“I guess we should give them points for being patient enough to let us get out of the car,” she said, with a note of humor.
He chuckled, then wrapped an arm around her and said, “Absolutely.”
“You’re really playing into this, aren’t you?” she said, but she made no move to leave his embrace. It felt very much like a united front going forward.
“I’m not playing into anything,” he said. “I’m happy, and I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a day as much.”
And, on that note, she had to admit she hadn’t had a day quite as nice either.
As soon as she and Danny and Kona were all introduced to his grandparents, they were ushered inside and then out to the backyard. There she put Danny down, and they even had a couple toys for him. She wasn’t exactly sure, but the grandparents also had a little sprinkler attached to a garden hose that seemed made just for Danny. The water only sprayed about a foot high, but Danny was enthralled.
She quickly scooped him up and took off his outer layer of clothing. She looked over at Greyson’s grandmother and said, “He’ll be soaked in no time.”
She smiled and laughed. “Well, we could always dry him off,” she said, “but you’re right. The clothing might take a little longer. I do have a dryer here, if need be.”
“Well, this is easy, and it’s a nice warm afternoon,” she said.
With Danny at the center of attention, and loving every moment of it, the barbecue was lit, and the ribs that had apparently already been in the oven for a few hours, were transferred onto the grill.
As she watched Greyson’s grandmother work hard in the kitchen, Jessica asked, “Is there something I can do to help?”
The woman looked pleased to be asked but immediately replied, “Absolutely not,” she said. “We’ve been waiting all afternoon for you guys to get here,” she said, “so I’ve had plenty of time to do the prep work.”
Jessica winced at that. “I hope we didn’t put you out too much, Mrs.—”
“Hush now,” she said. “Not at all. We’re delighted to have you and Danny,” she said warmly. “And you may as well call us Grandma and Grandpa, if that works for you.”
Together the two women carried out the salads and a raisin curry, a Moroccan rice dish she was just dying to try. The two men stood near the barbecue grill, each with an open can of beer in their hands.
Jessica laughed at the sight. “Is there anything more commonplace than to see the guys at the barbecue grill with a beer, while the women are bringing out the food?” she said.
Greyson grinned at her. “There’s a beer for you, if you want it,” he said.
Smiling, she shook her head. “If you had a cider, now that would be a different story.”
Greyson’s grandfather looked crestfallen. “I don’t,” he said, “but I can get you one.”
She shook her head. “No need for that. A cup of tea would be lovely though.”
“Perfect,” Grandma said. “The teakettle is already on.”
And, while the ribs finished cooking, Jessica and Grandma sat and had a cup of tea, while Danny remained still under the ever-watchful eye of Greyson and Kona, who was on the leash and visiting quite well beside him.
Grandpa even commented, “That dog is amazingly good with the little boy. Leo probably will be too, but we thought it best to save that for another day. And, if Kona is as protective of Danny as you say, we could be asking for trouble.”
“Good call. Maybe we’ll meet Leo when things settle down and when Kona doesn’t have to be on high alert,” Greyson said. “As it is, Kona’s saved this little guy several times already.”
“And I’ll never forget it,” Jessica said softly. She walked over to Kona and gave her a big scratch. “Hopefully there’ll be a bone or two for her to have. She had dog food this morning, but I don’t know very much about dogs. I don’t know how much or how long or how often they eat.”
“Well, this one needs a little fattening up,” Greyson said. “She’s gone without quite a few meals lately.”
“Right. She was out on her own for three or four weeks,” Jessica said.
“What will the military do with her?” Grandpa asked Greyson, as Jessica listened attentively.
“No decisions have been made yet because of the scenario we’re currently in,” he said. “I haven’t given you all the details of that yet,” he said, his tone turning serious, “but since Kona is needed in a watchdog position right now, everyone has agreed to leave her as is for now.”
“Son, I think you better fill us in on all that,” his grandfather said.
Jessica went over to watch Danny, as Greyson explained everything that had happened since he had arrived. There were shocked gasps and murmured exclamations as the grandparents realized what dangers she and Danny had been in and why Greyson had been called away.
“Oh, you poor dear,” Grandma said to her. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this.”
“I just wish,” Jessica said, “that the kidnapper hadn’t gotten away from the cops. If he was locked up now, it would be a different story.”
“Not if there are two of them,” Grandpa said. “You rely on Greyson here, honey. He’s done a lot of security detail work,” he said, “and he hasn’t lost anybody yet.”
“I don’t intend to start now either,” he said.
She smiled, but she could see the seriousness in the gazes that stared back at her, plus Greyson’s warm glint, as if to say he had a whole lot of other reasons why he should look after her. She flushed slightly, grateful when Grandma immediately announced that it was time to eat.
There was commotion for a minute, as everybody took their places. Greyson was taking the ribs off the massive barbecue grates, bringing them
