A Stonecreek Christmas Reunion
Page 17
“It took me a month to get the stink out,” Dora shouted from the back of the square.
“Sorry about that,” Griffin called with a wave of his hand. “But it’s a good segue into why I asked Chuck if Joey and I could borrow the mic for a few minutes.” He glanced over his shoulder at the burly bar owner. “Just for this year. I promise.”
Chuck nodded.
“When Joey heard about the reading of ‘The Night Before Christmas,’” Griffin continued, “he was pretty excited because that was his mommy’s favorite Christmas story.”
Joey tugged on the hem of Griffin’s canvas jacket then lifted his arms to be picked up. When Griffin obliged, Joey whispered into his ear. Griffin hugged the boy then spoke into the microphone. “Joey’s come to live in Stonecreek because his mom died this year.” An immediate hush fell over the crowd.
“Yes...well...” Griffin cleared his throat. “Since it’s his first Christmas here, I wanted him to see what an amazing town we have. I kind of ignored that fact for a lot of years. It’s become clear since I’ve been back that there’s no place I’d rather be.” He shrugged. “There really is no place like home.”
Applause and cheers erupted, and Griffin’s gaze slammed into Maggie’s. “I’m here for the long haul,” he said directly to her, “and you’re the reason for it.”
Her heart gave a staccato thump in her chest.
“As you might have heard,” he told the audience, “Stonecreek has been participating in a bit of a social media frenzy for the past couple of weeks. A competition, you might call it.”
More applause but it was less enthusiastic. Allyson held up her camera to take in the crowd behind her.
“I think we can all agree it’s been exciting to showcase the best parts of our community so that people can see how special this place is. It’s been a good reminder for me, anyway, about what’s most important in my life.” He glanced toward Maggie again, and there was nothing but love in his beautiful green eyes.
No doubt. No defenses. All love and all aimed at her.
“Damn girl,” someone said from the row behind her. “I wish a fine man would look at me that way.”
“I love you, Maggie,” he said clearly. “I’ve let a lot of things get in the way of that, especially my own stupidity.”
She gave a shuddery laugh and clasped a hand over her mouth. Never in a million years would she have imagined Griffin professing his love in front of most of the town. Particularly when she’d told him they didn’t have a chance. For all he knew, he was putting himself out there for nothing. Risking everything.
“I know I’ve given you plenty of reasons not to trust me, and I won’t blame you at all if you never want to talk to me again after this night.” He paused, swallowed then said, “But I will love you forever. I love your passion and your heart and your dedication. I love that you don’t let me get away with much. I love that no matter where I am in the world, you will always be my home.”
“Oh, my,” Grammy whispered next to her. “Oh, my.”
Oh, my indeed. Maggie didn’t know what to think. Her heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest.
“And here’s something else we can all agree on,” he said to the crowd in general. “Our mayor, Maggie Spencer, has gone above and beyond in working to make sure Stonecreek is the top contender for the LiveSoft headquarters. She’s done everything except—” he held up one finger “—let herself be bullied and harassed by LiveSoft’s CEO.”
He looked out to the audience. “Is it uploaded, Trevor?”
To Maggie’s utter shock, Trevor made his way to the front of the assembled crowd.
“Sure is,” he called to Griffin. “With the hashtag ‘livesoftnotwrong.’”
“Catchy turn of phrase,” Griffin said with a thumbs-up to his brother. “For those of you who haven’t heard, Maggie had an unfortunate incident with Christian Milken a few nights ago where the jerk propositioned her in return for the promise of Stonecreek winning the competition.” Griffin held out a hand at the outraged murmurs that snaked through the crowd.
Maggie felt her eyes widen and glanced toward Christian, whose face was turning bright red with anger.
“Now we have someone from LiveSoft filming tonight’s event.” He focused his gaze on Allyson. “You are still filming, right?”
The woman nodded just as Christian snatched the phone from her hand. “Not very sporting of you, Milken,” Griffin said. “But no matter. We’ve invited a news crew from Portland to attend our Christmas Eve celebration. They’ve been helpful enough to upload the video taken of Christian harassing our Maggie onto their homepage. So please...” He nodded to the crowd. “Share and retweet and don’t forget my brother’s clever hashtag.” He pointed a finger at Christian. “‘Livesoftnotwrong.’”
“This is ridiculous,” Christian shouted. “I didn’t like this place from the start.”
“You are ridiculous,” Griffin shot back. “Stonecreek is amazing. Maggie is amazing. One of the things that makes this town so special is our community. We aren’t going to see anyone disrespected the way you tried to with her. No headquarters is worth compromising our values.”
