Page 84 of Parker

“Of course,” says Harper, pointing to the back of the dance floor. “She’s dancing with Wren.”

Sure enough, there’s Reeve in jeans and a wool sweater, holding Wren on her hip, and swaying to the sounds of ’40s jazz.

“Think she’ll stop being mad at me anytime soon?”

Sensing a sister-to-sister conversation he doesn’t need to attend, Quinn unlocks his arm from around my waist.

“There’s Sawyer,” he says. “I’m gonna go grab a beer and say ‘hey’ to him, okay? Come find me later for a dance.” He kisses my temple. “I love you, baby.” Then he adds, “Love ya, Harp.”

“Love ya, Quinn,” she says before turning back to me. “He’s a good egg.”

“Wasn’t always.”

“Is now.”

“Yeah,” I say, tracking his progress to the bar, then to Sawyer. My heart swells with love for him, and it feels so right, so good, and so warm, I want to feel it for the rest of my life. “Yeah, he is.”

“As for Reeve?” Harper says. “I don’t know. It’s not as simple as her not accepting Quinn. She’s mad at you for changing your feelings so fast, yes, but it’s more than that. She’s the last one single. The dynamics of her whole family are changing. She’s struggling, and yeah, because you’re the last one, she’s extra mad at you. Give her time. She’ll come around.”

I roll my eyes, but Harper’s words make sense, and they’re a balm to my anxiety over Reeve. I won’t bother her tonight. I’ll give her time and space.

She’ll come around. She’ll come around.

“The Twelfth Street Rag” winds down, and someone pauses the music.

Tanner and McKenna climb up on a coffee table together, Tanner banging a wooden spoon against a frying pan to get everyone’s attention. This will be commonplace throughout the night—at least ten more people will pick up the spoon and the frying pan to get everyone’s attention and make a toast or tell a little story about Gran.

“Gran!” calls Tanner from his perch over everyone’s head. “You know I love you!”

Gran waves at him, grinning from ear to ear.

The crowd roars with approval.

“I love you, too, Gran!” echoes McKenna.

“And next year,” says Tanner, putting his arm around his wife’s tiny shoulders, “there’ll be one more Stewart at this party. We don’t know if it’s a boy or girl yet, but we do know they’re gonna love you just as much as we do!”

McKenna beams at Gran, placing her hands lovingly over her still-flat tummy and nodding to everyone with tears in her eyes.

“Are you giving me another great-grandchild?” demands Gran.

“We sure are!” confirms Tanner.

The entire room erupts with applause as Tanner helps McKenna off the coffee table so Gran can cover both of their faces in kisses. As Art Mooney sings “Baby Face,” a bunch of eager hoofers take to the dance floor.

“No surprise there,” says Harper, throwing back a glass of champagne. “They’ve been trying for a while.”

“There sure was a lot of canoodling going on,” I say. “You know, I thoughtyoumight be expecting.”

“Me?” She holds up her empty glass. “No way. Not yet. We want to have a few years with Wren before we try again. And we’re still hoping to meet Moriah Raven one day.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Real good. We love getting updates from the Calvins. Makes us feel more connected. And someday, if she wants to meet us, we won’t have missed so much of her life, you know?”

“Yeah,” I say, putting my arm around my sister’s shoulders. “You’re amazing, Harp.”

“Love you, Park. And as long as I’mnotknocked up yet, I need a refill. Catch you later?”