Page 32 of Anchored

“Please remind Mrs. Holstedder that continuing her therapy is part of her agreement to stay here at Sunny Shores, and as much as I’d love to see everyone, I’m just one man.” I bounce my eyebrows up and down. “I know I look like him, but I’m not actually Superman.”

Debbie sneers and spins away from me with a huff like I knew she would.

“You know you love me!” I holler after her. She just flips me off and keeps right on walking, shoes squeaking on the clean floors. God, I love my staff.

What I don’t love is the text I just got that sent me in a mad scramble to find Maple. I hustle out the side door, across the courtyard, waving hello to patients, but keeping my legs moving at a fast clip. I knock softly on Gracie’s door and peek in before anyone answers. Maple is on the couch in the living room, laptop open in front of her. She looks up and holds up a finger.

“Okay, that’s good progress. I think we’re actually ahead of schedule. She should be wearing shoes and a costume without biting anyone well before the fall.” Maple smiles so serenely, I can see why pets and humans alike adore her. She says a few more things and then hits a button and closes her laptop. “Hey, hunky monkey. I didn’t expect to see you here so soon.”

It’s a ridiculous nickname, one she came up with on the fly, and yet I love to hear it come out of her mouth. Just knowing she’s the only one who would call me that makes me wonder if I was too hasty in signing off on being girlfriend-free for the rest of my life.

“I have a situation,” I say, coming into the living room to sit next to her on the couch. “Where’s Gracie?” I add in a whisper.

“Napping.”

I nod. “Okay, good. Uh, my mother just texted me.”

“Is…that the situation?”

Maple seems confused and has every right to be. I haven’t told her much about my family. Honestly, the less they knew about this farce of ours, the better. Mom and Dad live on the outskirts of Anchor Lake and they aren’t much for town gossip, so I hadn’t considered that I’d have to involve them in this lie about being engaged. And Jess is so preoccupied with little Posy, I figured she hadn’t heard about us either.

“Well, they’re insisting on coming over for dinner tonight. I, uh, forgot it’s my sister’s birthday.”

“Holt!” Maple slaps my thigh, making me feel like the worst brother ever.

“I know, I know. Anyway, they want to barbecue and I wanted to let you know, in case you don’t want to be there.” I rush forward when I see a hurt look cross her face. “You’re absolutely welcome to be there, it’s just I didn’t want you to feel like youhadto spend the evening with my family. They’re…a lot.”

Maple’s face clears and she’s smiling again as she snuggles into my side. “Families are always a lot. And besides, they can’t be worse than mine.”

I grimace, wondering how true that statement might be. “Well, in any case, I’ve sworn up and down to never get married again, so they’ll be a little confused about how you and I came to be. Or, we can let them know about the real situation.”

“Maple?” Gracie’s thin voice comes from the bedroom.

Maple stands up immediately. “Coming, Grandma!” She looks back down at me. “The more people we tell, the more complicated this gets. I’m so sorry to drag you into this. I’ll let you decide what’s best to tell your family. Just let me know and I’ll play along.”

With a swish of her skirt, she’s off to Gracie’s bedroom to help her up from her nap. I scrub a hand over my face, both amazed at how sweet Maple is and how complicated this situation has gotten in just two weeks. What started as a bit of a joke, and a way to protect Gracie’s fragile condition, has become a town-wide issue. The thing is, I don’t mind everyone thinking Maple and I are engaged, and if it continues to help her grandma, then I’m all in. Even with my family.

Maple comes out of the bedroom with Gracie shuffling next to her. Both of them smile when they see me there on the couch, identical if not for the close to five decades between them.

“Oh, Holt! I’m so glad you’re here! Would you like some tea with us?”

I stand up and help her into her favorite chair. “I’d love some.”

“But then Holt and I have to go. His family’s coming over for dinner tonight and we want to stop by the grocery store.” Maple heads into the kitchenette and I follow, the two of us getting the teakettle going and three mugs.

“Did you decide?” she asks in a whisper.

I put my arm around her. “Sure did, wife-to-be. You ready to get your acting skills going?”

She beams up at me and I can’t help but steal a kiss that doesn’t feel like acting at all.

Maple has outdone herself, proving that, contrary to my ban, having a female in my life could be quite nice. She strung up streamers across the entire inside of the cabin while I marinated the chicken and a separate dish of fake chicken made out of tofu. She told me it wasn’t necessary to get her a different entree, but I’m not going to keep feeding her meat when I know she doesn’t like it. Any good fiancé would do the same.

“What’s her favorite color?” Maple asks from the floor.

I look over the bar to see her making a poster board for my sister. I go back to tossing the salad. “Um, I’m not sure. Maybe pink? No, purple?”

“Holt…” Maple groans.

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