She nodded. “I know. Since the kids were mostly raised in the Virginia area where Jack was stationed, we always do Christmas Eve with their favorite foods from the South. It’s just kinda our tradition.”
That made me smile. “What are they grilling out there?”
“Well,” she said, sliding a plate of fresh vegetables toward me with some kind of dip. I didn’t recognize some of the things on the plate, but the carrots and broccoli I knew, andeww.
“Quite a variety. We’ll make pork barbeque with the Boston Butt that’s cooking in the smoker. Jack is grilling steak, hamburgers, and hot dogs for the kids, and Michael is grilling the chicken for the California boys.”
Smiling, I hesitantly reached for a carrot and dipped it into the dip, then took a tiny bite off the end. “Don’t be shy, Adam. Michael asked me to have lots of fresh vegetables around for you. He said you were getting healthy to prepare for your tour.”
I coughed and almost spit out the carrot. “He told you what?”
She looked at me with a knowing smile. “Let me guess. You don’t care for vegetables, do you?”
I curled my lips in as I tried to decide how to tell my boyfriend's mother that he had lied to her.
“Never you mind. I’ll take care of him,” she huffed with a hint of the southern drawl that was becoming familiar to me.
I laughed. “No, don’t be mad at him. He’s been trying to clean my diet up for the last four months. He’s even teaching me how to cook. A little.”
Charlotte smiled and leaned across the island where I was seated to put a hand on my arm. “That means he loves you, Adam.”
I blushed a little and nodded. Dropping my eyes to look at where she was touching me, I put my tattooed hand over hers. Then I looked up into her eyes. “I love him, too.”
“You are a beautiful person, Adam. I could tell just by talking to you on the phone. The way you and Michael look at one another just makes this mama’s heart happy.”
I chuckled, a little uncomfortable about what to say. “My foster mom is a lot like you. She jokes around with Cole and me like you do.”
Charlotte patted my hand with her other one. “I hope you don’t mind, but my son told me about your family. They’re going to love you, Adam. Michael wouldn’t be introducing you to them if he didn’t think it would go well. And if it doesn’t, you always have us. We’ll be your family.”
Emotions I couldn’t pinpoint were building inside me. How did I get so lucky to have met such wonderful people? The answer was Michael. My He-Man.
Before I could say anything more, all three kids came bounding into the kitchen. “Uncle Adam, will you come play with us in the pool? Please??”
My eyes went wide as I side eyed a glance at Charlotte. “Uhh, I uh—”
Miles was tugging on my hand. “Pwease, Unca Adam.”
My heart started a rapid tattoo.
“Yeah, Uncle Adam,” Charlotte said, “go swim with the nieces and nephew.”
She smiled at me, and all I could do was nod. I got up from the stool and hit the deck with the kids, my heart ready to burst.
I never thought I would have this, and I wasn’t going to take it for granted.
* * *
I was nervous as fuck.Maybe the most nervous I’d ever been in my life.
My brain was busy conjuring up all the different ways this could go. Grant, my uncle, could take one look at me and decide he didn’t want anything to do with me. I was covered in tattoos, and I was far from clean cut.
“I knew I should have made you workout this morning.”
I looked over at Michael as he pulled onto the street where my uncle Grant lived.
“Why would you be so mean to me? That would have made me throw up.”
He chuckled and pulled over on the street and put the car in park. I looked out and around.
