Page 28 of The Awakening
The trip to the barn seemed quicker than I hoped. Kate and Tyler stopped at the door, and I took a deep breath as Gavin led me into the throng of people. We stood on the stage together. This was a Morton family event, and we were expected to portray a united front.
When we were all in place, Gavin’s father spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to welcome you to the New Year’s Eve Gala. This year, our donations will be used to upgrade equipment at the hospital. As you all know, medical equipmentis costly. We are honored to work with the hospital, and our ability to do so is because of your ongoing support.”
The crowd clapped and Brian took a moment to let it die down. He was a born speaker. Brian commanded a room with very little effort.
“We would like to introduce you to the newest member of the Morton family. Please welcome Gavin’s wife, Elyse Morton, to the family and to our community.” Brian turned to me and held his hand out.
The crowd clapped, and I stepped toward Brian and plastered on the fake smile I’d mastered so long ago. But bile rose in my throat at Brian’s use of the word community. It was nothing like the one I’d left, but it made me sick to my stomach anyway. I walked back to Gavin’s side and squeezed his hand for dear life.
He turned and looked at me, and while his face didn’t change much, his eyes held concern. I pasted on my best smile and turned my attention back to the crowd.
“Enough chatter. Now you know why you’re here so, let’s get dancing.” Brian called as he handed the mic back to the band.
The band started playing, and the crowd took to the floor. When I stepped off the stage, I was greeted by person after person. They introduced themselves, welcomed me to the community, and many already had donation checks ready for me.
“It’s so nice to see Gavin has settled down, and with the most beautiful Morton wife of them all, if I do say so.” A man walked up to me and handed me a check before he found someone to dance with.
The check had more zeros than I knew what to do with. Gavin appeared at my side and whispered, “How much did Haden pull from the vault?” I showed the check to him, and Gavin gave a quiet whistle. “He’s always been very generous. Probably helps that you are gorgeous. He’s a ladies’ man.”
I looked at Gavin and back at the check and smiled. “Is he? Maybe I should go see if he wants to dance.” Arching my brow, I turned, pretending to look for the man that I now knew as Haden.
Gavin caught me by my arm and pulled me to him. “Not on your life, Elyse. I’m the one who gets to hold you tonight.”
Instinctively, we swayed to the music. In Gavin’s arms, I felt like everything in the world could only go my way. Everyone here tonight believed in me and, more importantly, Gavin believed in me. Nobody had had faith in me for a long time and it was nice.
The music stopped, and Sandra took the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, the funds are rolling in and as of right now we have raised just shy of seventy-five thousand dollars.”
Kate snuck up to the front of the sage and handed Sandra a piece of paper.
Reading what she had been given, her face lit up. “Thanks to a generous donation that came in just before I took the stage, I can now update our total to one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. Thank you to New Dream Homes.”
“You got it set up?” I whispered to Gavin.
The smile on his face said it all. The idea he had been mulling over in his mind since we’d arrived in Texas was finally being realized. “I went to the bank. They were confident I was a good investment based on my reputation and the fact that until my old business partner started making shady deals, I had plenty of capital. Once the legal stuff is over, I should retain my share of the funds, and they agreed.”
Flinging my arms around Gavin’s neck, I couldn’t help but let out a little squeal. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Let’s dance,” he whispered in my ear.
Chapter Eighteen
Gavin
“Are you feeling up to a drive? We should go out and see what kind of shape grandpa’s house is in.” I leaned against the door, crossed my arms, and watched Ellie as she moved around the room. I couldn’t tear my eyes off her.
“Sure, I think it would be good to get out of here.” She set down the clothes she was putting away and gave the room a scan, her brow furrowed.
“Jacket?”
“Yeah.”
“I have it. Come on, let’s have some fun.”
“You still know how to have fun?” She teased. Sure, I'd become a bit more serious while building my new business, and the demands of keeping my family happy on top of that were a bit much. But did it really seem like I didn’t know how to have fun anymore?
“I’m fun.” I pulled her coat from beneath mine on the hook and tossed it on the bed for her before closing in. “I’m too serious? Is that what you think?”
“Maybe…” She bumped into the wall behind her. There was nowhere for her to go.
