Page 125 of Solid as Steele
“No, it means I’m not going to give the exact number to keep my sweetheart from clocking me for revealing how old she might be.”
Her gran swatted his arm. “You should’ve stopped while you were ahead.”
The family erupted in laughter and clanked their glasses together as they offered their heartfelt congratulations.
Mackenzie locked gazes with Owen and mouthed, “Sorry.”
He gave a shake of his head and smiled, a broad, warm smile that curled her toes. She had to get this guy alone. Stat!
“Our cake is getting stale so eat up everyone.” Her redirection worked. Her family members dug into fluffy yellow cake with coconut frosting dyed green to resemble grass. Gran had topped the pair of cakes with chocolate eggs and each plate held a few of those as an extra treat.
“Looks like a break in the rain too,” her grandad said. “So we can get to that egg hunt.”
Here they were, her, her sisters, and their cousins, all in their thirties except for Ryleigh, and their grandparents still held an Easter egg hunt for them. When they’d reached their teen years, their grandparents stopped putting candy and treats in plastic eggs, but included a charitable task that they each had to do before the next Easter.
An outsider might think that they wouldn’t try to find as many eggs, but they remained competitive in their hunt and enjoyed the tasks throughout the year. Now they would do the hunt as a team with their significant others. Ryleigh was the only lone hunter this year, and there had been a lot of talk about that during lunch.
Peyton’s fiancé Grant Logan had a five-year-old daughter, Sadie, and the family held an indoor hunt for her before they’d sat down to a late lunch. Her grandma, Judy, and Sadie would form a team for the outdoor hunt, after the sweet little girl’s face had been cleaned of sticky frosting.
Mackenzie’s grandad stood. “Let’s get the leftovers put away, but we’ll leave the dishes until after the hunt.”
Chaos ensued as everyone got up, grabbed platters and bowls, and hauled it all to the kitchen. Gran shooed all but Mackenzie’s mother and aunt out of the room.
Mackenzie grabbed Owen’s arm and drew him to the entryway where a table held Easter baskets from her childhood. Thomas’s basket sat with the others, and the loss hit her like a fist to the gut.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Owen turned her to face him.
She pointed at the basket. “It belonged to Thomas. It’s hard to be happy knowing he isn’t here with us.”
“I’m sorry, honey.” He drew her into a hug. “After my scare of losing Cassie, I can imagine that only too well.”
She leaned into him and let him cradle her head on his shoulder.
Ryleigh burst in. “Figured you two might be trying to find time alone again.”
Tears in her eyes, Mackenzie looked at her little sister.
Ryleigh’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not upset over our prank, are you?”
Mackenzie shook her head and pointed at Thomas’s basket.
Ryleigh’s smile fell. “Ah, yeah. We’re all missing him today. I don’t know how Aunt Iris and Uncle Gene are coping.”
“Because we know we’ll see him again someday.” Their uncle stepped into the room and picked up Thomas’s basket. “Iris and I’ll hunt for him and do his tasks throughout the year. It’ll bring him closer still.”
Mackenzie grabbed her uncle into a hug and then released him. “We can also pray.”
He nodded, and tears fell from the strong man’s eyes.
Mackenzie led the family in prayer, then they solemnly put on their coats.
“Now.” Her Uncle Gene lifted Thomas’s multi-colored woven basket. “Thomas would want us to move on and do our very best in this hunt. I for one am going to skunk all of you.”
He raced out the front door, lifting the mood again. Mackenzie knew hearts remained heavy, but they would all put on brave faces for her aunt and uncle.
Mackenzie hung back, waiting for Owen’s mom and dad and Cassie to join them. “We have a basket for the three of you to hunt as a team if you’d like to join us.”
“Are you kidding?” Cassie grinned and took a basket. “Any time I can win a challenge against my brother is a good day.”
