I’m extremely worried about what’s going on. I haven’t had anyone not scared of this family in a very long time. Now someone is after us and they’re using Murphy to do it. Zander still believes it’s about her, but I don’t, not anymore. I have been going over and over it in my mind trying to figure out who would be stupid enough to want a war with us. I can’t come up with anyone. All I know is this has more to do with us than it does Murphy. It might not have started that way, but that’s how it is now.

Two weeks have gone by since Zander put Murphy on lockdown. I even had Gabriel and Liam do the same with their wives. If this guy wants to get to us, he will use one of them. Whichever one is easier to get to. The only problem now is they are all going stir crazy being in this house all day and night. Especially Murphy, that girl won’t rest for anything. I like that about her, but she is stressing herself out way too much.

All the men are gone for the morning, preparing the casinos for Thanksgiving. So I decide to invite all the women to the kitchen with me to help prepare the Thanksgiving feast for the family. My hopes are that it will give them all something to do. Besides, I love cooking; it always took my mind off all my worries for a while. Plus I have always tried to prepare all our holiday meals myself.

Right on time, they all start piling into the kitchen. With Murphy dragging behind, she’s on the phone again with Liam making sure he has everything she wants to be done, done. I walk over to her and grab the phone.

“Liam, angel, do you have it all under control?”

He tells me yes and begs me to tell Murphy not to worry. I look at her scowling face and tell him I will try. Once I hang up, I pocket the phone instead of giving it back to her.

She yells out, “Hey, Catherine, I need that!”

“No, you don’t, you need to relax and enjoy the day. You won’t have much more like these once the babies come.”

I go over the menu with the girls, including Cherry, and give them all assigned jobs to do. I planned out an elaborate meal, and I need all their help.

Murphy walks up to me and whispers, “You might want to give Mom something simple, she is not the best of cooks.” I look over to Cherry and see her studying the recipe I gave her. I can’t help laughing; she looks dumbfounded.

“How are your cooking skills?”

“Ahh, not that great either. Never really had anyone to teach me.” She looks back at her mom to see if she was paying attention.

“Come on, I’ll show you how to bake the turkey.” The kitchen is large so it gives us all the room we need to maneuver around without being in each other’s way.

Murphy’s following my instructions perfectly then she asks, “Who taught you how to cook?”

“When I married William, I couldn’t cook to save my life. I was bored in this house all day and night by myself so I asked the chef if she could teach me. Every day I would come in here and learn something new.”

“Did your husband like your cooking?”

My mind flashes back in time for a moment. I shake my head clear from the memories and answer, “No, he thought it was underneath my status. He never wanted me to cook again when he found out. But I kept learning anyway. Then when the boys got bigger I begged him to let me at least cook meals for them. I didn’t do it every night, but I tried as much as he would allow. He would, however, let me bake for them. He said the boys liked my cookies so he would let me do that whenever I could.”

“What do you mean, he wouldn’t let you or allow you?”

Before I could answer, Cherry walks into the conversation. “Murphy, leave it be.”

“It’s all right, Cherry.”

“Murphy, my husband was not like my sons. He was not a kind man. He had limitations on everything I did.”

She looks back towards the turkey, knowing it upsets me to think about it. “I wish I had the strength you girls have at your ages. I was weak and even though I tried to shield the boys from it, they were aware of more than I thought. That’s why it’s important to me that the mother of my grandchildren not be like that. I want their mothers to be strong women that won’t give up on making them or this family the best we can be. There will be times you will have to make hard decisions for them and I need to know that you will be able to do so.”

Murphy looks at me and says, “I think all mothers want that for their children.”

“Not all, Murphy. Some mothers aren’t there and some give up, finding the easy road. There will be nothing easy about being a part of this family.”

“I’m learning that.”

“No, Murphy you’re not. But you will.”

I decide to leave it at that and walk over to Fallon and see how the dressing is going. When I look up, I see Murphy studying me, trying to figure me out. She has no idea what kinds of decisions she might have to make. It’s not easy training your children how to protect themselves. It’s definitely not easy knowing your children’s lives are at risk all the time or that you have sent your son out there to take someone’s life. But it’s necessary for our future. Sacrifices will have to be made that she has no idea about yet. I hope she will be strong enough to handle them.

Hours later, the men all arrive in time for Thanksgiving dinner. We all sit in the dining room and I have set everything out on the table. Gabriel has been the man of the household for so long now that he has taken the lead to cut into the turkey like always, but then he stops.

He looks over to Theo. “Theo, I think you should cut the turkey from now on. It only seems right.” Theo looks at me and I nod. He stands, looking happy and proud that Gabriel gave him this honor. His son Teddy refused to join us, so I know he has been upset. I’m very happy to see that Gabriel’s offering made him so happy.  

We all begin to eat and throughout the meal we talk about nothing important just about life. We find ourselves laughing often. I watch all of them around the table and my heart skips a beat. Seeing my dinner table full and joyous is all I ever wanted. I look at my family with so much love. Who would have ever thought I would one day have all this? I hoped and prayed but never saw this much love.

I look over at Vin. I see him also watching everyone and I know it hurts him that he is not privy to the love of a woman yet. I grab his hand and when he looks at me I tell him, “I love you, son. You know that, right?”

He leans over and kisses my cheek. “I know, Mom, I love you too.”

He hardly ever calls me ‘Mom’. I’m not his real mother, but I have loved him like he’s mine. Hell, he is mine and that will never change. So, when he does call me ‘Mom’ it always brings a tear to my eyes. I squeeze his hand tighter, knowing that he means every word he just said. I never question his love ever, he has proven that love to me in more ways than you can imagine.

I wipe my eyes and continue enjoying the meal. After dinner, we all enjoy the rest of the night and it all ends on a high.