Page 116 of Finding Us

“Yeah, I guess you should.” Garret smiles at me as he says it. There’s silence, so Garret says, “Are you gonna say it or what?”

I cover my mouth as I laugh.

“I just did,” Sadie says, annoyed. “Weren’t you listening?”

“You said youshouldsay it. You didn’t actually say it.”

She sighs. “I hate it when you do that thing where you analyze my words. You did it all the time when we were dating. I definitely don’t missthatabout you.” She pauses, then says, “So when’s the baby due?”

“What baby?” Garret looks at me.

“Yourbaby. I assume Jade’s pregnant. Why else would you get married at 19?”

“I’m not pregnant!” I blurt it out, then cover my mouth.

“You have me on speaker, Garret? You’re such an ass!”

He tries not to laugh. “Well, now that you know Jade and I are both listening, you can tell us congratulations.”

“Just go get my grandmother. Hurry up.”

Grace walks in and Garret takes the phone off speaker. He hands it to her. “It’s Sadie. We were just telling her about the party we had for Lilly.”

He’s letting Grace know we’ve already explained to Sadie why we’re here.

She nods. “Yes, it was a nice party,” she says to Sadie. “We had it out back in the garden.”

While she talks, Garret and I pack the car. When we go back inside, she’s off the phone.

“I hope she wasn’t rude to you.” Grace hands me the flowers she wrapped up for us. “Sadie and her sisters put on a good show when they need to, but behind closed doors those girls can be very mean and hurtful. The things I’ve heard them say—well, I’m not always proud of their behavior. But their mother is the same way, so that’s how they were raised.”

“She was fine.” I give Grace a hug, then grab my purse from the chair in the entryway. “Thank you for the flowers. Do you need anything before Garret and I go?”

“No, you’ve done more than enough. It was good seeing you both.” She gives Garret a hug. “You take good care of my granddaughter.”

“I will.” Garret holds the door open for Grace and me as we go outside.

I give Grace another hug before I get in the car. She waves as she watches us drive away. I feel bad leaving her behind. I know she’s going to visit Sadie and her sisters, but I get the feeling they’re not very nice to her. And I know Victoria’s not.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE

When we get home,Garret and I try to continue our honeymoon but Harper and Sean keep stopping over, so we don’t get much time to ourselves. But that’s okay. Garret and I will have plenty of couple time later. We only have three more weeks with Sean and Harper.

We spend those last three weeks taking day trips up the coast, going to movies, hanging out on the beach, and one day we even go on one of those off-road Jeep tours. And we have dinner together almost every night except when Sean has to work.

This whole summer has been so great I hate to see it end and I really don’t want to say goodbye to Harper. But it’s now the middle of August and Sean and Harper are moving back to Connecticut tomorrow.

On our last afternoon together, the guys surf while Harper and I lay out on the beach. We have a big umbrella over us because the sun is really hot today.

“Are you nervous about visiting Sean’s parents next week?” I ask Harper.

“I’m a little nervous. I don’t know anything about farmers.” She turns on her side, resting on her elbow. “You’re from Iowa. What do you know about farmers?”

“There weren’t any farmers in Des Moines, at least not where I lived. They live out in the rural areas. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever actually met a farmer.”

“I’ve never been to New Hampshire. I hope there’s stuff to do there. We can’t just sit at home with Sean’s parents for a week.”

“Your dad’s been to New Hampshire. He shot a movie there. Ask him about it.”

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