***
We all went back to the hotel, and I showed Gracie to her room. I had reserved the one beside us for her. It was equally as nice as ours, but it only had one bedroom. She gushed over the view, much like Rein had, and then went through the entire room to see what there was for her to enjoy.
“I will most definitely be having a bath in that later,” she said, pointing at the clawed foot tub.
“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Rein asked, leaning up against the doorway to the bathroom.
“You women and your bathtubs,” I muttered.
Braxton started squirming in his holder. I distracted him by rubbing the top of his head. He found it soothing, but I knew I only had a couple more minutes left before he got antsy.
“I think Braxton needs to eat soon,” I said. “Gracie, why don’t you get settled into your room? Rein and I will give you some time to yourself.”
Gracie nodded but grabbed Rein’s hand. “Would you mind if she stays with me while I unpack? We have a lot of catching up to do.”
I nodded. “Girl talk. I get it.” I looked around for Bella, who had her face pressed to the window and was looking out at the beach. “Come on, kiddo. Help me feed and change Braxton? Then maybe we can head down to the beach for a bit before dinner tonight.”
Bella followed me out of Gracie’s room, and I let us into our own suite. Bella went to Braxton’s baby bag and unzipped one of the side pouches. “Carrots, yams, or peas?” she asked.
“You pick,” I said.
Bella came back to me and held out her hand. She had tried all the baby food when we first bought it to make sure we weren’t feeding her baby brother anything she deemed horrible. I took the yams in a jar from her. They had been her favorite, so I wasn’t at all surprised by her choice.
We fed Braxton together, who was always a messy eater. I had to wipe his face off after, which he didn’t like. He pulled away from me and cried a bit, but I talked him down. Afterward, I changed his diaper and got him dressed in his swim trunks and matching shirt.
Bella changed into her suit and then watched Braxton as I got into mine. I packed our beach bag, slathered Bella in sunscreen, and then picked up Braxton and balanced him on my hip as we left the hotel room.
We stopped and knocked on Gracie’s door. She and Rein both answered and looked us up and down.
“Beach time?” Rein asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. I thought we’d go down and have some fun before dinner. You girls can stay up here and chat if you like, or come join us.”
Gracie looked at Rein. “I wouldn’t mind working on my tan.”
Rein rolled her eyes and laughed. “Your tan is already perfect. But I’m in. Did Brayden tell you we have our own private cabana? We can order some drinks and appetizers.”
“You had me at cabana.” Gracie grinned.
I waited out in the hall as the two of them got ready. Then, when we were all in our swimsuits and flip flops, we set out for the beach.
I claimed our cabana once more and put in drink orders. I rented a little umbrella and planted it in the sand out front of the cabana so Bella could have some shade while she worked on the sand castle she had started the previous afternoon. Braxton seemed intrigued by the sand and what his sister was doing, so I put him down on a towel and kept an eye on him. Bella watched him too and talked him through what she was building.
I couldn’t wait to see how much he was going to learn from her as they got older.
Rein and Gracie were leaning back against the plush pillows at the back of the cabana, sipping on strawberry daiquiris. I had a cold beer and sat across from them, one leg hanging off the edge so my toes were in the sand. I wanted to stay close to Braxton in case he got tired of the sand.
“So, Gracie,” I said after sipping my beer. “How’s California?”
Gracie sighed and put her drink on the tray. “Well, to be honest… I hate it.”
Rein and I exchanged a surprised look. Then Rein turned to her friend, her brow creased in concern. “You hate it? This has been your dream for years. What don’t you like about it? Is the yoga studio not working out?”
“Oh, it’s working out,” Gracie said. “I was so busy within the first few months that I had to hire three other instructors to run my classes. Business there is great, but I’m just starting to realize that it really isn’t what I wanted.”
“What do you want?” Rein asked, sipping her fruity concoction through her straw.
“I’m moving back to Valdez,” Gracie said. “I can’t stand being away from home or being away from you. Especially now that you have a family. I want to be part of that. I already hate how much time I’ve missed.” Her gaze drifted over to Braxton, who was giggling as he tried to pick up sand with his fingertips. It slipped out of his grasp every time.
“It will be nice to have you back in town,” I said. “Rein talks about how much she misses you every day.”
Rein nodded. “It’s true. I do.”
Gracie smiled brightly. “I’m excited to come home. It’s so funny how I didn’t realize that I had everything I wanted in Valdez. It was right there in front of me the whole time, and I took it for granted.”
“Are we still talking about me and my family?” Rein asked. Then she cocked her head to the side. “Or are we talking about a particular plaid wearing gentleman with a nice beard?”
Gracie rolled her eyes. “I just want to come home.”
“Well, regardless, Emmett will be happy to see you,” Rein said.
I tried not to let Gracie catch me smiling at her. Emmett would be more than happy to see her again. He talked about her almost more than Rein did. I wasn’t a fool. I knew what that meant all too well. She had consumed his thoughts.
“What about you guys?” Gracie asked as she leaned deeper into the pillows at her back. “Are you thinking of expanding the family? Making more babies?”
“We’ve talked about it,” Rein said bashfully.
“Talked?” I chuckled and stroked my chin. “We’re trying, actually.”
Gracie’s eyebrows shot upward. “Are you really?”
Rein blushed but nodded. “Yes. We have been for a couple months now. We’ll see what happens.”
Gracie clapped her hands together in excitement. “Oh, this is such wonderful news. Let’s order another round of drinks to celebrate!”
Rein and I laughed, and then I called the waiter over. I put in another order, and when the drinks arrived, we all toasted to family and to home.
“Where are you two going for dinner tomorrow night?” Gracie asked.
“We haven’t picked a place,” Rein said.
“Oh yes, we have,” I said smugly. Both the girls looked at me. “What?”
“Where are we going?” Rein asked.
“I’m not telling. It’s a surprise.”
Gracie sighed dramatically and sipped her drink. “I need to find me a wealthy man.”
“Emmett’s well off,” Rein said slyly.
Gracie fixed her with a sharp stare. “Mind your own business.”
“No.” Rein giggled.
I listened to the two of them bicker playfully like they used to with a smile on my face and a warmth in my belly. I wasn’t sure what I had done to be so lucky in life, but I was sure of one thing: I would never take any of this for granted. Ever.