She looked down at her hand, still resting in his. “A part of me says I made a big mistake with George,” she said, “and I don’t want to repeat it.”
“Of course not. That’s the thing about mistakes—we learn from them, so that we can make better decisions next time.”
When all was said and done, she was curious about his family too. “How about lunch then?” she suggested, then laughed.
“I’d say lunch, but they’ll say dinner,” he said.
“They are really pushing it, aren’t they?” But a note of humor was in her voice. She laughed again, a nervous one, and said, “Why not? It’d be nice to get out and to socialize a little bit. But you have to give them a warning that we aren’t together-together, okay?”
“Got it,” he said. He pulled out his phone, quickly dialed his grandfather, and asked Jessica, “So, how about today?”
Jessica gasped, not expecting that. She couldn’t believe how fast things were moving.
Greyson shrugged, while his grandfather crowed in delight. “Dinner,” he said, “barbecued ribs. We’ve already got them marinating. We’ll expect you at four o’clock.” And, just like that, his grandfather hung up.
Greyson laughed. “That is very much my grandparents.”
“And, from what I can see,” she said, “you’re a chip off the old block.”
He smiled and said, “We have a lot in common. And being raised by them, well—”
“Got it,” she said.
“So I guess our steaks can marinate overnight, and we’ll have them tomorrow night and if that doesn’t work out they are fine for another day too.”
“Oh, right. Or maybe you can add them to your grandparents’ barbecue tonight? Since I don’t have a grill but they do. It’s up to you.” He nodded. “I can guarantee we won’t need them there. My grandmother loves to cook and there’s always lots.”
She glanced at her watch. “So, what will we do for the rest of the day?”
“Hang low and hopefully get more intel,” he said immediately. “Speaking of which, I want to take a look outside. Stay inside—locked in, please.” With that, he disappeared.
She watched as he walked out the door. Danny was in front of the TV, watching some of his favorite cartoons. She picked up her coffee, walked over, and sat down beside him. Immediately the toddler crawled over and curled up in her lap. She held him close, knowing that, regardless of the danger, this time of his life would happen and would go by very fast. She wanted to enjoy every moment of it, and she didn’t want to think too much about her upcoming dinner with Greyson’s grandparents.
It just boggled her mind that she would meet his family tonight, this afternoon really. At the same time, it was also kind of cute, and she loved the fact that he was close to them. It still seemed odd to be included. She sat here, relaxing, knowing that he was out and about, doing whatever he could to track down their early morning visitor.
Just then her phone rang. She groaned when she saw who it was. “Hey, sis,” she said. “What’s up?”
“Mom,” she said in exasperation. “What else? She’s really on a rant now.”
“What is it this time?”
“She heard on the news that a stalker was in your area,” her sister said. “She’s been trying to get a hold of George to tell him that you want to go back to him.”
Jessica froze. “What?”
“She’s already trying,” her sister said grimly.
“Well, that’s going way too far,” she said. “There’s a reason why I split with George.”
“And she thinks that you’re not safe and can’t look after yourself.”
“Well, that’s just too damn bad,” she said. “Let’s get off the phone. I’m calling Mom.” Furious, Jessica hung up on her sister and quickly dialed her mother. When her mother answered, Jessica snapped, “What’s this about you trying to contact George?”
“Well, it’s obvious that you can’t be trusted to look after that little boy on your own,” she said. “A stalker is in your area, for God’s sake.”
“So you thought to take it upon yourself,” she said in a dangerously low voice, “to call my ex, to tell him that I wanted to go back to him?”
Her mother, as if suddenly realizing that maybe she’d gone a little too far, immediately tried to backtrack. “Well, I was just seeing how he was. For all you know, he’s remarried. He’s a good man, Jessica.”
“No. He was not a good man, not for me,” Jessica snapped. “And, for your information, he’s dead.” And, with that, she hung up.
She sat here, steaming mad, realizing that she had sworn in front of Danny, something she had always promised herself she wouldn’t do. She had completely lost it at that moment, but thankfully Danny wasn’t listening. Except everything she’d read on children’s cognitive abilities said that he was taking everything in regardless. She groaned and sank back.
He turned and patted her cheek. “Mommy?”
“Mommy is fine, sweetheart.”
Of course she was lying; another thing she promised she wouldn’t do. But how did she explain to a toddler that she was infuriated with his grandmother? There wasn’t a whole lot she could do right now, except try to calm down and then wait to see what Greyson might have found outside.
When her phone rang again, she turned it off and set it aside. She wouldn’t talk to either of them again today.
What was her deranged mother thinking? She had just gone way too far.
Greyson walked up to the rear veranda and rapped on the door. Danny giggled and pointed. She got up, walked over, and let him in. “Anything?” she asked in a low voice.
He shook his head. “Nothing new anyway.”
He’d already gone out and done a round, after
