Chapter Forty-Three
As we entered the house, there was a sea of people. Everyone seemed to be talking at the same time. It was chaos—complete and utter chaos.
Children ran around with their toys.
The adults laughed.
Glasses clinked.
Motorized cars zoomed by.
I loved it. It was the definition of a family I’d always dreamed about.
“She’s here! She’s here! Knoah is here!” Savannah yelled at the top of her lungs and ran up to hug me. I hugged her back, having missed her.
The room grew silent and all eyes turned to me.
“Hey guys, this is Knoah Knox—”
Fingers touched my hand. “That’s a pretty ring. Did Uncle Garrick give it to you?” Savannah pulled on my arm to get a closer look. “It’s big and sparkly—like a princess ring.”
Derrick touched my hand as well. “It’s like a giant rock.”
Gasps were heard through the room, and no one moved as they seemed to recognize what hand it was on. Garrick squatted in front of Savannah, and I stood stiff as a board, unsure what to say. This was definitely not telling everyone over dinner after they’d had a chance to get to know me.
A very awkward silence filled the room.
Garrick addressed Savannah and Derrick directly. “Yes, I did give it to her. I asked Knoah to become my wife, and she said yes.”
Savannah jumped and hugged me. “You’re going to be my aunt. Derrick, our wishes came true when we threw our pennies in the fountain yesterday.” She looked up to me. “We wished Uncle Garrick would marry you. We want you to be our aunt.”
They loved me. After only meeting me one time, they wanted me in their lives. This was not the life I would have had with Vivian. I got on my knees next to Garrick. “Well, I’m very glad you wished for it. I love your uncle a lot.”
Derrick and Savannah hugged me. “Come on. Let’s introduce Knoah to our cousins.”
Two girls, whom I assumed were Garrick’s sister Melissa’s, joined them. They had light blond hair. From the family pictures he’d showed me, everyone in Garrick’s family had dark hair.
“Lucy and Laura, this is Knoah!” Savannah pointed to the younger one. “This is Lucy. And this is Laura. They’re sisters.”
The adults remained quiet. I chanced a glance up. Kourtney had a smile. The others were stiff and wary. Even Garrick’s mother was speechless. She looked as if she was about to cry. The question was, were they good or bad tears? Garrick watched his family as if sensing the tense undercurrent invading the room.
I held out my hand. “Hey, Lucy and Laura. I’m Knoah. Is that Barbie you’re holding?” They nodded. “I loved playing with Barbie when I was little. My favorite was Jungle Barbie. She had giraffe earrings and a pink skirt. Pink was my favorite color.”
They walked straight up to me. “Wanna see mine?” Laura asked.
“See mine, too!” Lucy added.
“I’d love to.” I took the Barbies. “Oh, I love these. Do you think we could play later?”
Excitedly, they nodded. “Yes!”
“Garrick, can we have a second of your time?” I think it was Marcus, Garrick’s brother, who spoke.
Garrick touched my shoulder. “I think—”
“Go talk with your family.” If we could get past the initial shock, it would go smoother.
“Knoah, I don’t think.”
“Please. I’ll be fine.”
The kids watched the exchange puzzled. I saw the conflict pass over Garrick’s face as he touched my shoulder. “I promise I’ll be okay.”
“If you need anything, we’ll be down the hall on the right.”
I nodded and turned toward the kids. “You guys will keep me company, right?”
“Yes!” All four kids exclaimed.
Before leaving, Kourtney and Suzette came up to hug me. Garrick’s father shook my hand as well. Honestly, I knew it was odd I wasn’t going with Garrick. But I hoped when they talked to him, saw Garrick’s response without me there, it would make it easier. I wanted to get through this tenseness, and then I would meet the rest of his family. I think Garrick sensed that when I threw myself into talking with the children.
Garrick’s brother Marcus’s two sons—both with the signature Shaw dark hair—approached us. They were around eight and six.
“Hey, I’m Knoah.”
“That’s Eli and Zack,” Savannah said. “They’re Uncle Marcus and Aunt Amanda’s kids. Oh, and Lucy and Laura are Aunt Melissa’s and Uncle David’s kids.”
I knew this, but still said, “Oh, thank you, Savannah! It’s nice to meet you. I guess you heard I’m going to marry your Uncle Garrick.”
The boys only watched me, still unsure of me. Derrick put his car in my lap. “It goes really, really fast!”
“I bet it does. Why don’t you show me?” On all fours, Derrick zoomed around with the car. “Wow, that is fast.” I handed the girls back their dolls. The kids came closer. I had them around me as they ran off to bring more toys to me. We were playing when I said to Savannah, “I need to go to the restroom. Can you tell me where it is?”
“Just go down the hall. It’s at the end.” Cars zoomed about. The dolls had conversations with each other. I loved watching kids use their imagination.
“Perfect. I’ll be right back. Will you guys save me a toy to play with?”
“Yes! I will,” Eli said. “I’ll save you a car.”
It was the first time he’d spoken to me, and my heart melted. I gently touched Eli’s head. “Thank you.”
The hallway was long. The house was ornate, but warm. This was the house where Garrick had grown up.
A little farther down was an open door. I could hear Garrick’s voice, and it wasn’t friendly.
“Watch yourself, Marcus. I’m not a fucking teenager going off on a whim.”
I’d inched a little closer when I heard Suzette.
“Knoah is going to be our family. I won’t start things off on the wrong foot with my new daughter-in-law. We should be ashamed at how she was treated. Only Kourtney and I greeted her.”
My heart sank. They weren’t happy about the engagement. Things were going the same way as they had before. My heart grew heavy with disappointment. I wanted my in-laws to love me. I wanted a happy family.
