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But…it kind of did, and no one was more surprised to feel this way than she was. Perhaps she’d simply never met a man that she thought she could live the rest of her life with. And as for kids, she wasn’t too old. She could still have one or two if she wanted to. Kevin had never wanted kids, and she’d been too busy surviving to think much about it. Then after she’d run away, she’d been busy rebuilding her life.
It might be nice to have a little boy or girl that looked like their handsome as hell father. And Grant would be a great dad. He had patience for days, and a loving and kind nature.
“I won’t be accepting any money,” Mia replied primly. “But I’d want it in cash, if I did.”
That made Grant laugh and he was still laughing when he pushed open the door and ushered her inside. There was already a crowd in the home although it was plenty large enough to hold everyone.
Mia was introduced once again to the oldest brother Ace and his gorgeous wife Cassie who had once been an actress. Then there was Justin and Rebecca who had met on a blind date. Trey was also there, and he gave Mia a hug while whispering “Welcome to the family” in her ear.
Grant’s parents David and Janice were adorable, clearly still in love after so many years of marriage. The food was delicious, and Mia began to relax as they ate and chatted. They asked her a bit about herself, but they didn’t interrogate her in any way, letting her decide how much she wanted to reveal. There was no pressure, but she could have sworn that his mom and dad gave each other a quick smiling glance when Grant placed his hand on hers at one point. He might be right on the money about them wanting him married off.
Trey was the funny one, sort of the class clown, constantly telling funny stories about his travels and making everyone laugh until they had tears rolling down their cheeks. Justin was far quieter, but his eyes took in everything around him. When he did speak, everyone seemed to listen. The oldest brother Ace was somewhere in between. Not quiet but not gregarious, he had an easy confidence about him that spoke of someone who spent a great deal of time in charge of things. Ace’s college-aged son Henry wasn’t there as he was visiting a friend in Orlando for a few days.
All of them were clearly evaluating her, and she couldn’t say that she blamed them. They were curious as to what was going on between her and Grant, but it was obvious that they were rooting whatever that was on. They were cheerleaders so their interest didn’t feel mean or negative.
Since the women had done most of the cooking, it was the men who cleaned up and did dishes. Grant had disappeared into the kitchen with his brothers while Mia was left with the wives out on the back patio.
It was a sunny and warm day, but they had shade and an old ceiling fan circling lazily overhead, giving them just enough of a breeze to keep cool.
“Relax,” Cassie said. “We’re not going to ask you a bunch of personal questions. I remember the first time I met Ace’s family. Damn, I was so nervous I thought I was going to pee my pants. Turns out, they were a relief after my toxic parents. I’d take the Andersons over my crazy as a loon family any day. They truly are good people. Some of the best you’ll find.”
“Absolutely,” Rebecca said, nodding in agreement. “They’re as terrific as they seem to be. They’re wonderful to have as in-laws. You won’t have any complaints like so many other people do.”
“Grant and I haven’t been together for long,” Mia said, shifting in her chair. “It’s probably too soon to be talking weddings and china patterns.”
The other two women looked at each other and then laughed.
“From what we’ve observed the Anderson men don’t take much time making up their minds. And once they do? That’s it. Grant’s never looked at anyone or anything the way he looks at you. You’ll be engaged before the end of the year. That’s my prediction,” Cassie laughed. “Unless you don’t want to be, of course, but you look at him the same way so…”
Mia’s cheeks were warm with embarrassment. What she felt for Grant was so big, so momentous, it was difficult to talk about. Even with her best friends Lane and Mike, she hadn’t wanted to discuss the details. Since it was so new, she kind of wanted it to just be for her and Grant. Just for a while longer.
“Sorry,” Cassie said. “We can see we’ve made you uncomfortable. We just didn’t want you to be nervous about meeting the family. We wanted you to feel welcome because you are. We’re thrilled Grant has someone in his life.”
“Thank you,” Mia said. “I guess I am a bit uncomfortable, and this is a tense situation. I wanted all of you to like me.”
“We do,” Rebecca said. “Honestly, we do. You’re one of us now, heaven help you.”
“More friends are good,” Mia said. “I do appreciate the welcome. I was nervous, I’ll admit that.”
She meant it too. While with Kevin, she’d been cut off from all her friends and had lost many of them permanently. That was one of the biggest reasons she cherished her relationship with Lane and Mike. She hadn’t lost them. They’d stuck by her even when it wasn’t easy.
“We’ve been there,” Cassie assured her. “Just know that we’re on your side. You and Grant make a cute couple. We hope you two can make it work.”
Mia wanted that, too. A future with Grant was her goal.
But in the meantime, they needed to deal with the present. And that wasn’t going to be easy.
* * *
Grant was loading plates into the dishwasher when his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was one of his deputies, so he excused himself to take the call. They wouldn’t bother him when he was off-duty unless it was important.
“Grant, we have a bit of a situation here. Your ex, Ashley, called in and was pretty hysterical. She said someone tried running her off of the road, and she needs assistance right away. She’s out on Tremont, south of the circle. I’ve sent a unit there, but I thought that I should call you in case you wanted to deal with it personally. She asked specifically for you. I didn’t make any promises, but damn, she seemed so upset…”
The last thing in the world Grant wanted to do was to go and deal with Ashley. However, he’d wanted to keep a civil and friendly relationship with her and blowing her off when she’d been the victim of a crime wasn’t something he could do. She was, understandably, upset, and she might respond better to him than one of his less-experienced deputies. This was his job, and he took that responsibility seriously. He’d known Ashley for a long time, even before they’d started dating briefly. He wouldn’t leave a friend twisting in the wind.
“Is everything okay?” Mia asked, her brows pinched together with concern. “You don’t look happy.”
“I’m not. That was one of my deputies. A friend of mine was apparently in some sort of altercation with another driver. From what she said, they tried to run her off of the road and she’d very upset and shaken. She asked for me.”
