Amazing Grace

"Oh wow," I breathed a sigh of relief, dropping my suitcase at my feet. "This is great!"

"Don't stop there," Taylor scolded me, nearly tripping over my luggage. "The rest of us would like to get inside, especially those who are still freezing their ass off."

"Well, if yours had more meat on it, you probably wouldn't be so cold." I picked up my suitcase and stepped out of the foyer of his Aunt's house, a beautifully constructed wood cabin. A welcoming fire crackled in the corner of an expansive living room, making shadows and light dance across the beamed walls and ceiling. I took a seat on the edge of a large coffee table that sat in front of the fire, removed my gloves, and fanned my fingers a few inches away from the toasty flames.

"Not much, but it's home," Claire stepped past Taylor, pointing towards a hallway. "Maggie, third door on the left. Taylor, second couch to the right."

"Couch?" He turned to his aunt with eyes that would make a puppy-dog cry.

"Yes," she repeated firmly. "Bathroom's the same though, second on the left, but no funny business in there either or I'll tan your hides.."

"Yes ma'am," he replied sullenly.

"You got that Maggie?" Claire turned, expecting me to be standing next to Taylor. "Maggie?"

"Oh, over here," I turned toward them, waving. As I raised my arm, my elbow knocked into something hard next to me.

"Jesus, no!!" Claire cried, running in my direction.

Crash. Looking down, I noticed several pieces of porcelin shattered near my feet, sticking out of a gray powdery pile of.. well, something.

"Oh my God," Claire sobbed, falling to her knees on the floor at my feet. "Maggie, you didn't!"

"Didn't what?" Noticing some of the dust had gotten on my boots, I bent down and brushed them off. My heart broke as tears spilled down her cheeks and she fingered the broken porcelain pieces. As she whispered,

"That was Aunt Cecil." I nearly fell off the coffee table.

"Oh my God," I sobbed, sinking onto the floor. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sure it was an accident," Claire offered me a tight-lipped smile as she tried to recover from her initial shock. My eyes searching the room for possibilities, I noticed an ashpan near the fireplace.

"Here," I stood up and grasped the wrought iron between my fingers. "Let me.. help you sweep.. 'it' up."

"I don't think it's that simple." Taylor grabbed the ashpan from my hand, obviously trying not to smile. I wanted to kick him 'where the sun don't shine,' for that reaction, if you know what I mean.

"I'll take care of it." Aunt Claire said firmly. "Just.. don't help."

"Come on, Maggie. I'll help you unpack." Grabbing my suitcase, Taylor gestured for me to follow him down the main hall. Tears glistening in my eyes, I stood up and followed him, glancing back at Claire's silhouetted shape against the fire.

"Are you sure I can't help?" I asked her quietly.

"No!" She cried abruptly. "I mean - yes. Just go unpack. I'll figure something out."

"I am..." I muttered to myself as I followed Taylor into a bright, sunny yellow bedroom. ".. a horrible person."

"Not horrible," Taylor smiled from his seat on the twin-sized bed, patting the comforter next to him as a guesture for me to sit down. "Just extremely clumsy."

"I'm so sorry," I apologized, sitting down and facing him with tears in my eyes. "Your family is going to hate me."

"Hey," he took my hands, rubbing the back of them gently with his thumbs. "No they won't."

"Yes they will," I sniffed, indignant. "Your dead aunt's ashes are spread all over the living room because of me!"

"Well, she wanted them spread in Canada," Taylor joked, squeezing my hands lightly. "Maybe she should've been more specific as to where."

"So not funny." I warned him with a glare.

"It's ok.. they'll love you. Just like I love you." I relaxed as he looked warmly into my eyes. "My family is very forgiving, you'd be surprised."

"How so?" I tested him.

"Well.. " He thought for a moment, then grinned. "One year Uncle Earl, Claire's husband, let Zac drive his riding lawn mower to cut the grass. Zac, who was eight, drove it all right - right into the lake."

"That's not true," I couldn't help but smile.

"It is, I swear." His eyes twinkled at the memory. "About ten people ran after Zac when they realized where he was heading, but it was too late. When the water hit the gas engine, it poured black smoke all over the neighborhood. It was so thick, it looked like fog but smelled awful."

"And nobody hated him for it." Dropping one of my hands to cup his hand under my chin, he softly rubbed his thumb against my cheek. "Accidents happen, though Mom and Dad grounded Zac for a month, but to this day they've never let him mow the yard."

"Oh gawd," I gasped, for his parents' reaction hadn't occurred to me yet. "What are they going to say when they find out?"

"That you're probably on your way to being one of the family," Taylor grinned, leaning forward and giving me a light kiss.

"I'm sorry," I broke away with a sigh, glancing down at my hands and picking at the sleeve edges on my sweater.

"Aunt Cecil will forgive you, don't worry." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "For the fourteeth time."

