“I love that about him,” Leah said.
“Me too,” Ginger agreed.
“Look, Mama!” Rosie ran over with a sparkly blue-and-white skirt.
“That’s Ashley’s middle school cheerleading skirt. You girls must have gotten into my treasure chest.” Ginger took the skirt from Rosie and held it up.
“Sorry,” Leah said.
“Don’t be. They’re just curious.” Ginger ran her hand down the sparkly skirt. “Ashley loved cheering in middle school, but her brothers drove her batty, standing over her like bodyguards. Needless to say, she didn’t cheer in high school.”
“That’s not why she quit. She secretly loved the way they protected her,” Madigan said. “She stopped cheering because she didn’t like being leered at. It made her feel self-conscious.”
“Really?” Ginger asked. “That’s good to know, Mads.”
“What’s his name?” Junie popped up behind the other couch holding a stuffed bear with matted fur. It was missing one eye and had stitches along one ear.
“That’s Rory.” Ginger went around the couch and knelt by the chest with Junie. “Grandpa Mike gave him to Tank when Tank was two. He slept with it every night until he was about six, when Baz made fun of him.”
“I can’t wait to tease Tanky about that,” Madigan said as she and Leah joined Ginger and the girls.
Rosie pulled a tiny knit hat out of the chest. “This Wowy’s?”
Ginger put the skirt and bear in her lap and took the hat. “That’s about the right size, but Ashley wore that home from the hospital the day she was born. I have a lot of the kids’ baby stuff in here.”
Junie peered into the chest and plucked out a faded black T-shirt with the Red Hot Chili Peppers logo on the front. “Whose is this?”
“That was Ashley’s. It’s one of Tank’s old shirts.” Ginger took the shirt and rubbed it against her cheek. “She loved sleeping in her brothers’ shirts. Way back when, the Red Hot Chili Peppers was one of Tank’s favorite bands, and he had two shirts like that. Ashley stole both of them. There’s another one in there somewhere.”
“Mama sleeps in Tank’s shirts,” Junie said.
Leah’s cheeks burned. “He sleeps on the couch.”
Madigan stifled a laugh. “Mm-hm. I’m sure he does.”
“He has booby wings,” Junie said loudly.
“Me want booby wings!” Rosie exclaimed.
And I want to crawl into a hole and disappear. Leah covered her face.
“Cat’s out of the bag now,” Madigan said quietly. “What else does he have pierced?”
“Madigan!” Ginger snapped.
“Nothing.” As the word left Leah’s lips, she realized she’d just admitted to seeing Tank naked and quickly added, “I mean, probably nothing. How would I know?” She shoved her hand into the chest and pulled out a football jersey. “Look! Whose is this? Tank’s? Baz’s? Gunner’s? How about this?” She pulled out a rattle, and Rosie grabbed it from her and started shaking it.
Ginger put her arm around Leah. “You don’t have to be embarrassed about following your heart, especially when you make my son so happy.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll just shrivel up and disappear now.”
“There will be no disappearing.” Ginger patted her shoulder. “How about if we just pretend that part of our conversation never happened?”
“Deal.”
Leah was beyond thankful that Ginger kept that promise as they went through the chest, and she shared more of her treasured memories. Madigan sat on the couch playing her guitar for the girls and teaching them songs, and Ginger had a pile of memorabilia in her lap and more scattered on the floor around her and Leah.
“You have so many of Ashley’s things. Would you like me to make you and Con a memory blanket with some of them?”
“You would do that for us?” Ginger asked.
“Your family has done so much for me and the girls—I would be honored to make you one.”
“I love the blankets you made for the girls, and I would love to have one for Ashley.” Ginger hugged her. “Thank you.”
“Actually, I want to thank you for today. I never knew my mother, and I didn’t think I’d missed out on anything because I had such a great father. But today has been really special, and I think I did miss out on some things my dad just didn’t have time for. I’d like to make River proud by being the best mom I can for the girls, and today you helped show me ways to do that. I really appreciate you inviting us over and spending the day with us.”
“Honey, you are very welcome, and I look forward to spending more time together. Your father must have been an amazing man, because he raised an incredible daughter. Don’t sell yourself short, sweetheart. You have done an excellent job of raising two happy, well-adjusted girls. And you taught me something today, too.”
“What could I have possibly taught you?”
“That I’ve raised a gentleman and that I need to steer clear of conversations about my son’s piercings. And if it ever comes up again, I do not want to know if he has anything else pierced.”
Chapter Fourteen
TANK TOOK OFF his helmet in his parents’ driveway as his brothers and father climbed off their bikes. Seeing his grandfather’s car parked out front with the girls’ carseats in it and knowing Leah was waiting for him inside brought a rush of emotions.
“Great ride, huh?” his father said, clapping him on the back.
“Yeah.” They’d ridden out to Cape Ann. Tank hadn’t been there in years, and all he could think about was taking Leah and the girls there.
“You ready for a nap, old man?” Gunner teased their father as they headed inside.
Their father scoffed. “You’d better hope not, considering you have my genes.”
Tank held the door open for them and called over to Baz, who was on his phone in the driveway. “You coming?”
“I’m talking to Evie. I’ll be there in a minute.”
The house smelled delicious. Tank followed the sounds of the girls into the kitchen and made a beeline for Leah, a sight for sore eyes in a clingy black sweater and skinny jeans.
“Tank!” Junie yelled, and she and Rosie ran to him.
He scooped them up, one in each arm, without breaking his stride, and kissed their cheeks. They giggled about his beard tickling as he leaned down and kissed Leah on the lips, feeling like he hadn’t seen them for a month.
Leah blushed.
“They might as well get used to seeing me kiss you, darlin’. I couldn’t have waited until we were alone any more than I could have waited to hold them.” He looked at his family watching them with approving smiles and said, “That goes for you, too. Get used to it, ’cause it’s not going to change.”
“Well, okay then,” Ginger said. “Who’s hungry?”
Everyone except Tank and Leah yelled, “Me!”
Tank put the girls down and pulled Leah into his arms as the girls helped Ginger carry baskets of biscuits and corn bread to the table. “On a scale of one to ten, how much did I just screw up?”