10
Grace founda parking spot on Riverside Road a few moments’ walk away from Ryan’s house. The rain was lashing down as she climbed out of the car, the summer storm whipping through the trees and sending torrents of water sloshing into the drains. Grace grabbed the umbrella she habitually kept in the car and made a dash for it to Ryan’s front door.
Even running at top speed and hopping over the worst of the puddles, she still got soaked thanks to the angle of the wind-driven rain. Grateful for the protection of the elegant canopy that hung over Ryan’s front door, she pressed the bell and shook out her umbrella.
Inside the house, she heard Stanley’s cheerful barking and when the door opened, the dog almost launched itself into her arms.
“Stanley!” she laughed, as the creature raced around her feet and bounced up and down on his back legs in an attempt to get closer. “This is quite a greeting!”
“Yap! Yap!”
Fending off another of Stanley’s frenzied attempts to climb up into her arms and lick her face, Grace set aside her dripping umbrella and took hold of the excitable mutt, placing her handson his squirming body to keep him on the ground while giving him the pats and attention he was demanding. Her pleasure at the dog’s exuberant antics meant it took her a moment to register Ryan standing in the doorway.
He grinned down at her as she squatted beside the wriggling Stanley, amusement dancing in his eyes. Something about the way he was looking at her made her realise for the first time just how attractive he was, with his tall frame and broad shoulders and dark hair that looked carelessly scruffy but which was almost certainly cut that way by a skilled barber.
“He missed you,” Ryan said, nodding at the dog, who was now lying on his back on the front step in bliss as Grace gave him tummy rubs. “I don’t know how he knew you were on your way here, but he’s been staring out of the living room window for the last five minutes. When the bell rang, I thought he’d leave a dog-shaped hole in the door if I didn’t get there first to open it for him.”
Grace laughed at the image he’d conjured. “How did things go today while you were looking after him? Was he any trouble?”
“He was absolutely fine. I think he enjoyed hanging around here.” Ryan gestured inside the house. “Please, come on in.”
Grace straightened up and shook her head. “No, I’ve imposed enough on you already today. I’ll get Stanley out of your way and?—”
“Ah, you must be Grace!”
In the hallway behind Ryan, Grace saw an older woman walking towards them, drying her hands on a tea towel. The similarities between the two of them were immediately obvious, from the sharp blue eyes to the warm smiles they shared.
“I’m Ryan’s grandmother, Miriam,” the woman said once she’d reached the door. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
“Lovely to meet you, too,” Grace replied, shaking the woman’s outstretched hand.
“Well, come on inside,” Miriam said.
“Thanks, but I really should get home and take this one off your hands,” Grace replied, gesturing to Stanley, who was now sniffing around the doorstep.
“Don’t be silly,” Miriam replied. “It’s pouring with rain out there and Stanley will be drenched by the time you get him to your car, no matter how close you’ve parked. According to the weather forecast, this rain will clear up in the next hour, which gives you just enough time to come inside and enjoy dinner with us.”
Grace blinked in surprise. “Oh, that’s very kind, but I couldn’t impose.”
“You’re not imposing,” Miriam said with a wave of her hand, as if the idea was preposterous. “I’ve spent the afternoon enjoying myself in my grandson’s kitchen and cooking beef bourguignon for dinner. There’s enough to feed an army, and on a cool night like this, it’s the perfect meal. Come inside and eat with us and you can tell me more about how you ended up looking after that scrappy rascal there.”
“Uh, well…”
Grace glanced at Ryan, looking for guidance about whether he was on board with this unexpected dinner invitation issued by his grandmother. The smile on his face confirmed that he was.
“If you don’t already have dinner plans tonight, we’d love you to join us,” he said. “You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted my grandmother’s beef bourguignon.”
“I didn’t pay him to say that, by the way,” Miriam said, throwing a wink at her grandson.
Grace couldn’t help but be touched by the obvious affection the pair had for each other, and she remembered what Ryan had said that morning about his grandmother having been ill lately. Although Miriam looked fit and well, as far as Grace couldtell, that didn’t mean she wasn’t still dealing with problems that weren’t obvious to the eye. Seeing the older lady standing there with her apron on and a tea towel draped over her shoulder and looking cheerfully flushed from the meal she’d apparently been preparing in the kitchen, Grace knew it would be rude to turn down the generous offer to stay and eat with them.
“If you’re sure there’s enough to go round, then I’d love to join you. Thank you.”
Miriam beamed and beckoned her inside. “Good. I can see from here that you are a little wet from the rain. Come on in and get dried off. Ryan, fetch the girl a towel.”
Ryan threw a mock salute to his grandmother, to which Miriam responded with a playful swat on the arm. Grace stepped inside the house with Stanley close by and tried not to gape at the beautiful interior with its high ceilings and aged wooden floor and the elegant staircase that led to the rooms above.
Thrilled to discover they were staying, Stanley raced up and down the hallway in delight, his paws scrambling over the deep rug spread across the floor at the base of the staircase before planting himself at Grace’s side once more.