"No, sorry about everything." I sighed again, throwing my hands up in the air with frustration. "The plane trip, getting lost at the airport, Aunt Cecil - this isn't turning out to be a fun mini-vacation."

"Contrary to the popular belief, Mags," Taylor assured me gently. "As long as I'm with you, it's fun. I'm just glad you're here with me, instead of anyone else."

"Really?" Raising my eyes to his, I felt a wave of comfort wash over me.

"Really." His eyes twinkled as he added, "Believe me, as many times as I've flown, I've never had such an .. 'entertaining' flight, for starters."

"Very funny." I retorted with a grin. "Should've stopped on the really, I was about to kiss you."

"Well, it's the least I deserve," he decided, the ego obviously puffing up like a blowfish. "Making me be all supportive like that."

"I appreciate it the sincerity and humbleness as well, Mr. Sensitivity." To prove it, I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my lips and chest against his as a way of saying thank you.

"Ahem," the two of us broke apart immediately, finding Claire standing in the doorway of the bedroom with her arms crossed and a disapproving frown on her face.

"Sorry," Taylor apologized first. "I was just.. trying to make Maggie feel better."

"Mmm-hmm," She sent him a look that said she didn't buy it for a second. "If you don't mind the interruption, Taylor you need to practice. The old piano is in the back room."

"Good idea," I hid a smile as Taylor looked anything but excited at that idea. Remembering his comment about the piano not being tuned, this was potential for boyfriend tormenting, so I offered,

"I'll be your audience."

"Try not to throw a retainer at me," at least that pulled his lips into a smile.

"Didn't pack one," I started to say when Claire interrupted me.

"Maggie, why don't you help me in the kitchen - I need to talk to you anyways."

Uh-oh. I glanced nervously at Taylor as I followed her out the room.

"So..." I started, taking a seat behind the kitchen island and perching my elbows on top the laminate surface. "What's up?"

"What are your feelings toward my nephew Taylor?" I nearly fell off my stool.

Last thing I expected her to ask.

"Well.." I started, giving the answer some thought. "What do you mean?"

"I think it's a pretty straight-forward question." She smiled, taking a seat next to me. I glanced into her warm brown eyes, wondering where this was coming from.

"That's the problem," I grinned jokingly. She didn't return the smile, just rolled her eyes and offered,

"Quit stalling, Maggie."

Damn, she saw right through that. Glancing at nothing in particular on the counter, with a slight blush coming to my cheeks and a smile to my lips, I decided to answer truthfully, from the heart:

"I love him very much. He means the world to me." I stared directly into her eyes as the words seemed to form themselves and jump out of my mouth.

"Good answer," she smiled, softening.

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Taylor's.. dated a lot of women." She replied, her voice quiet and subdued. It also sounded as if she'd carefully chosen each word.

"And he's been hurt. Many times." I frowned as she continued with a sad smile, unsure of why she was offering me this information. "He's only brought one other girl up here to meet all of us.. She hurt him most of all."

"When was this?" I asked tentatively, not sure if I wanted the answer.

"About three years ago. Her name was.. Angela, I think." Claire cleared her throat. "Anyways, I'm asking because she, apparently like the rest of them, didn't give a polar bear's patootie about his feelings, just the label of what he was."

"Patootie?" Despite the conversation topic, I cracked a tiny smile. Didn't last too long, unfortunately.

"I know it's not my business, but that's crap," I sighed, my smile fading. "Actually, I'd met -and developed an incredibly huge, girly crush on- Taylor a few years before that, but wanted nothing to do with him by the time they were famous."

"Really?" She glanced at me with surprise in her eyes.

"Yeah." Well, not for that reason, but she doesn't need all the sordid details.

"Somehow he ended up in my life again last year, and the same feelings were there." I babbled nervously. "Well, not the same, they were different - stronger, I mean."

"I don't know what it is.. sorry to get mushy, but there's just something about him. The more time we spend together, even if doing nothing at all, the more I care about him." Surprised at my confession, I blushed and looked down at my hands, remembering his comforting words earlier.

"Sometimes you just know," she smiled, a reminicent look appearing on her face. "Earl and I were that way. We got engaged after our third date, God Bless him.."

"Wow," I smiled. "I can't imagine that. He must have been very special."

"That he was. Anyways, I've seen how Taylor looks at you. I just hope.." She paused to emphatically clasp her hand over mine. "That you don't hurt him, Maggie."

"Uhh.." I didn't know how to respond to that. "It's not like I'm going to do that on purpose-"

"Just keep it in the back of your mind, dear." She cut me off, leaving me with nothing to respond to that either. Fortunately, her change of subject felt like a breath of fresh air.

"Anyways, lectures aside, what I want your help with is figuring out what to serve for the reception following the funeral service." Claire offered me a knowing smile. "Taylor said you were rather.. fond of food."

