Page 91 of Fall With Me (Sugarland Creek)

“Maybe you should call Sheriff Wagner and give him a heads-up,” Dad suggests. He’s been quiet this whole time, so Iwondered if he had any opinion on this. “Better to keep a paper trail now in case he does something else.”

Ellie looks at me in a panic, and I pull her closer. “Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen.”

Once we sit to eat dinner, and I answer all of their annoying questions about Ellie and me, we move on to dessert and then scrapbooking. Tripp and Magnolia leave early to get Willow to bed and then Waylon and Wilder bail to go finish chores.

“So you do this every Sunday night?” Ellie asks when she looks at all the supplies dumped on the table.

“Yep, and we probably have an album for everything you could ever think of,” I say, then find a photo of me and my dirt bike.

“You ride that?” she asks.

“Yeah, I rode it to the stables that first day we met. Again…you weren’t impressed.” I smirk when she rolls her eyes. “Noah yells at me when I ride it too close to the stables, so I’ve been ridin’ it around the mountains and one of the ponds we have out there. There’s a nice trail.”

“That sounds fun,” she says. “I’ve never been on one…I don’t think.”

Leaning in so only she can hear me, I whisper, “I’d love to be the first to give you a ride.”

My fingers squeeze around her thigh and she swallows hard. Then I flash her a wink and go back to the photos.

“I should dig out my family’s albums and make one. Maybe it’ll spark some memories or at the very least, be a fun little project so I don’t die from boredom.” Ellie watches me flip through the pages of a completed one.

“Do you like to cook or bake?” Gramma Grace asks her.

“I dunno. I’ve never really tried. My mom cooks every night, so I’ve never had to learn.”

Gramma Grace smiles wide, and I know what she’s about to do.

“I’ll teach you. I have dozens of family recipes I could share with you.”

“Wait a minute…” Noah blurts. “I couldn’t get my favorite peach cobbler recipe until my bridal shower because Mama said it was tradition.”

“It is,” Mom confirms, reaching for more stickers and floral pieces.

“Well, if they’re engaged, there’ll be a bridal shower soon…” Gramma Grace defends. “I can still teach her without giving her the recipes.”

“Did you miss the part where they said it wasn’t real?” Noah arches a brow.

“I don’t wanna be a bother,” Ellie says.

“You’re not, darlin’. We’d love to teach you,” Mom says. “Since my own daughter hardly visits anymore, it’d be nice to have you around.”

“Sorry for havin’ a job, a husband, and takin’ care of your granddaughter.”

I chuckle at Noah’s annoyance. “Aww…is someone feelin’ left out?”

She kicks my shin underneath the table. “With you around, I’m used to never gettin’ attention anyway. You and the twins are always loud and obnoxious.”

“Me? I’m just sittin’ here.”

Ellie giggles, and I glance over at her.

“What’s funny?”

“The way y’all bicker is cute. I never knew family time could be like this. I got so serious about racin’ so early in my teen years that it took over my life ever since then. We never did stuff like this. Everything revolved around my career.”

“It’s good to learn balance,” Mom tells her. “Noah was the same way until she met Fisher and finally realized there was more to living than just workin’ nonstop.”

“Yep, now I work nonstopandmanage a family.” Noah smirks, turning toward Fisher, who’s rocking Poppy to sleep. “I love it. Wouldn’t change it for the world.”

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