“Well, there’s no ring on Jules’s finger, so it’s not a winter wedding,” Keira said.
Bellamy ran over to Jules and lowered her voice to say, “You’re not pregnant, are you?”
Jules blushed. “Of course not.”
“Does Grant’s candy cane still work?” Wells smirked.
Grant glowered at him. “Better than yours ever has.”
“What’s your news, son?” his father asked.
“I’ve been talking with an attorney about setting up a foundation to help amputees with various expenses like medical and therapeutic costs and modifications to their homes to accommodate their new situations, that kind of thing.”
There was no hiding the surprise in his father’s eyes. “That’s a fantastic idea.”
Grant glanced at Jules. “It was actually Jules who brought up the idea a few weeks ago, and when we saw Saul in Seaport, I realized how blessed I am to be in a situation where I have time to figure out my next step without the pressure of wondering where my next dollar was coming from and where it should be allocated. I can give the disability income I’ve been receiving to people who really need it and hopefully make a difference.”
“Oh, honey,” his mother said. “That’s a wonderful idea. It’s like a silver lining to all that you’ve gone through.”
“Silver lining!” Jules exclaimed. “That’s it, Grant! That should be the name of your company. Everyone always says to find the silver lining. Your foundation can be that silver lining.”
“I love that,” his mother said.
“I don’t know, babe. I’d feel funny about using my name,” Grant said carefully.
“Son, I know you have issues with what it means to be a Silver, but our name carries a lot of weight, and it has for generations,” his father said without aggression or judgment.
“How I feel about the Silver name is changing.” Grant hadn’t realized how true that was until the words came out. “But the reason I don’t want to use it isn’t because of how I feel about our name. I just don’t need recognition for doing this.”
“I understand that. You’ve always been humble. But in this case the Silver name could go a long way in terms of donations for the cause,” his father explained. “There’s another thing to consider. By using your name, you’d allow others to see the man behind the effort. That could lead to inspiring people who have the means to help others, to think outside the box for ways in which they can do the same. You should own that privilege, son. The world needs more good people to look up to.”
“Just think about it, honey,” his mother said.
Grant hadn’t thought about it that way. He liked the idea of being a role model. He looked at Jules and realized that in many ways she’d been a role model to him. He shifted his attention to his father, and even with all the shit that went down between them, now that he knew the full story, hadn’t he become a role model, too? Hadn’t Grant spent much of the last two weeks rethinking everything he’d misunderstood and come to the realization that his father’s love was as deep and true as love could be?
“I don’t need to think about it, Mom. I think the Silver Lining Foundation, Resources for Amputees has a nice ring to it.”
“Congratulations! You have a company name!” Jules hugged him. “I love it!”
“I do, too!” Bellamy hugged him as everyone began talking over each other, agreeing.
“This is so exciting,” his mother said. “Your father and I are on several charitable boards. We can help you get started if you’d like. We can even host fundraisers at the resort.”
“I’d appreciate that. But I have a bigger ask from Dad.” He met his father’s curious gaze. “I’ve been talking with Sage Remington about his company. I don’t think this foundation can run solely on proceeds from art auctions, but I was thinking that once a year we could host one, and I’d really like it if you’d take part in it with me. As an artist.”
“Dad’s an artist?” Bellamy’s brow wrinkled in confusion, and it was mirrored by the rest of their siblings.
“Dad’s an amazing artist,” Grant said, holding his father’s shocked gaze. “Take a look around you. He made all of these paintings.”
Everyone except Grant and his father went to admire the paintings, the din of their conversations rising around them.
“I can’t guarantee I’m any good anymore, son,” his father said. “I haven’t picked up a brush since college.”
“I have a feeling once you pick up a brush, it’ll all come back to you. After all, I got my artistic talent from you.”
“We don’t really know that, do we?” his father said carefully.
His father’s words slayed him. Grant glanced at his siblings. Fitz looked over and pointed to the paintings, mouthing, Wow. Keira pointed to herself, nodding, and mouthed, I could do that. Wells put an arm around Jules and said something that made her roll her eyes, and Bellamy and their mother kept stealing hopeful glances at Grant and their father. Grant wanted this. All of it—a future with Jules, a better relationship with his family, a new mission with the foundation, and maybe he could even continue consulting with Titus and keep the connection to what had once felt like his lifeblood.
Grant stepped closer to the father who had raised him and had never abandoned him, even when Grant was at his worst, and he did it knowing Grant might not be his biological son. He looked into the eyes of the man who had had his back for all the years when Grant had believed otherwise and knew he was making the right decision.
“Yes, we do, Dad. I don’t need a damn test to tell me who my father is.”
AFTER A DELICIOUS dinner with the Silvers, where they ate too much and laughed more than ever before, Grant and Jules headed to her parents’ house for dessert. She was on an emotional high from watching the Silver family come back together. She’d hoped for that for so long, and she’d gotten so much more. As Grant helped her out of the truck, she could feel the change in him, the excitement of having a new lease on life.
“Let me just get the centerpiece.” She leaned into the truck to get it from the floor, and Grant brushed against her butt. She rose with the centerpiece in her hands, but instead of turning around, she took a moment to enjoy the kisses Grant was trailing along her neck.
He gathered her hair over one shoulder and kissed her cheek beside her ear. “This has been a great Thanksgiving so far.”
She turned around, and he brushed his lips over hers and said, “Thanks for putting up with my family.”
“I love your family, and I loved being there with you.”
He shut the truck door and put his hand on her lower back as they made their way up the walk. “What did my father say to you right before we left?”
“He thanked me for whatever magic spell I’d cast on your family. But I told him I didn’t cast anything, that it’s called love and it’s been there all along, just waiting to rise to the surface. Things seemed even better tonight. Did you two work things out?”
“Yeah. I finally realized what really matters. You know that old saying blood is thicker than water? In my case, love is thicker than blood. I don’t know if my father and I share the same DNA, but I know we share the same love.”