But boy…had she been wrong aboutthat.
Within seconds, she was enveloped by the entire family, welcomed with big hugs and kisses on the cheek. Maverick’s mother cried tears of pure joy, his father patting Maverick on the shoulder, good-naturedly warning his son not to fuck it up because he’d “found a good one.”
Then, just as Maverick predicted, she was swarmed by his cousins, as well as Kasi and Gretchen, all of them excited about having another wedding to plan. According to Mila, she’d been going through withdrawals after Kasi’s nuptials in the spring, and she already had thoughts for the menu. Gretchen had immediately pulled out her phone, consulting the event barn calendar, and placing a temporary hold on the two Saturdays still available in November until they nailed down an official date.
One of the best—and most touching—moments was when Grayson pulled her aside, saying he owed her a debt of gratitude for making Maverick so happy. Then he gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her he was thrilled to have a new sister.
After everyone calmed down, the conversation turned to more practical matters, like how to get Ella moved from Idaho with all her stuff. That was when Everett volunteered to join them on their trip. Because of the expansion to Hideaway, there were several rooms without furniture. Furniture she had in Meridian. So Everett offered to help Maverick with the heavy lifting. Then, while they drove the U-Haul cross-country, he’d follow in Ella’s car.
Ella had enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Maverick’s brothers the past month or so. She had to say, the Storm family had some damn fine genes, because in addition to all of the men being ridiculously good-looking, they were funny and smart and kind. It was no wonder the single women were throwing themselves in the path of the Storm bachelors, hoping to be “the one.”
As happy as Ella was with the family’s reaction to them as a couple…she knew her own family’s response to her moving to Gracemont to live with a man she’d only just reconnected with after fifteen years was going to be quite different.
She, Maverick, and Everett had taken a red-eye flight, arriving in Idaho very early Thursday morning. They’d spent a good portion of that day in bed, rising in the afternoon. She and Maverick had shared her room, Everett staying in Gigi’s old bedroom. That evening, they’d hit Lowe’s for boxes, bubble wrap, tape, and a bunch of other moving supplies.
While Ella had previously assured Everett he didn’t need to miss work on her account to make the trip, she was now very glad he’d joined them, because the guy was super intelligent and six steps ahead of them oneverything. She would have had to make three return trips to Lowe’s for all the shit she’d failed to buy the first time, but Everett had thought it all through and made the perfect list. Just as he’d come up with a detailed packing plan that was nothing short of genius.
Yesterday, she’d met with the real estate agent, Agnes, who felt confident that she already had buyers for the house. Agnes planned to bring by the young couple she’d emailed about on Sunday afternoon, which was why she, Everett, and Maverick had been working fast and furiously on the packing and cleaning.
She and Gigi had lived a minimalistic lifestyle, neither of them fans of clutter. As such, the packing wasn’t as daunting as it could have been. Especially since Ella had already cleaned out Gigi’s room a few months after her passing, donating her clothing and other personal items at the time.
At the time, it was difficult, going through her Gigi’s things alone. Now, it felt like a bonus that the room was virtually empty, the only things remaining being the bed, two nightstands, and a dresser. Everett took one look at it, declared it perfectly “staged” for when prospective buyers came to walk through, then started making suggestions on how to make the other rooms look just as good. That was what they were currently working on doing, in addition to packing.
She’d been putting off telling her family she was back in town. She was anxious to get as much done as she could before dealing with the fallout regarding her decision to move. However, given the fact Mom and Martha had been blowing up her phone all week, Maverick had suggested it was probably time to rip off the Band-Aid and answer them.
So, she’d texted them both this morning to tell them she was back in Meridian, asking if they’d like to get together for breakfast on Monday. They’d accepted, so now she had two days to stress out about that meeting.
“Ella?”
Scratch that.
She had zero days.
What the fuck?
Ella turned around at the sound of her sister’s voice from the front door. It had been left wide open, since she, Everett, and Maverick had been loading boxes and furniture into the truck—according to Everett’s careful schematic. They’d picked up the U-Haul yesterday afternoon, and it was now parked in the driveway.
“Martha. I thought we were meeting?—”
Before she could finish, her mother and father walked in as well.
Shit.
“Why is there a U-Haul in the driveway?” Martha asked.
“I’d planned to talk to you and Mom about this on Monday.”
Dad scoffed, scowling at her. “I have work on Monday.”
It was on the tip of Ella’s tongue to point out he hadn’t been invited to join them, but Maverick must have heard their voices, because he came out of the kitchen.
Everett poked his head out of the doorway as well, took one look around, read the room, then disappeared back into the kitchen.
He just kept proving how smart he was.
Ella had sort of filled Everett in on her family during the flight to Idaho, giving him a vague overview of their strained relationship, explaining they’d been estranged since Gigi’s death, and that they most likely wouldn’t be supportive of her move.
Maverick walked over to Ella, placing a firm hand on her lower back, the touch providing her some much-needed comfort. He’d promised that from now on, it would be the two of them together, facing whatever life threw their way. Sadly, he was about to be initiated by fire, thanks to her family—Jesus, she couldn’t believe her dad was here—showing up unannounced.