With the end of the racing season upon them, it meant that the holiday season was beginning to ramp up, and the next couple of weeks were set to be the busiest for Julie, Junior, Brynne and Martin. With the last race wrapping up four days before Thanksgiving and the NASCAR Champions week in Las Vegas the following week, that in itself would be a daunting schedule for anyone. But then to throw in there a wedding, Brynne getting the keys to her new apartment and getting moved in, getting things situated with their new visitation schedule with Kinsey and trying to create what their 'new normal' would be, Julie and Junior's honeymoon and the possibility of Brynne starting a new project from the ground up – well it was hectic.
Their first big test was Thanksgiving, and were they ever going to have a full house. Martin was used to heading back home to Jersey and watching football with his dad and uncle's while his mom handled Thanksgiving dinner, but this year they were doing it a little differently... The Truex's and Deana and Peyton were set to arrive any minute, and Julie and Junior would be over to have dessert with them once they finished their Thanksgiving dinner with Junior's family. Not to mention they would be getting Kinsey in the afternoon after she celebrated her first Thanksgiving with Kaleen's family. This would be the first considerable amount of time that Martin's parents, Deana and Peyton got to spend with Kinsey, and Martin and Brynne were buzzing with excitement over the memories they would all be making today.
They had gone out shopping the day before (what could they say they were last minute shoppers), and bought everything they would need for Thanksgiving dinner, and Linda and Deana had already vowed to help Brynne with their feast and she couldn't wait – this was the first time she was essentially hosting Thanksgiving dinner, and she was so excited for all of Martin's family to come together at one table and give their thanks for all the blessings they had in their lives; life, a second chance at love and Martin's two beautiful daughter's being the main things she was thankful for this year.
She sighed when her phone began to ring and she looked down and saw her mother calling. She hadn't really spoken to her parents much since she had come down to North Carolina against their wishes, because it seemed as if whenever she did she could feel their disdain for her decision to help Julie out come through the phone loud and clear. She was an adult and sometimes they seemed to forget that; she understood they were just concerned for her well-being – physically and mentally, and with just cause based on her reactions to some situations that had happened in her past, but she was surrounded by plenty of people who offered her support when she was in North Carolina, so if she was suffering she wouldn't be suffering in silence.
And lord, if her mother knew that not only had she started to talk to Martin again, but they were back together and she practically lived with him (and God forbid that he had two children by two different women), well she could just hear her mother's reaction in her head. And that was why she wasn't going to clue her parents in to what was going on until she absolutely had to.
Deciding she had let the phone ring on long enough, she answered with a sigh, "Hello?"
"Brynne dear, it's your mother."
"Hello mother, I knew it was you. I saw your name come across my caller ID on my phone."
"Oh yes. Well, how are you dear? I feel like I haven't spoken to you in forever. You're not hating it down there too much are you?"
"I'm doing fine, mom. And no, I'm not hating it. Actually, I love it here. The season just ended, so now we only have two weeks until Julie's wedding... we're in the home stretch, so things are getting a little hectic."
"Only two weeks? Well, that's good to hear dear. So then we can expect for you to be home shortly after that then?"
Brynne cleared her throat, knowing the only reason she would be going to New York would be to grab the rest of her belongings out of storage, her Lucky and to break the news to her parents that she was moving to North Carolina... for good. "Um yes mother, something like that..."
"Speaking of home, we expected to see you home this weekend for Thanksgiving..."
"There's a lot going on down here right now mother, I really couldn't afford to leave. I already told you there's only two weeks left until the wedding, we're spending every free minute trying to get everything perfect... besides, I'm spending Thanksgiving with Julie, Junior, Mar- um and friends."
"Holidays are meant for family, not friends, Brynne Marie!"
"Well, sorry to disappoint... again, mother... but I'm obviously not going to be home for Thanksgiving. And I have to go. I'm cooking the turkey and I have to get it ready to go in the oven."
"Don't be a stranger Bry – " But she hung up before the words were out of her mother's mouth, done with the judgement of her family. 'Family' wasn't always blood, but the people who were always there for you when you needed them, and in Brynne's situation and in her mind, her 'family' wasn't anyone related to her by blood, they had lost that title a long time ago.
Martin walked in the sliding glass door that led out to the backyard and pulled her into his body, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "You're really tense babe, what's wrong?"
She groaned and buried her head in his chest, her words coming out muffled. "I just got off the phone with my mother."
"Ah... and how is the lovely Mrs. Matthews doing today?"
"Pissed I didn't come home for Thanksgiving... 'holidays are meant for family and not friends Brynne Marie', I almost had the guts to tell her that my friends are more of a family to me than my actual family..."
