Mari's ANs: Sammy and Ilna, love you to the moon

Sammy's ANs: Mari and Ilna-you guys are the best. Thanks for all the love and support McRollers

REAL McRollers and Readers, thanks doesn't seem like enough, but thank you always.

Springboard (1/2)

As the hats landed in a torrent amongst the outstretched arms of the graduates, the entire family rose to their feet, clapping and cheering wildly. When Grace finally extricated herself from the excited hugs of her fellow graduates and reached them, she was immediately engulfed in even more hugs.

"Bravo, mio amore!" Nonna enthusiastically pulled her into an embrace.

"Great job, Grace!" DJ shouted, throwing his hands up in celebration, his grin infectious.

"Way to go, Gracel!" Mary beamed, echoing Joan and Aaron.

Embracing her daughter tightly, Rachel couldn't hold back tears of happiness. "I'm so proud of you, darling."

When she reached them, she beamed at her aunt and uncle. "I did it!" she exclaimed, shining, unshed tears of joy mingling with her radiant smile as she wrapped her arms around Catherine then turned to Steve who lifted her off her feet in a hug while Angie cheered for her cousin.

After greeting everyone and turning to Danny, the tears that had been shining in her eyes spilled over.

"I don't even have words for how proud I am," he said as he hugged her tightly. "Congratulations to my monkey, Danno loves you," he whispered and a fresh wave of tears spilled over her cheeks.

"I couldn't have done it without you, you know," Grace pulled back and sniffed lightly when her father wiped a tear with his thumb. "I love you. So much." She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

Danny cleared his throat and smiled. "What do you say we get over to Ko Olina? I'm excited to celebrate my brilliant daughter's degree."

"Definitely!" The brand new graduate beamed, looping an arm through her dad's. "Let's go!"

KO Olina Banquet Room

Angie, Joan and DJ ran up to Grace, the second they got through the doors of the banquet room. "Congratulations again!" DJ exclaimed.

He looked around the room.

"It looks great in here." He shot his cousin a cheeky grin that reminded her so much of Steve. "Almost as good as if you had planned the party."

She kissed the top of his head. "Thank you. But let's make that opinion our little secret."

"You did a very awesome job!" Angie added, throwing her arms around her cousin in a hug. "Did you hear us cheering? We were very, very loud."

"I totally heard you guys," she said, removing her cap and placing it on Angie's head. "Do you remember wearing my high school cap when you were really little? You ran around the party with it falling down to your nose."

Angie giggled and smiled while Danny took a picture of her and the graduate. "My head got bigger now, so it didn't fall off," she said before giving it back.

"I love how you decorated your hat," Joan said after another hug. "The outlines of New Jersey and Hawaii helped us find you."

"Giving props to your past and present. Perfect," Aaron said as he took photos of Grace with Joan, DJ and Angie.

"We found Kendra because she had a horse and musical notes," Angie said. "And we found Linda because she had New Jersey and Hawaii too!"

Catherine smiled when she pulled Grace in for a hug, her eyes shining. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. We all are. I love you."

Grace hugged her aunt. "Thank you, Auntie Cath. For everything, always. I love you."

Steve cleared his throat and opened his arms. When she stepped into the hug, whispering, "Uncle Steve …I don't even know what to say to thank you for being there for me, every day … since before we even met."

"Gracie," Steve stopped, cleared the lump in his throat and tried again. "Sweetheart, you're the best. Never, ever forget that, or that I've got your back, forever." He kissed her head. "I couldn't be more proud of you. You're gonna keep doing great things, because it's who you are. This is just a springboard."

The congratulations continued until Grace had seen all the guests and Danny, flanked by Gabby, Rachel, Stan and Charles, announced, "Thank you all for being here to celebrate Grace's graduation. And also Linda's and Kendra's. Because if there's one thing we believe in around here it's that friends are family and family is everything. Welcome everyone and as Nonna would say, Mangia!"

"Thanks for including us in your celebration," Zach Blacksone, Kendra's father, said to Steve and Catherine. "We have a family party planned when we get back to Montana but I know Kendra really wanted a chance to celebrate with Grace and Linda and the people she calls her 'island family'."

"She really loves it here," Kendra's mother Willie said with a wistful smile.

"We love Kendra," Catherine said. "We're going to miss her so much but I'm sure you'll be glad to have her home."

Zach and Willie shared a look that made Catherine worry she might have said the wrong thing.

I'm sorry," she said. "I just assumed Kendra was heading home to Montana."

"She is," Willie said. "For about six weeks. Then she's headed back here. She was offered a position in the development program for the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. She starts in mid-July."

"That's amazing!" Catherine said. "That's a very competitive program. You must be so proud."

"We are," Willie said.

"But I'm sure you were looking forward to having her a little closer to home," Steve said.

Zach nodded. "We definitely were. But it softens the blow a little when we see how happy she is here. And how well she fits in. There's no symphony orchestra in our little town in Montana. We knew she was going to have to move away to pursue her dream. At least here we know she's surrounded by people who care about her."

"She absolutely is," Steve said.

"I guess we'll be wracking up those frequent flier miles for the foreseeable future," Willie chuckled.

"There are worse places to have to go to visit your child," Zach said.

"Well the two of you have always got a place to stay if you need one," Catherine offered. "We'd love to have you."

Grace was standing next to Gabby when Danny came up to say, "It feels like just yesterday you were running around in diapers." He chuckled, kissing her temple.

"We were just talking about the time you introduced us," Grace reminisced, "You were crazy nervous and made everyone meet us at the restaurant for backup." She shared a smile with Gabby. "Which of course you didn't need, because Gabby was awesome and we totally liked each other right away. She helped me make a shell picture, remember?"

"I remember every second," Danny answered with a soft smile before pecking Gabby's cheek. "And now you gang up on me all the time," he laughed. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

TBC Wednesday

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