Thunderous applause broke out and Christian stormed past Maggie, Allyson following quickly in his wake. “I’m sorry,” the assistant whispered as she passed.
“And now,” Griffin said when the applause finally died down. “Let’s have our high school choir lead us in a few carols.”
Maggie stood stock-still for a few seconds, stunned as friends surrounded her offering words of support and encouragement. As the choir filled the stage, she stepped away from the crowd, trying to catch her breath. What had Griffin done?
“Is this true?” Grammy demanded, making her way to Maggie’s side.
“Yes, but...”
“If that man comes near you again,” Vivian said, fire in her eyes. “I’ll personally shank him.”
“Yeah, Grammy,” Ben shouted. He and Morgan had followed her, along with their father and Jana.
“I’m sorry about the competition,” Maggie whispered to her grandmother. “I tried—”
“No.” Grammy shook her head. “Nothing is more important to me than you, Mary Margaret. It doesn’t matter what happens in this town as long as my family is safe and happy. You all mean the world to me.”
Maggie didn’t bother to wipe away the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
“I hate seeing you cry,” a familiar voice said from behind her. She turned to where Griffin stood several feet away.
The people around her seemed to fade into the background as she moved toward him until they stood toe-to-toe.
“They’re happy tears,” she whispered. “That was some speech.”
“I meant every word of it.” He wiped at her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, and the familiar fire sparked low in her belly at his touch. Only this time she didn’t fight it. “I love you so much, Maggie. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
She touched a finger to his lips. “No apologies.”
“Then let me—” he wrapped his fingers around hers “—spend the rest of our lives proving that I deserve to be at your side. Give me a chance to make you as happy as you make me.”
“I love you,” she whispered, and he blew out a breath like those words were a balm to his soul.
To her utter shock, he dropped to one knee and pulled a small black box from his jacket pocket. “I love you, Maggie. I will love you and cherish you forever if you say yes. Will you marry me?”
He opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond solitaire. Then he crooked a finger and Joey came running over to perch on Griffin’s knee. “Will you marry both of us?” Griffin amended and the boy added, “Please?”
“Say yes,” someone shouted and she glanced around to realize that the choir had stopped singing and most of the town was watching Griffin propose to her.
“Yes,” she said through another round of tears. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes, I’ll give you as many chances as you need. Yes, I’ll love you forever.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger and then she was in his arms. As she hugged Joey and kissed Griffin, the people she’d known and loved her whole life surrounded them with good wishes. Maggie might not be able to carry a tune, but her heart sang as she finally had everything she’d ever wanted.
Epilogue
“He’s dancing.” Griffin took Maggie’s hand in his and squeezed her fingers. “I can’t believe she got him out there.”
Maggie smiled as she watched Ellie and Joey twirl to the music amidst the other dancers at Brenna and Marcus’s wedding reception. It had been a beautiful ceremony, elegant yet understated with Brenna gorgeous in an off-white sheath dress with a beaded lace overlay. Marcus had seemed almost ready to burst into tears when she’d appeared to walk down the aisle, and Maggie was so happy for her friend. The ceremony had taken place at the small chapel across the street from The Miriam Inn while the reception was being held in the hotel’s banquet room.
They’d kept the guest list small, so everyone knew each other. It was turning into a lively celebration of both the marriage and the impending New Year. Maggie smiled in response to the cheeky grin Ellie gave Joey. Although the boy looked more than a little nervous, it was obvious he was having fun with his new best friend.
“How could he say no?” Maggie laughed. “He’s smitten.”
“I know the feeling,” Griffin said, and her heart seemed to skip a beat at the love radiating from his gaze.
“I never imagined I could be this happy,” she whispered.
Griffin leaned in and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips. “Just wait until our wedding day.”
Tiny shivers of anticipation zipped along her spine. “Do you think we can really get away with inviting only family?”
“We’ve spent plenty of time in the Stonecreek spotlight recently. We’ve earned a little privacy.”
“At least the national morning shows have stopped calling,” she said, cringing slightly.
The fallout from the situation with LiveSoft had been both positive and challenging. The video documenting Christian’s treatment of her had gone viral, and he’d been forced to resign from the company. They’d named one of the VPs as acting CEO, but from what Maggie’d heard, the board of directors was trying to woo the man who’d created the original app to come on board with the company.
She couldn’t bring herself to feel sorry for Christian. No one should be allowed to abuse their power in that way, and she was proud and grateful that her town had rallied around her.
