Gretchen wrapped her now-free arm around Rowe’s waist and laid her head against his shoulder. “Oh yeah, you did good,” she murmured.
“Mel would approve?”
Rowe looked down to see tears sparkling in Gretchen’s light brown eyes. “Damn it, Rowe. You made her so happy, and I love you for that. I know she’d want you to be happy. If Noah makes you feel that way, then hold him tight and be happy. That’s all she’d want for you, honey.”
Pulling her against him, Rowe mumbled, “Thank you,” against her hair.
Gretchen roughly pushed away and wiped her eyes, gathering herself. “Enough of this. I’ve got to get Melody out of this cold. Did you bring it?”
Rowe lifted the Tupperware container in his other hand and Gretchen laughed.
“What is that?” Noah asked.
Removing the lid with a little flourish, he revealed a slice of pumpkin pie. “Courtesy of Ian.”
“What? No whipped cream?” Gretchen teased.
Dropping the lid on the ground, Rowe reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a tube. He gave the container a few good shakes before he bit the lid and pulled it off. Depressing the nozzle, he sprayed a healthy dollop of whipped cream onto the slice of pie.
Gretchen tsked besides him. “Ian would have a fit if he knew you were putting that processed shit on his pie.”
“Well, Ian can get his ass out of bed next year and bring the good shit,” Rowe said.
With a maniacal chuckle, Gretchen reached into a back pocket of her faded jeans and pulled out a fork, the silver shining in the murky fall sunlight.
Rowe jerked the container back, clutching it to his body while turning to hold it a distance from Gretchen and her fork. “Whoa! You said this pie was for Mel.”
“Well, I didn’t mean all of it! This is pie made by Ian freaking Pierce. I’m getting at least a bite. Mel would totally understand.”
Rowe laughed, the sound echoing over the hills of the vast cemetery. “She would not! She’d tell you to get your own damn piece. Pumpkin was her favorite.”
“I will stab you with this fork and feed you to my daughter, Rowan Ward! Don’t hold out on me.”
He glared at his sister-in-law for a couple of seconds, struggling to hold back his smile, before he finally gave in. “Fine. Just a bite.”
With a squeal, she dug her fork into the pie and pushed aside the first bite with the tip. “We’ll save Mel the wish,” she murmured before cutting a second small bite. She moaned when she put it into her mouth, her eyes rolling back into her head. “I swear, I think Ian just laces everything with crack; it’s so damn good and addictive.” Rowe really couldn’t argue. The guy was brilliant in the kitchen. Gretchen went to cut another bite and Rowe tugged the container away, but she caught his arm. She held up the next bite for him and Rowe took it. The pie was still as good as the night before when Ian had made it fresh. Yeah, the whipped cream wasn’t as good as his homemade stuff, but there was no masking the awesomeness of the pie filling or the buttery goodness of the crust.
While Rowe was still lost in the bliss of pumpkin pie, Gretchen cut another bite and carefully carried it over to Noah who was still holding Melody while watching them with a sweet smile. The man hesitated, his eyes looking at Rowe as if questioning whether he should accept. Rowe gave the barest nod, trying to ignore the lump that had formed in his throat. Noah let Gretchen feed him the pie and he moaned as the flavors hit his tongue.
Gretchen placed a little of the pumpkin filling on her finger and brushed it against her daughter’s lips who greedily licked it up.
“That’s lovely. Getting your daughter addicted to Ian’s cooking early,” Rowe teased when he was sure he could speak with a steady voice.
“It’ll drive her to be successful. Ian’s cooking will never be cheap.”
Gretchen took the Tupperware from Rowe and placed it in front of the headstone. As she straightened, she patted the cold granite and sniffed once. “Miss you, sweetie. Black Friday shopping just ain’t the same without you threatening the little old ladies.”
Rowe stood back, his eyes going over the letters of Mel’s name etched into the headstone. It was hard to imagine her buried under the earth there. But then, she wasn’t there. The earth couldn’t contain her. Melissa Ward had been pure energy and laughter and mischief. She was a brilliant light dazzling him every time she walked into the room. And his world would never be the same without her. Even after almost a year, he still thought about her every day, wondered what she’d think of Snow and Jude together or how she’d prod Lucas into pulling himself back together and proposing to Andrei.