Page 4 of The Me I Left Behind (Tuckaway Bay #4)
Maggie gave Carol a side eye. “Let’s sit here, kids.”
They found seats opposite Sam and Julia, with Jason sitting at the end of the table. Chloe sat between her and Carol.
“Looks like we’re all here,” Zach said. “Menus are on the table.”
“Smaller group than on Christmas day,” Sam noted.
Chloe tugged at Maggie’s sleeve. “Baby Grace?”
Maggie glanced about, not seeing Belle. “Will baby Grace be joining us? Belle too? Chloe is obsessed.” She grinned at Lia, then looked down at her daughter’s questioning face.
Lia opened her menu. “She’s tired, but might pop down after a while. Gracie was sleeping.”
“Oh, shoot, Mommy,” Chloe said. “I wanted to see that stinker.”
Everyone laughed.
Chloe hid her face in her mom’s side.
Julia teased, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard Chloe talk that much ever.”
Maggie hugged her child. “She is a quiet one, usually. But she really loves baby Grace.”
Chloe looked up then and grinned. “Can we have a baby, Mommy?”
Maggie choked back a shocked cackle, made brief eye contact with Julia, then Lia, Alice, and finally Carol.
Carol’s eyes twinkled. “Yeah, Mommy. Can we?”
Squaring her shoulders, Maggie said firmly to her oldest. “No, we cannot.” Then turning to Chloe, she whispered, “Mommy’s baby making days are over, sweetheart. You’re my last baby.”
At that, Chloe beamed and cuddled into her side again.
Maggie put her arm around her youngest and looked up at everyone staring back—then she eased out a slow, cleansing breath.
Alice leaned in, changing the subject. “It’s too bad Grant and Ginger had to get back to Seattle so soon,” she said. “I’m sure they would have liked more time with baby Grace, too.”
Lia nodded. “Yes, of course. But Ginger had to get back to her other children for Christmas. Belle’s fine about it. Grant knows his way here now.”
“Oh, Lia…” Julia made a face and glanced at Zach. “Is that going to be difficult for you and Zach?”
“Not at all,” Zach said, answering the question for Lia. “Actually, Grant and I got along quite well, and we plan to keep it that way. We’re all adults here.”
Maggie felt those words cut into her soul. She knew Zach meant nothing by it. He barely knew Max and wasn’t sure what Lia had shared with him about this new turn of events in the Oliver world.
“I’m glad,” she said softly. “Being adult can make a world of difference.”
Lia caught her eye, questioning, and Maggie waved her off.
“Oh, look who’s here!” Zach stood and headed for the door. Everyone’s attention shot that way.
Belle approached the table with a baby carrier. “Hey everyone. Thought I’d come by for a few minutes.”
“Oh!” Chloe jumped up.
Maggie snagged her arm. “Let her find a seat, sweetie.”
But Belle could barely get seated before everyone crowded around her.
“Let’s not all get too close, remember,” Lia said, protectively. “Germs.”
“Oh, Mom. It’s fine.” Belle tossed her mother a quick grin.
The restaurant door slapped shut again and everyone turned toward the sound.
Carol gasped.
“Well, well. If it’s not Josh Sullivan,” Zach said. “Fish stop biting?”
Belle slowly looked up.
Josh stepped across the room. Maggie recognized him.
He was one of the anglers stranded at the hotel during the storm.
An E.M.T., he had also helped deliver baby Grace during the power outage.
They’d left Christmas day looking for another fishing charter, and Maggie had assumed they’d headed back to New Hampshire by now.
“I heard there was a newborn baby here. How’s she doing?” Josh locked his gaze on Belle.
Belle’s face brightened, smiling at him. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
Maggie caught Lia’s eye momentarily. Lia blinked rapidly, then tossed a questioning glance back to Maggie.
“Thought I’d check in on my patient before heading back home to New Hampshire.”
Zach snickered. “Grace or Belle?”
Lia elbowed him.
“Why, little Grace, of course. Goodness, she’s grown!”
“It’s only been a week, Josh,” Belle said.
“Still, she’s plumping up.”
“Oh, she likes her milk.” Belle shifted the baby in her arms. “Do you want to hold her?”
Josh grinned. “I do.”
The server approached the table then, asking for their orders. Everyone scurried back to their seats, except for Josh and Belle and baby Grace, who sauntered off to a private booth to chat.
Carol leaned toward her mom. “Do you think there’s something there?” she asked.
“I don’t know. What do you think?”
Carol watched the couple for a few seconds, then nodded. “Definitely.”
“I guess time will tell. Right?” Maggie said.
Their food came eventually, and they ate amidst chatter and stories and reminisces of the chaotic Christmas they’d just spent together. At some point, Josh and Belle slipped out, and it seemed no one noticed until long after they were gone.
“Do you think Belle and Josh are a thing?” Julia asked Lia.
Lia looked at Julia, surprise etched on her face. “A thing? Oh, good Lord, no. They just have a connection, you know, because of that night.”
“Hmm.” Julia gave her a snarky grin.
Maggie knew that grin of Julia’s all too well. It meant, “Yeah, right.”
“So,” Maggie interrupted. “We will leave early in the morning. Until next summer, then? Are we back at Tequila Sunrise, last week of August?”
“Good by me,” Julia said.
Alice tipped her iced tea glass. “I’m good for that week.”
Lia nodded. “Plans are to open Tequila Sunrise for the season in late May, and we’ve already held the last week in August.”
“Great!” Julia nudged Sam. “I’ll be gone all week. Think you can survive without me?”
“It will be tough.” He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. “But I will muddle through.”
“I’m looking forward to it already,” Maggie said. “Who knows what the next six months will bring?”
Get ready, Maggie.