Martin laughed and hugged her tighter, "Probably best not to open that can of worms today, huh?"
"Yeah that would have turned in to a completely different phone call, and I didn't have the time or energy for that one today. I just told her I had to go cook and hung up on her before I said something in the heat of the moment that I really didn't mean, or didn't want to get in to an argument about today of all days. I know they're only looking out for me, and I know that it's partially my fault because when shit goes bad in my life I tend to completely shut down so my parents feel like they have to treat me like a child still and not like an adult because I'm fragile and breakable, but really I'm not. When Jake died, I completely fell apart, and I feel like maybe that's a little justifiable. But I picked myself up and put myself back together and my life went on after that, and this last time - it was just too much at once... between everything with you and me, the five year anniversary of Jake dying, and then Fusion burned down too, I just broke. I felt like someone was seriously fucking with me. And maybe I shouldn't have run home to my parents, maybe that was my mistake. But I didn't know where else to go, things with us were non-existent and I felt like coming to Julie was just too close to you – I needed some physical and emotional distance, and besides Julie and Tara, I really didn't have any other friends that weren't associated with you or Fusion, and Tara was still in Boston and I needed to get away from Boston at that point too. So, my parents it was. But now they think I'm incapable of handling anything or dealing with life in general..."
"Maybe you need to be honest with them... tell them all of this, and tell them you're not breakable, and you can handle anything life throws at you. You have the support to handle all the curveballs... you have and will continue to have my support, 100% of the time, any time any day. No questions asked. I'm in your corner. I'm your person. You're my person Brynne, okay? I will not let anything tear us apart, so when you have this conversation with your parents... tell them that. Julie has your back, and Junior. Deana and my parents would have your back too. Anyone at the track would do the same. Because you're my person you get my people, too."
She sighed, "I think I just need to go back to New York and sit down and have a conversation with them and lay it all out there. Because they're just driving me away acting like this, and they're my parents. I'm supposed to be able to count on them. Plus, they don't even know I've started talking to you again let alone..."
"Let alone what?"
"Started shacking up with you..."
Martin laughed, "Shacking up with me? Is that what we're calling this now?"
Brynne shrugged, "I didn't know what else to say."
"I can think of a handful of things that sound better than 'shacking up'... rekindled our romance, fell in love with each other, started seeing each other again, hell I'd even be more okay with you saying 'got really drunk and had sex with each other then started talking to each other again', since you know... that's what actually happened."
"Yeah, I'm definitely not telling my parents that... they'd probably try to lock me in a closet and never let me out, or ship me off to a convent so I could 'find' myself... I'll figure it out before I go to New York and try to make things right. And if it doesn't work, well at least I can say I tried to repair our relationship, and they just weren't receptive. Then it'll be on them and not on me."
But something didn't sit right with Martin... the continued mention of her going to New York - even if it was to talk to her parents and try to make things right. Even if she intended on coming back. Because realistically when she first came to North Carolina it was to stay long enough to help Julie with the wedding, with the intention of going back to her parents in New York once the wedding was over. And now the wedding was two weeks away...
So what would happen once the wedding was over? Would she be going back to New York to stay? Just to talk to her parents. They had gotten in to such a good groove in the last couple of weeks, he didn't even want to think about what would happen if she moved back to New York.
He couldn't think about that. It hurt too much. They were in too good of a spot for her to walk away and go back to New York, right?
He was pulled from those thoughts when the front door burst open and a sweet little voice rang out through the house, "Daddy!!! I'm here!"
*
Everyone was settled in the living room enjoying quiet conversation while Martin had gone to meet Kaleen to pick up Kinsey for the afternoon. Peyton was buzzing around between all the adults playing with her dolls in anticipation of 'officially' meeting her little sister, which was making the excitement bubble up within her. Even though she had 'met' her when they had run in to Kaleen at the track when Deana and Peyton had been visiting, this would be different because it would be Peyton's first chance to get to spend considerable time with her sister.
The excitement level of the whole house was at an all-time high, each member of the blended family anxious for Martin to get home with Kinsey.
"Mom?"
"Yes dear?" Deana asked Peyton.
"Is daddy here yet with my sister?"
Brynne had to hold back her laugh as Deana rolled her eyes at the group around her, "I'm guessing you can see how long car rides are with her, huh?"
Linda ruffled Peyton's hair with a smile, "She's just excited, we all are."
"Kinsey is an absolute doll," Brynne told them, "Peyton and Deana met her briefly when they came for a visit, and I've gotten more of an opportunity to spend time with her recently, you can't help but fall in love with her little chubby cheeks and eyes... she has Martin's eyes."
