They blinked at me a couple of times, then glanced at my hand in Law’s, and shook their head. “No, of course not. You’re both adults. It’s not about me. I wouldn’t like anyone else’s input on my relationship.” Again, their eyes flicked toward the kitchen and then back to us.
“Well, that’s good,” Law murmured.
They snapped out of whatever mood they’d fallen into and went back to sorting the pastries.
That was that. Everyone knew. Except my grandparents and the kids. And Law was going to call Caitlyn that night just to bring her up to speed because she’d been too busy in the couple of days since the pizza party.
“It’ll be fine,” he told me, squeezing my fingers.
“Yeah, I know.” I didn’t know. Ihoped.
I was sure Caitlyn would be fine with us being an item. It was Grams and Gramps I worried about. I had just come into their lives and now I was causing waves. I was pretty sure their generation wouldn’t be okay with the age gap, even if they were fine with the gay or, like it was in our case, gay and bi.
Then there were the kids. We couldn’t rush this, of course. I loved them a lot, but I knew Law was trying to keep things balanced—which I understood—for a while. He hadn’t appreciated it when I’d told him he was lulling them into a false sense of security and calm before dropping the bomb.
I thought they’d be okay, in the end. There would be questions, I was sure, but also… I loved them and they loved me.
Maybe that was why I became careless. The belief that everything would be fine and the fact that the dining room was empty from anyone but us and Aunt Regan.
I got out of my seat and leaned in to kiss Law before going to start my workday. Just as our lips met in the sweetest of ways, there was a loud gasp from the dining room doorway.
I whipped my head up.Crap.“Uh, Grams?”
Chapter 23
Law
Istood quickly, ready to back Oak up. The protective part of me wanted to jump in, explain things, and take the heat off him. Luckily, before I opened my mouth, my brain engaged. Oak was an adult and I needed to let him handle his family his own way, just like he was letting me handle mine.
I watched as Mary’s gaze bounced between us, then her finger as she pointed back and forth. “What’s this?”
“Uh, see. Grams…the thing is…” He fumbled for words. I touched Oak’s back and he let out a breath. He gave a single nod. “It’s exactly what it looks like.”
“Hmm.” Mary pursed her lips. “And how long, precisely, has it been going on?”
For a long moment, the silence stretched. Then Oak glanced back at me, and I saw the question in his gaze. He was tagging me in, wanting me to answer, so I stepped up.
“It’s new. A few days really.” I looked Mary straight in the eye. “But it’s been building for a while. Pretty much from the moment I got here. There’s been a…connection between us.”
Oak’s expression turned soft, and a smile teased at the corner of his lips. “Yeah. That.”
Mary lifted her gaze to the ceiling and my stomach clenched. Was she praying for patience? She wasn’t a particularly religious woman that I knew of, but I was aware that the Mulligans had been raised Catholic before they all wandered from the faith. Maybe Mary still held on to that.
When she lowered her gaze, there were tears in her eyes. “Oak Mulligan,whydidn’t you tell me?”
“Oh, Grams.” Oak nearly tripped in his haste to get to her, but I steadied him. Then he shot across the few feet separating them and gathered her in a hug. Mary held on for a long moment and then she pulled back and gave him a playful, not very hard at all swat on the arm.
“Did you think you couldn’t?”
“No, no. I, uh.” He breathed deeply for a second or two. “Like Law said, it’s new and we’re just settling in. People are just now finding out and we’re not telling the kids quite yet—”
“And that’s another thing!” Mary’s voice was a little loud and Oak winced. She shot me a serious glare, the one that showed she meant business. “I know you’re a good man, Lawrence Caldwell. But you better not be putting any sort of childcare on Oak’s shoulders.”
“Grams—” Oak tried to interrupt, but she just turned the glare on him and he snapped his mouth shut.
“I mean it. You’ve had far too much of that in your life, having to raise your younger siblings. Or half raising them anyway. You need to be able to live freely without that worry. It’s not your responsibility.” She narrowed her eyes at me.
I held up my hands. “No, ma’am. My kids are mine to raise. They have two parents. Oak is as involved as he wants to be and I would never ask more.”
