Time would prove him right.
Holly - 3 years
We had a picture up of the old diner. We kept it right on the wall inside the door because people who weren't from the area never believed us when we told them how hideous it had been.
The crew Fallon and Malcolm had hired to take care of the repairs had done an amazing job of turning the eyesore into a place people actually wanted to visit. And they did. In droves.
The outside had been stripped of all its chrome, replaced with brick that you could see on the exposed walls inside as well.
The cheap booths had been replaced with dark wood ones with tufted golden-yellow material. The black and white check floors were all rustic hardwood. All the counters had been replaced with dark wood ones, and all the appliances were upgraded. The espresso and frozen coffee machines were wildly popular, especially among the younger crowds.
My area was a small addition near the front door with a few tables for people to come in and just enjoy dessert if they wanted.
The bakery had been more successful than any of us had anticipated. Partly because there weren't any great ones in the area, but also because of the word of mouth we'd worked hard to get around in the early days.
The money from the joint venture was just pouring in. It felt almost obscene, especially after having struggled so hard in the early days of working in the same building.
Zara was the manager, as made most sense.
Dean and Don worked together in relative harmony.
There were a ton of servers that worked all the different shifts.
And, wonder of all wonders, there were busboys.
It was a dream.
My whole life felt like a dream lately, actually.
Work had fallen into place.
Then, slowly but surely, Shep got well again. He had a rebuilt home and a thriving business.
On top of that, the both of us had inherited this vast, amazing family to fall back on, to love and let love us. It was more than we ever could have foreseen for our lives.
"You ready, Mama?" Shep asked, holding out my coat.
"Sh!" I demanded, eyes going wide as I looked around the diner. "You can't say that yet. Not until I tell Malcolm," I told him.
The only reason Shep knew was because Hope had run into him when she'd been picking me up a pregnancy test. And to get him to stop congratulating her, she'd spilled the beans on my being late.
They'd both been there with me in the bathroom waiting for the two pink lines to appear.
And it just so happened to be a weekend when Malcolm had needed to go visit with the Shady Valley crew when I'd realized I was late. Like way late. It didn't feel right to tell him that kind of news over the phone, so I was waiting to see him later that night to tell him. I didn't want him accidentally finding out in any other way.
"Relax, no one who knows Malc is here," Shep said, pressing a hand to my lower back as we went down the stairs. Like being very newly pregnant would suddenly make me incapable of going down the stairs without assistance.
I had a feeling, though, that a lot of overprotectiveness was about to become a part of my life. All these big, strong men turned into a crew of alphas who needed to protect the next generation.
It was sweet.
And a little obnoxious.
"Why are we stopping here?" I asked as Shep pulled up to Willa's very pricey townhouse.
"Don't ask me. It was Gracie's plan," he said, but I could have sworn his ears went a little red when he said that. "I'll wait here for you."
"I'm going to be late," I grumbled.
"Malc will wait," Shep said, shrugging.
"Fine," I said with a small sigh as I climbed out of the truck and made my way into Willa's fancy home only to find all the girls there drinking wine and eating from a massive charcuterie board. Willa was known for her epic charcuterie boards. "Shep said you guys wanted to see me?" I asked.
"See? I told you," Hope said, waving a hand at me.
"You told them?" I hissed.
"No. Well, yes, but that's not what I meant. I told you she would be wearing her work clothes."
I didn't technically have a work uniform anymore, but I did tend to go with a pair of comfortable skinny jeans and some sort of white tee that I could bleach the stains out of when I got icing on them when baking.
"The first time you've seen your man in days, and that's what you wear?" Will asked, clucking her tongue. "Come on. I have it all upstairs," she said, forcefully pulling me along with her.
I could have fought her as she forced me into a very cute yellow sundress and flats that matched, as she clasped jewelry on me, and fixed my makeup. But I'd learned a long time ago that it was always easier to just go along with what the girls wanted.