“Now there’s a thought,” I laughed.
“We can only hope, baby.”
Chapter 20
Dalton~
Walking up to my grandparents’ house, I made sure to show up with an empty belly.My childhood had given my grandmother some serious PTSD, and so she fed me whenever she saw me, and she didn’t care if I was no longer that neglected little boy.
As for my grandfather, he did his best to treat me like I was grown, and I appreciated it more than he could ever know.I didn’t like the idea of letting my childhood continue to victimize me, and my grandfather’s easy character helped with that.
Of course, I’d never tell my grandmother that she smothered me on occasion, and I’d definitely never let on that I’d been cooking for myself for years now.I knew that she harbored a lot of guilt, and if smothering me helped her cope with that, then I was fine with it.
Per habit, I rang the doorbell before letting myself in, something that I’d been doing ever since I had moved out on my own.While I was more than welcomed to make myself at home here, I still respected people’s right to privacy, and that included my grandparents.
“Gramps?Nan?”I called out as I shut the door behind me.
“We’re in the kitchen,” my grandmother called back, which didn’t surprise me.I always called them before coming over, so that she wasn’t scrambling to put something together for me.They were getting up in age, and I didn’t need them hurrying around on my account.
When I walked into the kitchen, it was to my grandfather sitting comfortably at the table, watching my grandmother cook like there was no other view in the world, and their marriage definitely made me believe in love.
“I’m making baked chicken with a new rosemary sauce that I think you’ll just love,” Nan said, not knowing that Gramps and I would eat a shoe if she cooked it.“I saw it on Pinterest, and everyone knows that they have the best recipes.”
“I’ve no doubt that it’ll be delicious, Nan,” I said as I approached her to give her a kiss on her cheek.
“Well, how can it not be?”she asked as she stopped long enough to offer me her cheek.“It’s from Pinterest.”
Leaving her to that valid point, I walked over to the table, and as soon as my grandfather got to his feet, we hugged, something that I was never going to grow out of.I loved this man more than words could say, and I wasn’t afraid to show it in front of the world or in the privacy of his own kitchen.
“Dalton, how are you, son?”he asked as he sat back down.
Taking a seat next to him, I said, “Couldn’t be better.”
“You say that every time we ask,” Nan chuckled.
“And I mean it every time that I answer,” I grinned.
“How’s Rya doing?”Gramps asked.“She seemed really happy at her party.”
“She is,” I assured him.“Koen’s a good guy, and he really does adore her.”
“And her new puppies?How are they working out?”Nan asked.
That got a laugh out of me.“You were a new parent once, weren’t you?”
“Oh, I remember those days,” she replied fondly.“Maybe I’ll offer to puppy sit for her later this week.”
“I’m sure that she’ll appreciate it,” I said truthfully.“She tends to take on too much sometimes.”
“So, Carol Hoffman told me that she saw some of your work featured at a community event that was showcasing local talent,” Gramps said.“She sounded so proud of you that I just didn’t have the heart to tell her that your talents have reached beyond our small community events.”
Carol Hoffman had been my eighth-grade teacher, and she was one of those teachers who remembered the names of every student that she’d ever come across.She was exactly the type of person that you’d want as a teacher for your children, and the world was going to lose a real angel whenever her time came.
“I’ll have to stop by to visit her at school soon,” I said, something that I didn’t do often enough.
“So, what’s new since we last saw you at Rya’s party?”Gramps asked, a routine question that he always asked.
“I’m seeing someone,” I announced, and that had Nan immediately dropping everything that she was doing since I’d never uttered those words to them ever before.Seriously, Leandra had no idea just how special she was in my life now.
