“She looks sweet,” Hazel adds.
“I went to the specialty shop around the corner to get something for dinner tomorrow.” Her eyes dip to my hand, seeing Hazel’s fingers intertwined with mine. “What are you doing down here?”
“We went shopping,” Hazel answers before I have a chance to.
“Fun,” Gram says. “Hi, Wylder.”
“Hi, Mrs. G. Would you like a glass of water or something else?” Wylder asks her from his spot next to Maddox. “You’re welcome to come sit for a while.”
For a moment, my heart melts from the sweetness, but a second later, I know this could be a complete disaster.
First, it’s bad enough that my gram saw me here. I know it will soon be followed by a lengthy session of being questioned about everything that happened and where it could go.
Second, news will travel fast that I was on Wylder’s front porch, looking a little cozy with his kids. Gram doesn’t have the ability to keep secrets. No one in my family does.
“Don’t mind if I do,” she says.
Wylder’s off the bench, and he heads toward my grandma, taking the bag from her hands. She smiles up at him as she wraps her hand around his arm for stability. “You were always a good boy, Wylder.”
He chuckles as he moves her up the walkway. “You’re not a good liar, Mrs. G. We both know I had my moments.”
She pauses at the base of the porch stairs and peers up at him. “Honey, when you raise three boys and work in a bar like I did, I’ve seen more things than you could ever imagine. Your idea of good and mine might be different, but I know good when I see it. And you are, in fact, good.”
“You’re a good one too, Mrs. G.”
I don’t say anything as Wylder holds on to my grandmother as they climb the three small steps to the porch.
“Well, isn’t this a beautiful spot,” she says, glancing around the porch.
It is, too. I can’t imagine Wylder decorated the porch on his own. It’s way too pretty to be done by a man. Maybe he has a knack for design and décor that he’s been hiding from everyone.
“Maddox did it all. She loves decorating and design.”
Maddox is beaming. “I love it out here,” she says, and I can see the pride on her face at the compliment from my grandmother and her father.
“You should, dear. You did an amazing job,” my grandma says as she plops down in an empty chair.
I know I couldn’t have made this front porch prettier than Maddox. She certainly has an eye for details, and her creativity is beyond anything I had at her age.
“It’s impressive, Maddy,” I tell her. “Maybe I can get your input on the shop. It could use some sprucing up.”
“I love sprucing things up,” she tells me with a big smile.
“As long as your father is okay with you helping me.”
Maddox turns to her father, her eyes pleading. She is a pro at learning to control him with a single glance. If he tells her no, he’s instantly going to go back on her shit list.
“Sure. On the weekends and not on school nights.”
Maddox almost throws herself at her father and snakes her arms around his shoulders. “You’re the best.”
He touches her back, his eyes big as he stares at me in shock.
“We’ll set up a time for maybe next weekend to meet, and I can show you the space.”
“If you can text me the style you want, I can start making an inspiration board.”
“A what?”