"Her mother is less than desirable though," Deana mumbled.
Brynne laughed, "Yes Kaleen is definitely not my favorite part of the situation, but I don't let her bother me anymore... it took losing everything for me to realize she was doing what she was because she was jealous that I had what she wanted."
She felt movement behind her and jumped when she felt something brush against her cheek, relaxing a little when she realized it was Martin placing a kiss on her cheek. "I'm glad to hear that," he whispered.
"Jesus, did you sneak in the house or something?"
He shrugged with a chuckle, "You guys were so immersed in conversation that you didn't hear me walk in the door... where's Peyton?"
"In the backyard, we better go get her or she's going to be pissed that you came home with the baby and we didn't let her know."
He unbuckled a sleeping Kinsey out of the car seat and looked at his mom with a smile, "Want her mom?"
"Ha, is that even a question Martin?"
With a laugh he placed Kinsey in his mom's outstretched arms and grabbed Brynne's hand to drag her outside to let Peyton know he was home with Kinsey. He pulled her out the sliding glass door and wrapped her up in his arms, his lips hovering over hers with a smile plastered on his face. "I love you."
"I love you too, babe."
"Good, I'm glad." She looked at him funny and rolled her eyes at him. "What? It's Thanksgiving, and it's just got me thinking about everything I have to be thankful for this year, and the list is long..."
"Well I'm thankful for you, my friends, your beautiful daughters and family... my family." After that statement, if Martin had already bought a ring for Brynne he would have dropped to his knees right here, right now and begged her to marry him. How had he gotten so lucky to have this woman stumble her way into his life? At this point he was willing to do anything to make sure she never left.
"God I love you even more, Brynne. That is probably single-handedly the greatest and sexiest thing someone has ever said to me before... your love for my children is my weakness... I will always be gutted, brought down to my knees watching you love someone unconditionally that you didn't have a part of bringing in to this world, and not caring that they're not a biological part of you..."
"But they're a biological part of you, and that's enough for me." He backed her against the side of the house and kissed her hungrily. When he heard Peyton yell for him and start running across the yard towards him, he pulled away from Brynne with a hungry look in his eyes, intent on finishing this later.
*
The dining room smelled delectable with all the aromas wafting through from the platters full of Thanksgiving dinner as they all sat around the table and said grace.
"I feel like we're all very blessed this year with many great fortunes, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving I think we should go around the table and tell everyone what we're thankful for," Linda said amongst everyone's agreement, "Your father and I will go first. This year we're thankful for our family – immediate and extended, family by blood or family by association, or even someone we've adopted in to our fold over the years – we never turn anyone away, we're thankful to be surrounded by so many wonderful people every day of our lives."
"Good health," Martin Sr. spoke up, "At our age not everyone is as lucky to have such good health, so we are very thankful for many years of good health, and looking forward to many more."
"And last but certainly not least, we are thankful for our beautiful granddaughter's. Regardless of the way they've been brought into our lives, we are so thankful to have two beautiful, healthy granddaughters to dote and love on. Deana would you like to go next?"
Deana nodded quickly, "Sure. I'm thankful to be sitting here with all of you today enjoying this meal, you are all part of my extended family and I am so thankful to have such a strong support unit, and that not only are you my family but I can consider you my friends also. Not everyone could say they have such a good relationship with their child's father and his family, so I'm happy to say that I can and that I do, and that I'm happy Martin is finally bringing good women in to his life and our lives, because for awhile they haven't been good! I'm thankful for my friends, for the love and support they've given me through the years – especially the tough moments. I'm thankful for Peyton and the unconditional love she grants me with every day... they say you don't know love until you feel the unconditional love of a child, and I would agree with that, it's the greatest feeling in the world. And lastly, I'm thankful for meeting new people... it's scary in the beginning, but sometimes God brings people into your life at the exact moment He knows you need them."
Martin looked confused at the last statement that Deana made about meeting new people, but she wouldn't meet anyone's eyes so he couldn't try to give her the look that would make her spill everything. He'd have to try to get it out of her later.
Brynne spoke up next, meeting everyone's eyes around the table, "I'm thankful for all of you and the unconditional love you all show each other, and I'm honored to be part of it... my family doesn't function the same way, so things aren't as simple as this, so it's nice to be part of a family like this, and to see that it can be easy. I'm thankful for all my friends – all the one's I've made through Martin, Julie and Junior... there's nothing like having great friends, and I can honestly say I have the best. I'm thankful for Peyton and Kinsey, for the unconditional love they willingly give out to everyone, and the bonds I've formed with both of them." She turned towards Martin and smiled, "I'm thankful for you. I don't know what I would do without you in my life, I'd be a shell of the real me, you make me the person I am today and continue to make me into a better form of the person I want to be in the future, so thank you. And I'm thankful for the start of something new... change isn't always welcome, but sometimes it's needed."
