Let It Be (Butler, Vermont #6) - Marie Force Page 0,44
some from his and a great many of them were theirs, made by their kids in school or purchased as mementos from trips or events that make up a life.
His grandchildren took good care of him, always doting on him and making sure he had what he needed. If it were up to him, he wouldn’t have bothered with a Christmas tree since he lost his Sarah. But the kids had insisted he needed it, and because he had a long track record of giving his eighteen grandchildren whatever they wanted, he’d ceded to their wishes. They were good kids, every one of them, and he couldn’t be prouder of them.
His sons, both quite a bit older than Molly and Hannah, had never married or had kids, and had moved out of state years ago to pursue careers in public safety. His older daughter was married but didn’t have children. He was thankful his youngest girls had stayed in Butler to raise their families, which had kept Elmer involved in the daily lives of his grandchildren as they grew up.
The events of the day had brought back so many memories, including the day Molly had stepped off the bus from Mississippi, holding hands with the good-looking young man from Philadelphia, and introduced him as her boyfriend. Elmer chuckled to himself at the visceral reaction he’d had to Linc’s arrival in Butler—and how wrong he’d been about his future son-in-law.
He’d never told anyone how wrong he’d been, but Sarah had known, because she was the one who’d told him he had it all wrong. Elmer had liked Mike Coleman, the man Hannah had married, from the get-go, but he’d been suspicious of Linc Abbott. He certainly understood what Linc saw in his beautiful Molly, but what did a guy with a Yale MBA and a fancy Philadelphia pedigree want with tiny Butler, Vermont, and Elmer’s small-town family business?
Elmer had been hard on the guy for months, waiting for him to show his true colors, but all he’d seen was a genuine young man on fire with ambition and a desire to contribute to the business. And, he’d had to grudgingly admit, he saw how much Lincoln loved Molly.
Then the kids had gone to Philadelphia, where Linc’s father dropped the hammer on him. Elmer would never forget the two of them returning to Butler, looking like survivors of a natural disaster.
They’d arrived at dinnertime, and Elmer had seen from the first second they walked in the door that something was terribly wrong. For one thing, they’d lost the sparkle they both had when they were together. For another, they were unusually quiet. It’d taken an hour or maybe two to get the story out of them, and afterward, the four of them had sat in shocked silence so loud it had roared in Elmer’s ears.
To this day, he still had no idea how a man could do such a thing to his own child. He’d been a bit extreme in his protectiveness of his precious daughters, but never once had he forced them to choose between him and something or someone else they wanted.
“Daddy,” Molly had said that night, taking him aside in the kitchen while Linc was in the living room with Sarah. “I want you to do something for me. It’s something big and important and probably not something you particularly want to do, but it’s something I need.”
“Anything, sweetheart.” At that moment, he would’ve given anything to see her smile again.
“I need you to marry us. Right now. Tonight. I want Linc to know he has a new family, me and you and Mama and Hannah and Mike and the children we’re going to have. We’re his family now, and we’ll never turn our backs on him.”
She was so fiercely beautiful in her outrage and in her love for Linc. “You need a license, sweetheart.”
“We’ll take care of that tomorrow. Please, Daddy. I know you’re still not sure about Linc, but I love him so much, and…” Her eyes filled with tears. “Please.”
He was powerless to deny her this or anything she wanted, especially when she’d been so deeply hurt by people he’d never meet or know. “Of course, love. It’d be an honor, and I like Linc. I don’t want you to think I don’t.”
“But you’re not sure he’s right for me.”
“No, I’m sure he’s right for you. I’m just not sure he’s right for Butler and the life he’s decided he wants here.”