Page 37 of Finding Us

Grace Sinclair, my grandmother, is a billionaire and because of that, she’s kind of well-known, at least among wealthy people. She was hesitant about going to the wedding because if someone found out and told the press, people would question why she was there. But then she realized she could just say she’s friends with the Kensington family, which is true. She’s been seen at social events with them for years and the media knows that Pearce was a big supporter of Royce’s presidential campaign.

“She’ll definitely be at the wedding. I talked to her last week. She invited us to come stay at her house in Santa Barbara. She’ll only be there for a few weeks. She thought maybe we could go there sometime after the wedding, just for a day or two. I told her I’d check with you and get back to her.”

“Jade, you don’t have to check with me. If you want to go, we’ll go.”

“Really? Because I was thinking I’d just go alone. I didn’t think you’d want to go. You don’t really know her that well.”

“I know her well enough. I grew up seeing her at parties. It doesn’t matter. We’ll be married by then and I go where you go. That’s how it works. And I’ll make you go tomyfamily functions.”

“I don’t want us to make each other do stuff we don’t want to do.”

“I’m kidding. You’re not making me go. Iwantto go. Grace seems like a nice lady and she’s your grandmother. You need to spend time with her. And I want to get to know her better.”

I lift my head up and smile at him. “You know what?”

“What?”

“I’m so ready to marry you. I just want the day to hurry up and get here.”

“And this from the girl who used to freak out whenever I said the word marriage.” He kisses me. “Goodnight. I love you.”

I lay my head back on his chest and secure my arm around him. “I love you, too.”

* * *

The next morningwhile I’m in the bathroom getting ready, I hear Pearce come into the bedroom. Garret’s in there packing our bags.

“Garret, I want to talk to you before you leave.” Pearce has a deep powerful voice that’s loud even when he’s talking normally. I have the bathroom door closed and I can still hear him perfectly.

“What is it?” I hear Garret ask. “Why are you looking at me that way?”

“Let’s sit down.”

I was just about to go out into the bedroom but decide not to because his dad sounds really serious and I’m afraid to interrupt. So I stay put and try to occupy myself. I try not to listen but I can hear every word through the bathroom door.

“Is something wrong?” Garret asks.

“No, nothing’s wrong. I just need to say something to you.” There’s silence and then I hear Pearce again. “I just want to say that I’m sorry, Garret. I’m sorry for being a bad father to you all these years. For not being there for you after your mother died.”

“Um, okay. But why are you—”

“Let me finish. I need to say this.” There’s silence again and then, “I was selfish. I couldn’t deal with your mother’s death and because of that, I didn’t handle it well. I didn’t handleyouwell. I tried to force you to move on and not talk about her or even mention her name. But that was all for my sake. And it was wrong.”

“It’s okay, Dad. It was a long time ago.”

“No. It’s not okay. After she died, I should’ve spent time with you. I should’ve supported you and been there for you while you were grieving. But I wasn’t. And so you turned to alcohol, and deep down I knew I was the reason for that but instead of admitting that, I blamed you. I said you were a bad kid. Rebellious. Out of control. But the alcohol was just an outlet for the pain I caused you and the pain of losing your mother. I get that now.”

“Where is this coming from?” Garret asks. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I’ve been seeing someone. A counselor. For several months now actually. Obviously I can’t tell him everything about me or this family. I talk to him mainly about your mother and her death. And you. I didn’t need him to tell me I’ve been a bad father. I knew that already. But I needed to know why. Because I don’t want to be this way, Garret. I want to be the kind of father you and Lilly deserve. You’re a grown man now, so maybe you don’t want that. Maybe you hate me for how I’ve treated you all these years but—”

“I don’t hate you, Dad.”

“Well, I would understand if you did. But if you could give me another chance, I’d like to try to be part of your life again. I know you’re on the other side of the country now but I don’t want the distance to drive us even farther apart. I don’t want to lose you, Garret. I’ll do whatever I can to fix this, make things right between us again. I’d like to have more weekends like we just had. I want you and Jade to come here to the house whenever you’d like and to feel welcome when you do. I’ll deal with Katherine. She won’t be a problem. And I’d like to make some trips out to California this year to see you and Jade.”

“You should come out a few days before the wedding,” Garret says.

“Yes, that’s a good idea.” Pearce laughs a little. “It’s hard to believe my son is getting married in a couple weeks. Next I’ll be a grandfather.”

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