In the wake of the negative press, LiveSoft had decided to remain headquartered in California for the foreseeable future. But Maggie’d received a call yesterday from a company that manufactured a variety of outdoor-lifestyle products from coolers to apparel. The company had outgrown its original headquarters and was interested in Stonecreek as a possible relocation site. She’d set up a meeting with the owners after the first of the year and felt cautiously optimistic about bringing the business to town.
Either way, she felt confident that Stonecreek would continue to grow and thrive under her leadership. Despite the stress from the LiveSoft competition, she’d learned to believe in herself. Heck, she’d even showered this morning in her brand-new bathroom. Not many people spent Christmas vacation tiling a bathroom, but her family and friends had pitched in to help her finish the job.
“I think we’re finally going to return to normal life around here,” Griffin told her.
“You won’t find normal boring?” she asked, laughing as he tugged her to her feet.
“Life with you could never be boring, Maggie May.” He led her to the dance floor, and despite the up-tempo song, wrapped his arms around her waist and slowly swayed to the music.
“Worst dancers ever,” Morgan muttered as she shimmied by.
“Come on, Griffin,” Cole called as Morgan joined him and Ben on one side of the dance floor. “Let’s see that white man’s overbite.”
Griffin rolled his eyes at the trio. “Maybe later.”
“I love your moves,” Maggie told him and he held her tighter.
“I love you,” he whispered.
She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, grateful for everything that had brought her to this moment and to a love she knew would last forever.
* * * * *
Don’t miss out on the first two books of the
Maggie & Griffin trilogy:
Falling for the Wrong Brother
Second Chance in Stonecreek
Available now
And if you’re looking for more books by
Michelle Major, be sure to check out
A Deal Made in Texas
the first book in
The Fortunes of Texas:
The Lost Fortunes continuity,
coming in January 2019 from
Harlequin Special Edition!
Keep reading for an excerpt from An Unexpected Christmas Baby by Tara Taylor Quinn.
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An Unexpected Christmas Baby
by Tara Taylor Quinn
Chapter One
“Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today—”
The ceremony had been a dumb idea.
“—Alana Gold Collins to rest. The Father tells us—”
Hands together at his belt buckle, Flint Collins stared down past the crease in his black pants to the tips of his shiny black shoes. Alana Gold. Such a lofty name. Like a movie star or something.
Alana Gold. Not much about his mother’s life had been golden. Except her hair, he supposed. Back when she’d been young and pretty. Before the hard life, the drugs and prison had had their way with her.
“—all will be changed at the last sounding of the bell...”
The Father might have imparted that message. The Bible surely did, according to the preacher he’d hired to give his mother a funeral. Dearly Beloved, he’d said. That would be Flint. The dearly beloved. All one of him.
He’d never known any other family. Didn’t even know who his father was.
Footsteps sounded behind him and he
stiffened. He’d asked her to come—the caseworker he’d only met two days before. To do the...exchange.
Dearly Beloved. In her own way Alana had loved Flint deeply. Just as, he was absolutely certain, she’d loved the “inheritance” she’d left him. One he hadn’t known about. One he hadn’t yet seen. One that had arrived behind him.
“So take comfort...” That was the preacher again. For the life of him, Flint drew a blank on his name as he glanced up and met the older man’s compassionate gaze.
He almost burst out with a humorless chuckle. Comfort? Was the man serious? Flint’s whole life had imploded in the space of a week. Would never, ever, be the same or be what he’d planned it to be. Comfort was a pipe dream at best.
As the footsteps in the grass behind him slowed, as he felt the warmth of a body close to him, Flint stood still. Respectful.
He’d lost his business before it had even opened. He’d lost the woman he’d expected to marry, to grow old beside.
Alana Gold had lost her life.
And in her death had taken part of his.
The preacher spoke about angels of mercy. The woman half a step behind him rocked slightly, not announcing herself in any way other than her quiet presence. Flint fought to contain his grief. And his anger.
His entire life he’d had to work longer, fight harder. At first to avoid getting beaten up. And then to make a place for himself in the various families with whom he’d been temporarily settled. He’d had a paper route at twelve and delivered weekly grocery ads to neighborhoods for pennies, just to keep food on the table during the times he’d been with Alana.
The preacher spoke of heaven.
Flint remembered when he’d been a junior in high school, studying for finals, and had had to spend the night before his test getting his mother out of jail. She’d been prostituting that time. Those were the charges. She’d claimed differently.
But then, Alana’s troubles had always been someone else’s fault.
In the beginning they probably had been. She’d once claimed that she’d gotten on the wrong track because she’d been looking for a way to escape an abusive father. That was the one part of her story Flint fully believed. He’d met the guy once. Had opted, when given the chance in court, to never have to see him again. Sometimes it worked in a guy’s favor to have a caseworker.