"Now that I can do," I threw her a weak grin, wondering where the hell this had come from. It was probably best I didn't know any more about Angela, since I already wanted to claw the bitch's eyes out with my bare hands.

 "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,    

I clasped my hand over my mouth at the gasp that threated to escape at the first words of Taylor's somber voice. If there was one thing I took for granted, even to the point of ridiculing him, it was a fact that the boy had been blessed with an incredible voice. Everyone in the room seemed to sense the same as me, hanging on how his voice wrapped around each word, otherwise a pin dropping would've deafened us all.

Dressed in a black suit and matching tie, all it took was his simple glance around the room. As his eyes settled on mine, those normally sparkling blue were now steely gray and somber, my heart tugged, building a lump in my throat that I knew would cause an avalanche of tears the second it dissolved (and it was only the first verse).

That saved a wretch like me....

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now, I see.

T'was Grace that taught...

my heart to fear.

And Grace, my fears relieved.

How precious did that Grace appear...

the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares...

we have already come.

T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...

and Grace will lead us home.

The Lord has promised good to me...

His word my hope secures.

He will my shield and portion be...

as long as life endures.

When we've been here ten thousand years...

bright shining as the sun.

We've no less days to sing God's praise...

then when we've first begun.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,    

That saved a wretch like me....

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now, I see.

"Taylor.." He'd stolen the voice from my dry mouth, so I merely mouthed his name as he took the seat on my right. Glancing at him, a single tear quivered slightly on the corner of my right eye before tickling my cheek as it slid down toward my chin. I dabbed at it with the Kleenex I'd earlier tucked into my purse, then reached over and grabbed his hand. He smiled briefly, sadly though, squeezed it gently, then released it and bent his head down in prayer. Complying with the rest of the congregation, I following suit in the prayer, making a mental note to talk to him later.

"Yup, earlier flight." I overheard Taylor say into his cell phone, wondering who he was talking to as he paced aimlessly around the back porch. Pacing was a habit he'd apparently picked up many years ago, as a result of severe impatience and bundled up energy. 'Antsy feet,' as Avery liked to call it.

"Yeah, we're going to get a hotel downtown, so Aunt Claire doesn't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn and drive us to Pearson." Hearing my giggles at his description, Taylor glanced up and waved for me to come into the room.

"Thanks for telling Mom and Dad, Zac." He paused, glancing at me with an interesting look after some comment from Zac. "Sure it will.. Glad you had fun on your date. 'Bye."

"Zac had a date?" was the first surprised question out of my mouth.

"Yeah," Taylor grinned in response. "You'll never guess who it was with either."

"Alex?" I practically screeched. Taylor winced, pretending to cover his ears at the loud sound.

"Ok, so you guessed it, just don't blow my eardrums out."

"Shut up," I playfully punched his arm. "Zac went out with Alex?"

"Do you want me to shut up or tell you?" Taylor asked jokingly.

"Tell me!" I demanded with interest. "I'd like to know how he swung that."

"Probably just asked her, I dunno." He shrugged. "Must have been the infamous Hanson charm.. no girl is powerless against it."

"Right," I snorted at his obviously over-inflated ego. "What's the real reason?"

"I don't know." He repeated. "Zac didn't say too much about it, so just get the girly details out of him when we get back.. Why all the interest?"

"Guilt," I admitted quietly. "I just want him to be happy."

"Then he should stay single," Taylor joked, his eyes flashing.

"Now that's not very nice," I pretended to pout, turning my back to him. He startled me, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my stomach, hugging me tightly.

"Hi." I smiled at him.

"Hi yourself," his words washed warmly over my left ear, sending shivers down my spine and a wider smile across my lips. The two of us stood, his arms around me, in silence for a few seconds, looking out the full length windows at the perfect view of a half-moon reflected in the lake Claire's house bordered. Everything was so quiet, peaceful, perfect - until I interrupted it.

"Are you all right?" I asked softly, twisting around to face him.

"I think so," he replied lightly. "Why?"

"In the service this morning..." I started.

"Just a little sad." The same somber look cast across his face, bringing the tugging feeling back into my chest. Not knowing what else to do, I enveloped him in my arms, locking my elbows against his waist and sliding my palms up his back. It must've surprised him at first, because he stood motionless, then wrapped his arms around my back as I nestled my cheek on his shoulder and forehead against his neck.

"Hmm," he sighed after a few seconds embracing in silence, blowing a few stray brown strands of my hair across my forehead.

"Hmm, what?" I lifted my head to shake the hairs out of my eyes.

"Stay there," he replied, tightening his arms around me. "It feels nice... thank you."

"Umm.. you're welcome." Returning the hug was the least I could do if it made him feel better.

"So.." I mused after a few seconds of more silence. "What's this about an earlier flight?"

"Oh, that's a surprise," was the only hint Taylor gave me. If it's one thing I've learned since they've been back in my life, it's not to trust that word from anyone with the last name Hanson.