She hadn’t complained about being tired, but he could tell. “Hey, Piper. Would it be okay if we went back? I need to get a workout in since I skipped this morning.”
She glanced at him before looking back at the road. “Why didn’t you say anything? We didn’t have to leave so early.”
“I wanted to see you work.”
“All I did was make notes about a few houses.”
“I liked it. You’re good at what you do.”
“No.”
He frowned, not liking that she put herself down. “You really are.”
“You misunderstand.” She spared him a quick smile. “I’m not good. I’m great at what I do.”
He grinned. “Ah, I see. Yes, you are.”
“I work hard at it. I should be great. But I’m okay with heading home early. Remember, we have some prep work to do tonight for tomorrow’s meal.”
“Ah yes, the big holiday.” He rubbed his hands together.
“Plus, I’d like to check in with Jenna. She’s been pretty absent lately. I hope she’s okay.” Piper frowned.
“I’m sure it’s just a teenage boyfriend thing.” He’d need to tell Jenna to stick around a little to put her aunt’s mind at ease. But he sure did owe her for giving him some space.
They arrived home, and Grant, good as his word, went for a run then did a weight workout in the garage. By the time he finished, the hour had grown dark and the weather chillier than it had been, which came through the cement walls of the garage.
Jenna waved when he went inside once more. “It’s supposed to snow tomorrow.”
“Awesome. Just in time for the holiday.” He smiled and noticed Simon sitting on the couch with Piper playing a card game.
“Ignore them,” Jenna said, sitting at the dining table once again surrounded by textbooks and notepads. “They’re trying to see who comes in second as Uno champ. Neither of them can beat me.”
“Please,” Simon said while still facing a scowling Piper. “You cheat. At least Piper’s playing fair.”
“Jenna does cheat. She gets that from her dad.” Piper smiled. “Uno.”
“Oh really?” Jenna turned from her books. “Simon, check under the last card she played. She has a habit of tucking an extra one under her top card when putting down.”
Simon picked up the last two cards from the pile, one of them a red four, the other a yellow two. “Hey! You’re cheating.”
Piper rose and ruffled the boy’s hair, setting her remaining card down. “Well, I think it’s time to start prepping for tomorrow. Let’s call this one a draw.”
Grant raised a brow, surprised to find Piper a cheater. But Simon laughed.
The boy rose, stretched, and blinked when he saw Grant. “Whoa. What were you up to?”
Grant wiped his forehead with the bottom of his shirt. “Sorry. Went for a run then finished off with a light weight workout and got all sweaty. Just trying to get some reps in to get back some tone.”
“We’re always lifting for football.” Simon considered him. “Is baseball intense with weight training too?”
“Yeah. Not like you guys, but we need to be fast and quick. Plus, I’m a catcher, so a lot of squats and leg exercises increase strength to help my knees. And of course, I work the arms to maintain this rocket.” He flexed and seemed to impress the kid. “They don’t call me the West Wind for nothing.” He grinned.
“Oh?” Piper snorted. “I thought they called you that because you never stop talking. A lot of yammering from the Weston Windbag.”
“Not nice.” Grant frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, secretly pleased when Piper stared at him a little too long. “I’m not calling you the Pied Piper am I?”
“I’m missing something.” Jenna looked intrigued.