“Your mother is right. We should be ashamed. I am ashamed I did not greet my future daughter properly.” The voice reminded me of Garrick’s. It had an authority to it. It had to be his father.
I recognized Kourtney’s voice next.
“You guys haven’t had a chance to meet her. You’ll fall in love with her. She’s amazing and perfect for Garrick. Savannah and Derrick can’t stop talking about her. Give her a chance.”
“Or a gold digger. Is she pregnant, Garrick? Are you being forced into this?” A woman’s voice that I didn’t recognize rebutted Kourtney’s support.
I gritted my teeth as I became irritated. I’d received this same accusation before. I refused to be labeled a gold digger or trapper. I flung open the door as Garrick began to speak. All eyes turned to me.
“I’m here. There’s no reason to talk about me as if I’m not.” I shook my head. “This is my worst fear about telling everyone. I’ve had these accusations thrown at me before.” I held up my hand when Garrick started to speak. “I was on the way to the restroom when I heard the comments. They’re kind of hard to miss with the door open. I wanted to give you guys time to talk to Garrick about his feelings without me present, not trash-talk me.”
I took a settling breath. “I’m not a gold digger. Yes, I’m living with Garrick. I don’t need this money; I have enough of my own to support myself. I love Garrick, and he loves me, too.” I shook my head. “I’m going to go now. I don’t want to be somewhere I’m not wanted. I went through that with my first set of in-laws before my husband was killed in an explosion on our honeymoon. We were young. My ex-mother-in-law has always believed I trapped her son. I didn’t. I’m not that way. But you guys never gave me a chance to show you.”
Mouths dropped open, but I turned and walked out of the room. It felt good to have stood up to whoever wanted to label me versus withering away the way I had before.
The kids were still on the floor when I returned. I imagined Joe was outside. He’d take me to the apartment. “Hey, kids. I’m going to—”
“Knoah, would you come back to the study for a moment more, please?” Suzette asked.
I whipped around to see Garrick’s mom standing there with his dad. I wasn’t sure what to do. Inside I was angry and hurt. This was supposed to be a happy time for us. My family understood. Suzette and Kourtney seemed to love me. Things were going so well, and then I was yanked back to the same spot I’d been with Vivian.
Do not cry. Be strong. You love Garrick.
Garrick passed his mother and walked up to me. “I think we should go. This has been unacceptable.”
Suzette’s face dropped and tears formed, but she remained silent.
The kids behind me protested. “Don’t go! Knoah, you just got here. We want to play.”
Do I stay or go?
If I left, things would be damaged for a while. In time, the things that had been said would fester and create a canyon. I would be in the same situation as before.
I want things to be different. Give them a chance.
“Yes, I’ll come back for a moment.”
Relief flashed in Suzette’s eyes. “We’ll meet you guys in the study.”
Garrick caught my hand and whispered in my ear, “I won’t let them be disrespectful. If it happens again, we’re leaving.”
“Let’s hope that’s not the case.”
Garrick scrubbed a hand down his face, and I could feel the nerves coming off him. This was his family. They had been there for him his entire life, from what he’d said. They were a tight-knit group.
Please let this work out. Please.
We walked back into the room, and Kourtney was the first to approach me. “I’m glad you came back. This is my husband, Hugh.”
While shaking hands, I responded, “It’s nice to meet you.”
He looked around the room at the rest of the family and loudly stated. “Likewise. My wife and kids can’t stop talking about you. All good things.”
One more liked me. “Thank you. Savannah and Derrick are wonderful kids.”
Kourtney continued with the introductions. Beside me, Garrick watched two others, who I assumed were Marcus and Melissa, from pictures I’d seen. “You’ve met Mom, but this is our Dad, Henry.”
He gave me a huge hug. “Welcome to the family, Knoah. I’m sorry for the less-than-hospitable reception. That is not the Shaw way. I hate that it was your first impression of our family.”
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you.” I probably should have said more, but it was still so awkward.
The other brother and sister hung back and watched us. Garrick cleared his throat.
The woman who favored Kourtney finally said, “I apologize for being catty. I’m Melissa, Garrick’s sister.”
I gave a tentative smile. She’d been the one with the nasty insinuations. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s probably not. But I appreciate you taking the high road. I am sorry. I’m the oldest, and I’ve always been overprotective of Garrick. I only heard he was dating a couple of days ago. And it caught me off guard. I swear, I’m not normally such a bitch.”
It was understandable to be concerned about Garrick. He was worth billions, and there were probably always going to be people who wanted a piece of him. I had a choice. Things could go one of two ways—keep my barriers up or try to move forward.
The latter seemed to be the better option. I wanted family get-togethers—love and laughter.
Stepping out of Garrick’s hold, I said, “I want to start fresh. No hard feelings. I don’t have any brothers or sisters, but I imagine if I did, I would be protective of them, too.”
“We’re huggers. Can I hug you?”
“Of course.”
Melissa took me in her arms and whispered, “I’m looking forward to getting to know the woman who stole my brother’s heart.”
“I’m looking forward to a family full of siblings.”
She pulled back, warming to me. “Thanks for forgiving me.”
“Let’s never mention it again.”
“Deal. This is my husband, David.”
We shook hands. Next, the last sister-in-law introduced herself. “I’m Amanda, and this is Marcus. Our kids are Eli and Zack. Welcome to the family, Knoah.”
“It’s wonderful to be part of it.”
The brother hung back and gave me a nod. Garrick put his hand on the small of my back. Suzette stood beside me. “Dinner should be ready to eat. Let’s head that way.”
“Garrick’s been singing praises about your lasagna.”
Suzette gave me a wink. “We had a chef come in and make my recipe today so we could spend time together.”
As we filed out of the room, the tension had abated, and I was glad things had turned around. I wouldn’t give up on the family we all deserved.