Martin held Brynne's hand under the table and squeezed gently. He didn't trust himself to form words at the moment, so he conveyed to her all his thoughts and feelings through a simple squeeze of their hands.
"Peyton you wanna go next?"
Peyton shook her head back and forth, "No daddy you go next, I want to go after everyone else!"
Martin nodded and then sat quietly for a moment collecting his thoughts. He had a ton of things to be thankful for this year and in his life in general; when it came to life he certainly had a bountiful one and now that he had seen what it was like to live without certain things in his life, he knew he would never want to experience that again. "Well, I have quite a few things to be thankful for... good friends who have my back no matter what idiotic thing I seem to do or say... a strong family who is always there to love and support me whenever I may need it – even if that means loving me and supporting me from afar... it really means everything to me. Good health, and a job that I love doing and find happiness in – and one I'm good at..."
"Way to be cocky!"
"I'm just stating the truth – and the multiple trophies in my trophy room are all the proof I need," he laughed, "I have two beautiful daughters, who even if they were not planned, are two of the greatest things that have ever happened to me and I wouldn't go back and change a thing about how they came about simply because I couldn't see my life without them... they've made me into the man I am today. Last and certainly not least, I'm thankful for Brynne – for her being in my life in the first place, let alone giving me a second chance. I don't think I could be the person I am without her influence in my life, she reminded me the other day that she picked me and not the other way around, and I'm so grateful for the day she decided that I could be part of her life."
All the adults around the table sat quietly reflecting on Martin's heartfelt words, as Peyton took a deep breath and just went for it, not realizing her father had basically just poured his heart out on the table. "My turn! I'm thankful for my friends at school that play with me on the playground and play Roblox with me, and for mommy and daddy and all the rest of my family – because I have lots of them and they all love me lots too! They let me do fun stuff and go outside and I'm hoping mommy and daddy will let me race when I get older! I'm thankful for Brynney because she's really nice to me and plays with me and she makes my daddy really happy, oh and she bought me ice cream which makes her my favorite. And I'm thankful for ice cream too, because it's my favorite thing to eat, and I would eat it all the time if mommy and daddy would let me!" She looked pensive for a moment as she was clearly thinking hard about what she was forgetting, "Oh YouTube! How could I forget YouTube? YouTube is my favorite thing ever because it makes me laugh so much, I don't know what I would do without it! But, I'm most thankful for my baby sister Kinsey, she's so small but I know when she grows up I'm going to be the best big sister ever and I'm going to teach her everything I know and give her lots of hugs because I love her!"
Linda wiped a tear from her eye at how loving and adorable her oldest granddaughter was before nodding her head, "I think we all have a lot to be thankful for this year, and I'm so glad we got to tell each other what we are thankful for. But now, who's hungry?"
"OH, OH, OH! I am grandma! I am!" They all chuckled at Peyton's personality.
"Well then why don't we all eat?"
*
Their first holiday with Kinsey was in the books, and it hadn't gone too bad. Linda, Martin Sr., Peyton and Deana had stayed through the weekend (even though they'd only had Kinsey for a couple hours on Thanksgiving), and Brynne and Martin had gotten an opportunity to take Peyton to the aquarium for the day to give Deana time to get some Christmas shopping done on Black Friday. They had spent the entire day at the aquarium, then took her out for dinner, ice cream and to the movies – it had been the greatest time ever, and probably the least stressed they had felt in months.
With the banquet coming and the wedding in less than two weeks, the next couple of weeks were going to be hectic, so it was a relief to have a whole day to go out and just act like they had no worries, and get to see Peyton giggle and smile had been the icing on the cake.
They had headed back home on Monday morning, and Brynne and Martin were set to leave for Champions Week in Vegas on Tuesday morning, which gave her exactly a day to get the house back in to order after their house guests left.
Martin had had to run to pick up his stuff from the dry cleaner's, and she had found the number that she had written down the other day on her way to meet Julie for that building that was available in South Charlotte in the pocket of a pair of her jeans when she had gone to start a load of laundry. It had been burning a hole in her pocket for close to a week now, but there had been no good opportunity for her to call in private before now.
So here she sat, the piece of paper in one hand and her phone in the other, feeling like her stomach was in her throat as she anticipated how this conversation was going to go before she even called. She quickly dialed the number and held her breath as she waited for the phone to be picked up on the other end.
"Hello?"
