Page 68 of Trusting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 2)

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“Thank you for doing this,Grace Noelle,” Easton leaned over and whispered in Grace’s ear as he stood beside her on the assembly line. She was scooping mashed potatoes and he was on turkey duty.

Was this how she’d planned on her morning going? No. But there were worse things than spending a half hour being cuddled up with Easton in the back of his parents’ SUV as they drove to a town thirty miles away to feed the homeless. And now that they were here, she was so happy she’d come.

After Connie had announced that she’d found a shelter to volunteer at and the bus was leaving in an hour, Grace hadn’t had a clue what she was talking about, but she went upstairs to get ready.

Easton had filled her in that every Thanksgiving when he was growing up his parents and brothers had volunteered to feed the homeless. At Christmas they always adopted families in need and the Bishops would buy dinners and toys for whatever family they were sponsoring.

Grace had volunteered at women’s shelters giving legal advice several times, but she’d never done anything on this scale. They were going to be feeding hundreds of people this morning and there was nowhere else she’d rather be.

The more time she spent with Easton, the more she saw how he lived his life, she was realizing that she’d spent a lot of hers only worrying about herself. Well, herself and her sisters. It felt good to be doing something for others.

When her dad left, she felt like she’d had to grow up fast and basically become a team with her mom. Then when her mom got sick, everything had fallen on her shoulders. She’d lost her teammate, her safety net, and she had to make sure that her sisters could stay together, and they wouldn’t be split up and put in foster care.

For better or worse, those events had shaped her. She was a survivor. She knew that no matter what the challenge she could face it. But just like she did with fate, she had to look at both sides of the coin. Besides being a survivor, she also always looked out for number one and built walls meant to protect her and keep people from hurting her, but those walls might also be keeping people from loving her.

Tears filled her eyes, but she tried to sniff them back. She wasn’t getting emotional because of the things she’d gone through. She was getting emotional because of the way she’d lived her life because of it.

She’d been selfish and detached. She’d taken pride in being called The Ice Queen. As she looked around the room at the people she was serving, some of whom had told her this was the first meal they’d had in days, shame washed over her.

Easton was a kind, generous, incredible human being. And seeing him with his parents she saw why. They were both incredible people, too.

Just that morning she’d been considering what was going to happen between the two of them when the show was over. Why would someone so good want to be with her?

She took in a shaky breath and Easton immediately noticed that she was upset. He leaned down and quietly asked, “Are you okay?”

Grace smiled up at him and was nodding her head yes when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

When she turned her head she saw Janice, the woman who ran the shelter. “Hi Grace, can I borrow you for a minute?”

“Absolutely.” Grace stepped back and another volunteer filled her place. She removed her gloves and apron and followed Janice out of the large community room where the meal was being served.

When they stepped into the hallway Janice spoke in a quiet voice, “I hope you don’t mind me pulling you away, but Connie mentioned that you were a lawyer.”

“I am.” Grace nodded.

“We have a situation with one of our clients and I’d love to get some legal advice.”

Grace had a feeling she knew what sort of legal advice Janice was asking her to give, so she felt she needed to provide a disclaimer. “I practiced entertainment law, not family law, but I’ll do my best.”

“Thank you.” Janice smiled tightly.

Grace followed her down the hallway and into a room that looked like it was part of the staff offices. When they walked in, she saw a woman sitting on a couch with four children beside her. The sight brought back a memory that either Grace had forgotten, or she’d blocked out. She was with her mom and sisters waiting in line for food. It must have been a food bank of some sort. It was just a flash of a memory, but she knew from how old her sisters were, it had to be right after their dad left.

“This is Maggie, and her daughter Brandy who is six, her twins Brynna and Bryce who are four and her youngest Blair who is two. Ladies this is Grace Wells.”

“Hi,” Grace smiled at the girls and their mom.

Janice bent down and asked, “Hey would you girls like to come color with me while your mommy and Miss Grace talk?”

The oldest girl, Brandy, looked stoic and protective of her mom and sisters. Her eyes cut to her mom, but she didn’t move her head. Maggie smiled and said, “It’s okay. I’ll be okay. You can go with Miss Janice.”

Brandy didn’t show any emotion as she stood and took her youngest sister’s hand. The twins got up and followed behind their oldest sister like two little ducklings, obviously taking her lead.

Grace’s heart broke for this family, for these girls.

And honestly, for herself. She’d been a year younger than Brandy when her dad had left. She’d known on an academic level how old she was, but thinking back she never thought of herself as a young child, but she had been.

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