Page 55 of Silver Lining Love

25

WHITNEY

“Don’t be pushed by your problems, be led by your dreams.” ~ Gamma Mary

I laid on my back and watched the blades of the ceiling fan go round and round. I’d been trying to sleep for the past two hours but was failing miserably. I’d been up for nearly twenty-four hours at this point. I should be exhausted. But I wasn’t because I had so many emotions rushing through me.

The kids had worn themselves out running around the farm today. Alice had even conked out during dinner. Halfway through the meal I’d realized I hadn’t heard her say anything in at least ten minutes, which was basically a record for her. I’d looked over and seen her face down on her empty plate. I woke her up and she rallied, but as soon as we laid down, she’d started sawing logs.

I glanced over at her sound asleep beside me. She looked so peaceful and content. Benji was sleeping in a playpen that Dolly had set up for me beside the bed in what used to be Wyatt’s only sister Harmony’s room. Mikey was down the hall sleeping in JJ’s old room, and Wyatt was across the hall in his old room.

I’d been looking forward to this trip since Wyatt invited me two weeks ago. I was excited to meet Wyatt’s family, especially after he’d told me he’d never brought anyone home to meet them. I still wasn’t sure where we stood, but that had to be a good sign. I’d also been looking forward to getting away and having a break. I thought we could all use one. I’d had high hopes for this getaway, but today had been even better than I’d dreamed it could be.

I’d met three of Wyatt’s seven brothers and their wives when they came for dinner tonight. Wyatt said they were taking shifts because the whole clan could be a lot and no one wanted to overwhelm me or the kids so I’d meet the rest of the Briggs family tomorrow.

Tonight Jackson, Sawyer, Beau and their wives had come over for dinner.

The first to arrive with their wives were Jackson and Beau. I’d done a double, or actually triple take when I saw who they were. Jackson was married to Josie Clarke, who happened to be a television host and the granddaughter of Hollywood legend Josephine Grace Clarke of Hot Tea with Josephine.

I couldn’t believe Wyatt had never mentioned his connection to the granddaughter of my favorite podcast host. But then again, he’d waited to drop the JJ Briggs is my brother bomb for eight months to Michael.

And Wyatt’s famous connections didn’t stop there. His brother Beau was married to Sasha Freakin’ Nelson who played Alexis on my favorite soap opera Sunset Bay. I’d heard rumors that she’d left the show because she got pregnant and was engaged to some cowboy, I hadn’t known that cowboy was Wyatt’s brother. From her belly it looked like she was due any day.

Sunset Bay had been Addi’s sole guilty pleasure. She’d loved the daytime soap so much, her hubby had bought tickets to one of the conventions so she could meet her favorite characters on their first wedding anniversary. Sasha Nelson was the only character she’d wanted to meet who hadn’t been at the convention. It felt bittersweet that I’d gotten to not only meet the soap star, but also have dinner with her.

It had taken me a minute to recover from the shock of meeting the two celebrity women. But thankfully, my shock was overshadowed, literally, when Wyatt’s oldest brother Sawyer and his wife Delilah arrived. Neither were famous but Sawyer was a mountain of a man. From the photos I’d seen all of the Briggs brothers were tall and built, but Sawyer was in a class all his own. He was like the Brawny man or Paul Bunyan. He was massive. And quiet. He didn’t say much, but I did notice his stoic face brightened when he saw Wyatt.

It was obvious that he’d missed his brother. I loved seeing Wyatt with his family, especially his brothers. They all gave each other a hard time but you could see the genuine love there. I hoped that Mikey, Alice, and Benji would have that sort of relationship when they got older.

As I laid in bed, I just couldn’t get over how welcoming and sweet everyone had been to me and the kids. Delilah, Sawyer’s wife, owned a flower shop, and she brought Alice a wreath to wear on her head. She refused to take it off, even to go to sleep. Mikey was in hog heaven hanging out with the men, and he hadn’t even met JJ yet. He just wasn’t used to being around so much testosterone.

The guys had all gone outside after dinner and thrown the ball around. Alice helped Dolly with the dishes, I tried to help, we all did, but Dolly insisted on her and Alice having some girl time. I’d sat in the front room with Wyatt’s sisters-in-law as they passed Benji around and played with him. We talked about everything and nothing. I’d never felt so close to a group of women in my life.

It was honestly one of the best nights of my life. I felt safe. Accepted. Loved.

I knew that was a crazy thing to say, but it was true. Before I’d had the kids, my life had been a rollercoaster of self-indulgent drama. After the accident, my life had been a rollercoaster of emotional trauma.

Tonight, I felt like I finally got off the ride and just enjoyed myself. I was already dreading going back home. And seeing Wyatt with his family had just made me love him more. And seeing him working on the farm…

Holy hotness, Batman!

There was something so incredibly sexy about a man who knew his way around large equipment, no pun intended. When we’d first arrived, he’d moved a tractor for his dad, and watching him climb up on it and then navigate the enormous steel contraption with expert precision had been drool-inducing. Literally, I’d drooled over him. Again.

I kept playing the entire day over and over again in my head and wished that I had Addi to call and talk to about it.

I missed my sister so badly. It had been nine months, and I thought that the pain might have lessened by now, but if anything it had grown more severe. The hole in my life and heart that she’d left had started as Grand Canyon size and was now like the black hole in space. It was an infinite abyss of pain and void.

Needing a distraction, I figured I might as well be productive. I hadn’t checked my email in weeks. I used to have an alert set up on my phone because so much of my business was done via email, but now I could go weeks, even months, without opening my Gmail.

I grabbed my phone off the side of the bed and was deleting mostly spam when I saw a sender name that stopped me in my tracks. Hot Tea with Josephine. She sent a link to her blog, where she answered my question. I checked the date and saw the response was sent two weeks ago.

Holy shit!

It felt strange, almost like kismet, or something that I’d met Josie, Josephine’s granddaughter tonight and discovered that she’d written me back.

I clicked on the link and read my question again. I barely remembered what I’d asked her. I’d sent the question two months ago and so much had happened since. After refreshing my memory, I read her response.

Dear Heartbroken but Hopeful,

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