The Marriage Contract, Natasha Black [thriller books to read .TXT] 📗

had to remind myself that there were people in the world who were actually genuine and didn’t always think about themselves first. Maybe she was just truly happy for us.

When she walked in, she kissed Matt and then turned toward me. I noticed something wrapped in fabric with a thick satin ribbon around it in her arms.

“Can I make everybody some tea?” I asked.

“That sounds good,” Matt said, and I headed for the kitchen.

When I got there, I realized I hadn’t even said hi to her. I hadn’t hugged her or anything. I had just dissed my mother-in-law. This was getting off to a smooth start.

I made the tea and piled it onto a tray with cups, honey, milk, and a plate of cookies I wished I’d baked but had actually just tipped out of a bag. Matt and Mrs. Anderson were sitting in the living room talking when I walked out, and she looked up at me with a warm smile. At least we had gotten over the awkward greeting hurdle.

Setting the tray down on the table, I poured a cup for her first, then one for Matt before making a cup for myself. Augmenting it with plenty of honey, I scooped up several of the gingersnaps and headed for the chair beside the couch.

“No, Chloe, come sit beside me,” Mrs. Anderson said, patting the cushion beside her.

I complied and settled in between her and Matt where he sat in the opposite chair. She took a sip of her tea, then nibbled at one of the cookies.

“I love gingersnaps,” she said.

“So do I,” I told her. “They’re my favorite. When I was little, everybody around me always wanted chocolate chip, but I wanted the gingersnaps. The spicier, the better. That wasn’t so popular when it came time for sharing desserts at lunch.”

Matt’s mother laughed. “More for you, though.” She set the cup down in front of her and picked up the object she had been carrying when she came in. When it was on her lap, I noticed it wasn’t actually wrapped in fabric, but made of fabric. She rested both hands on it and looked at me with emotion in her eyes. “I brought you something.”

“What is it?” Matt asked.

She put it into my lap, and I untied the ribbon. Unfolding the fabric, I discovered a beautiful quilt.

“I have given every one of my sons and their wives something special when they got married. Each gift has been something their father and I got as wedding gifts when we got married. I saved this one for last. This is the quilt my mother made for us. It was on our bed for many years. Then I started displaying it instead. Now, it’s yours,” she said.

I choked up looking at the quilt. It was so pretty, and the fabric was soft and pliable from the many years of use. I couldn’t believe she was giving it to us. Something like this must have been so incredibly precious to her.

“This is so sweet,” I said. “Thank you so much.”

Matt stood up to hug his mother, and a wave of the weird feelings came back. It felt a little wrong accepting the quilt. It was something extremely special to her, something that reminded her of her beloved husband and the time they spent together. She thought she was giving it to her son as a cherished wedding gift, something for us to pass down to our children. It felt like the biggest deceit so far.

But she looked so happy. I couldn’t take that away from her.

“Are you ready for lunch?” Matt asked. “Or do you want to just eat gingersnaps?”

She laughed, brushing away a tear from under her eye. I was relieved and glad for Matt. He knew how to seamlessly handle an emotional moment and move on from it.

“Lunch sounds good,” his mother said.

“Chloe?” Matt said.

I nodded. “I’m famished.

“Perfect. Then let’s go,” he said.

We ended up at a little hole-in-the-wall burger place with a banner outside that announced “Portland’s Finest.” It didn’t specify whether the restaurant itself was the finest in Portland, which seemed an overly confident proclamation to say the least, or if they just had the finest burgers in the city. But I was willing to give them a whirl.

“We’re not going to tell Tyler that we came here,” Matt said when we were sitting down at a booth on one side of the restaurant.

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “I heard he has an affinity for burgers.”

“To say the least,” Matt said with a laugh. “But I have to admit he probably does make the best burger in Astoria. Some of the specials he comes up with are pretty amazing.”

“Why hasn’t he given you any of those recipes?” I asked, remembering the dinner he made a couple of weeks back.

“Those he will hold on to until he is lying dead in his grave,” Matt told me. “He’ll let us experiment with anything else, but the burgers are sacred.”

I laughed and noticed Mrs. Anderson smiling at us. We both looked at her for a few seconds.

“Mom?” Matt said.

She straightened up a little like she was startled to have been caught. “I’m sorry. The two of you are just so cute together. It makes me happier than I can possibly tell you to see it. Not too long ago, I felt like my whole world was coming down around me. Dealing with cancer and watching my husband go through it, then surviving but losing him. Seeing how stressed my boys were and how hard they were trying to pull together and make things easier.”

“Of course we did,” Matt said. “We would have done anything for you and Dad.”

“I know you would have,” she said. “And because you did, look how far you all have come. The bar in Astoria is thriving and getting more successful by the day. You were able to open the other location here in Portland, and it’s already making a name for itself. It’s incredible to see