Page 168 of Eight Years Gone

Colton was right. Because falling sideways had been scary enough. “I’ll look for something tonight. I think we can get away with it if we give it to her at Christmas.”

Colton nodded. “Some lady—Mrs. Ward—wants a custom table arrangement for Thanksgiving.”

Grace rolled her eyes. Mrs. Ward was high-maintenance and always wanted something difficult. “Of course she does.”

“She was saying all these different flower names and showing us pictures from Pinterest. Amanda and I don’t know how to help her with that.”

Grace sighed as she stood, walking down the hall with him. “Let’s go make Mrs. Ward happy.”

Forty-Three

Jagger walked up the driveway, adjusting the paper grocery bag he held in his arm as Colton stood with his head under the hood of his truck. “Car trouble?”

Colton stood straight with the oil dipstick in his hand. “No. I’m just checking my fluid levels before it gets too dark.” He put the dipstick back. “Grace said something about dinner, but she’s in the office working.”

“I’m taking care of dinner tonight.” He gestured to the bag he held. Grace had handled the majority of the cooking since Colton moved in. Whether she knew it or not, it was her night off.

Colton shut the hood. “Did Grace tell you that Aunt Maggie fell today?”

Jagger frowned. “No. We haven’t had much of a chance to talk. Is Aunt Mags okay?”

Colton nodded. “She lost her balance and fell off her stool. Mostly, she got pissed about it. But Grace went to her office after. I think she was trying not to cry.”

Jagger steamed out a breath. “Things are going downhill fast. It’s been pretty tough on Grace. She wants to be able to fix an unfixable situation. Aunt Mags and Asa have been a big support to her. They were there for her and Logan after they lost Rose. They helped her put her life back together after Logan died, and I left like a son of a bitch.”

Colton shook his head. “It was his fault. Steve’s.”

Jagger raised his brow, surprised by the sudden venom in Colton’s voice. But he was even more surprised that Colton seemed to know the story.

“Grace told me about it the other night.”

That was progress. Grace often avoided mentioning the past. If Grace and Colton were talking about the tough stuff, that was good. “Some of it was Steve’s fault, but I never should have walked away.”

“He didn’t give you much of a choice. Anything bad in all our lives seems to circle back to him.”

Jagger shrugged because, to some degree, Colton spoke the truth. But he also knew he would never be able to forgive himself for leaving the way that he had.

Colton shoved his hands in his pockets as he shifted his stance. “We’re gifting Maggie a safer stool—Grace and me.”

“Oh yeah?” Jagger replied, recognizing that Colton wanted to change the subject.

Colton nodded. “Since Aunt Maggie isn’t a fan of accommodations—even when she needs them—I thought it seemed like a good idea.”

Jagger grinned as he nodded. “The whole brother-sister bonding thing. Smart kid.”

Colton shrugged. “Manipulation has its place.”

Jagger laughed. “I guess it does.” He glanced toward the house, eager to get inside to Grace. They hadn’t spent a lot of time together over the last week. “What are you up to tomorrow?”

“Homework.”

“I’m surprising Grace with a special day.” He’d been putting the plan in place between his classes and errands. Since Montana had been a bust, they would give tomorrow a try. “We’ll probably be gone for most of the afternoon.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“You’re pulling dinner duty with me tonight. I called Bea for her spaghetti and meatballs recipe. Grace needs a break. She’s been working her ass off.”

Colton frowned. “Why does she work so hard when she doesn’t have to?”

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