She took a deep breath and sigh of relief that someone had answered, "Um yes, hi. I'm calling inquiring about the commercial building that was available in Charlotte, and wondering if it was still available..."
"Yes it is actually still available."
"Oh great, I was hoping you would say that!"
"Are you in the process of looking for some commercial property?"
"Yes," Brynne nodded, "I owned a bar in Boston, but it um... burned down a couple months ago, and I'm in the process of relocating down here, so I'm looking to rebuild in Charlotte."
"Well it sounds like this could be a fit for what you're looking for – I'm sorry what did you say your name was?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry I got ahead of myself and didn't say, my name is Brynne Matthews..."
"Well Miss Matthews, it's a pleasure speaking with you, why don't we set up a time for you to come down and take a look at the property?"
"That would be great... my schedule is a little hectic for the next couple weeks, I have to be in Las Vegas for a couple days later this week and then my best friend is getting married the week after that, could we possibly set something up for the week after?"
"Yes that works on my end, honestly I haven't had a lot of takers on this property, so I'm glad to hear from you. Why don't you give me a call next week once you know what your schedule will be like and we can set up an exact day and time for the week after?"
Brynne smiled happily, knowing that another piece seemed to be clicking in to place for her, "That sounds wonderful, thank you so much."
"Look forward to speaking to you next week Miss Matthews."
*
Brynne and Julie had never been to Las Vegas before. When they had arrived on Tuesday, they had spent the rest of the day on Tuesday and all of Wednesday doing a bunch of tourist things (besides visiting the casinos). Vegas was definitely a city full of vibrant night life as they'd come to find out over the last few days, staying out both nights until the wee hours of the morning hopping from casino to casino, checking out the different shows they currently had in production, wandering the streets of the Fremont Street Experience checking out the various street performers and live music that each corner had to offer. It was definitely a different vibe than either Julie or Brynne had ever experienced.
But Thursday they couldn't mess around... Thursday was Awards day. The Red Carpet show started at 2:30pm, with the awards ceremony starting at 5pm, so Brynne and Julie woke up early that day to ensure they would have enough time to shower before their 11am hair appointments.
When they arrived back to the hotel from their hair appointment, they woke Junior and Martin up so they could all get dressed and make sure they were ready to go when the limo arrived to pick them up.
Brynne's dress for the banquet was yellow, flirty, and fun... she'd chosen something not so formal after talking to a couple of the other wives who had told her she didn't need to come fully dressed to the nines. So, she had made sure she bought something that was cute, dressy enough and still looked good on her. As she walked out of the bathroom she smiled at Martin and did a little curtsy, "How do I look?"
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
He pulled her body to his and kissed from the base of her neck, following a path up her throat to her ear as he grabbed it between his teeth, "You look stunning baby."
She grinned and ran her hands up and down the lapels of his suit jacket, "Thanks babe. You clean up nice too."
Martin grabbed her hand and pulled her down on his lap in the chair to wait for Julie to finish up so they could head to the Wynn Las Vegas where the banquet was being held.
"Julie should be out any minute, she was just touching up her makeup when I finished up."
It was as if Julie heard Brynne's words as the bathroom door opened again and Julie stepped out in a grey one-shouldered dress that left so much of her milky skin exposed.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Are you trying to kill me babe?"
Julie threw her head back and laughed, "No why would you ask that?"
Junior took his hand and ran it from just above her right breast up her chest to her throat and pulled her head to his in a steamy kiss. "You're not supposed to show this much skin when we have to go places in public together... you know I can't control myself when I see all your bare skin."
"Well you better learn how to babe, because you've got to sit through the whole banquet next to this and not paw at me in front of everyone."
There was a glint of a challenge in his eye as he stared her down, "And if I do make it through the whole thing without laying an inappropriate finger on you, what do I get?"
Julie grinned, "I can probably make it worth your while..."
Martin groaned, "Okay guys let's get out of here..."
As they all headed towards the door of the hotel suite Martin pulled Brynne back a little bit and wrapped his arms around her.
She smiled up at him, wondering what was on his mind. "What's up, babe?"
"You know I love you, right?"
"Of course, you tell me all the time. And I love you, too."
He grinned back at her, "Okay good. Thanks for being here with me today, Brynne. I know being in the public eye isn't exactly your favorite thing, and this whole red carpet awards show thing is going to put you right on primetime TV, but I wouldn't have wanted to go with anyone else or by myself."
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now, Martin."
***
Is it bad that I'm working on the next chapter aka the beginning of the wedding and it's supposed to have a lot of Julie and Dale and all I want to do is have all the cute Martin and Brynne moments?! Gah!
