Ridley laughed along with everyone else as Mark held up his hands, then bowed theatrically.
Jackson pulled her closer to whisper in her ear. “He always acts embarrassed, but secretly I think he loves it when she tells this story.”
“I bet he does,” Ridley sighed. “It’s obvious how much they love each other. I’ve only just met them and I can feel it.” They turned their attention back up front as Julia cleared her throat.
“Anyway, after many failed attempts on Mark’s part to get back into my good graces, tragedy struck. My dear parents died in a car crash leaving me as the sole owner of the Bennett farm.”
She stopped and looked up, one hand over her heart. Silence descended over the group, everyone equally affected by the grief in Julia’s voice. When she looked back at the crowd, tears shimmered in her eyes.
“I was so lost but faith is what carried me through. That and the gracious love of the Alexander family. Mark, especially, was by my side through that heartbreaking time and taught me that family is about so much more than a blood bond. Family is about the heart.”
Ridley sighed as Julia blew a kiss to her husband. She wiped her eyes quickly, embarrassed to be so affected by the story. It was exactly the kind of thing she’d always hoped to find with someone. A genuine love, deep and true that could carry you through the tragedies and the joys of life.
She’d started to believe it didn’t exist.
“Ever since then, we’ve continued the tradition and hosted our own summer party as a reminder to cherish the ones you love, and the time you have together. This year coming up will be our thirtieth wedding anniversary.”
She stopped as everyone broke out into applause. Ridley clapped along with everyone else. She couldn’t even imagine spending thirty years with someone. They’d been together longer than she’d been alive.
“And the most important thing I’ve learned from these thirty years is to take each day as it comes and cherish it.”
“I asked her that one day,” Jackson whispered in her ear.
“What? You asked her about being married?”
“No, I asked her how she knew my dad was the one. She’s always said you’re with the right person when no matter how bad things get, you’d still rather be with them than anywhere else. She always says that no matter how long she and my dad are together, she still wants more time with him. She wants one more day. Every day.”
His arm tightened around her waist and Ridley stopped breathing. For a long moment they stood staring at each other until his mother’s voice came over the sound system again, breaking the spell.
Ridley whipped back around and faced front. Jackson’s arm squeezed her tightly before he let her go. She moved away slightly, ignoring the rapid beating of her heart.
“Enjoy the rest of the party, everyone, and make sure you take a plate home. Don’t you leave us with all of this food! On second thought, leave some of those ribs for Jackson, he’s getting too skinny.” On that note, Mrs. Alexander pushed the microphone back to Elliott and bustled over to the picnic tables.
Jackson groaned. “Oh, the joys of having a big family.”
“It’s nice! She’s worried about her baby boy.”
“Do I look like a baby to you?”
She giggled when he flexed his muscles. “Okay, okay. You are definitely not a baby.”
“All right, I guess I should stop showing off. Come on, I want you to meet some of my cousins. They live over in West Haven.”
* * * * *
A FEW HOURS later, Jackson was forced to admit there wasn’t anything else he could clean up or move around in the backyard. His parents had taken care of packing up the leftover food and Matt had stayed to help him corral all the recycling and trash containers into the garage.
There was simply nothing left for him to do. Except go in the house and face Ridley.
You’re an ass, you know that?
He cringed. Introducing her to his cousins and then leaving her to fend for herself had seemed like a good idea at the time. She was just so beautiful and fit in far too well with his family and friends. The last thing he wanted was for them to start something they couldn’t finish.
He’d been this close to kissing her in the middle of the yard before his parents had shown up and he had no doubt it would have been as hot as he thought it’d be. But as hot as the fire sparked between them, it would be a temporary thing at best. She deserved better than that.
“I’m going to take off.” Matt appeared at his left elbow holding one of the plastic containers of food that Julia had divvied up for everyone to take home. “Hopefully Mara and Trent will already be asleep by the time I get there.”
Jackson clapped him on the shoulder. “Are you going to be okay? Seriously?”
“For months all you can think about is coming home but when you get here, you realize everyone else hasn’t been sitting on their hands while you’ve been gone. Things change and you just have to deal with it. I’ll be fine.”
“Getting your own place would help.”
“Funny you should say that. Nick has decided to take care of that for me. He’s taking me out to look for condos this week. You know how he is. According to him, I just need to get laid and not having my own place is blocking my swag.”
“That sounds like something Nick would say.”
They both shook their heads. Jackson had gotten a reputation over the last year as a player but it was nothing compared to Nick’s. His brother took debauchery to another level, and treated it like a career.