has had a hole in it for too long,” Mary adds softly. “Our son belongs under our roof, at least for a little while. And Daniel is very welcome as well.”

And I get it. This isn’t about logistics or spare bedrooms.

This is about the years lost.

It’s about late-night talks over mugs of tea. About Roger getting to shuffle into the kitchen in his slippers and see both his boys in the same room again. About Mary fussing over Greg like she’s been saving up mothering energy for a decade and finally has a chance to spend it.

Greg hesitates. He’s awkward and uncertain, but Daniel just smiles, squeezing his hand.

“I think your mom’s earned this one,” Daniel says gently.

And the look on Mary’s face?

That is all it took.

Beck just chuckles, shaking his head as Greg finally nods.

“Guess I’ve been outvoted.”

“Not outvoted,” Mary says, her voice thick and her eyes glistening with more unshed tears. “Just loved.”

I pull Beck into my best “I love you” embrace and tell him to get his jammies and toothbrush because his momma wants him home now! I’ll clean up the yard and lock up the house, I tell him and off he goes. The newly reunited family of five and two dogs leaves to spend the night together, for the first time. Soon that family will add me and Jake.

And I cannot wait.