Page 88 of Falling for a Grumpy Hero

I spun toward the house just as my parents walked out onto the back patio. My jaw dropped and I blinked hard, unable to believe what I was seeing, but yep. It was definitely them.

My mom’s reddish hair shot through with white was an unmistakable halo of curls around her head. A floral, orange and purple kaftan was wrapped around her full curves. Dad stood next to her, his tall, lean frame encased in his customary faded jeans, leather bracelets around his wrists, and wearing a geometric shirt boasting so many colors that I couldn’t name them all.

There was absolutely no one else they could be other than my parents. Behind them, Ford swept an arm out toward the yard, dropping to his haunches as Rook came over to sniff around them.

Confused about what they were doing here, I grinned and broke into a run toward them. I hadn’t seen my parents for months and Ford and I were supposed to be traveling out their way for Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with them. That was the next time I thought I would be seeing them, but here they were.

My mom took a step forward and opened her arms, and I barreled right into them as if I was still five years old. “Mama! What are you doing here?”

She chuckled, holding me tight and stroking my hair like her instincts still wanted her to sooth me like I was five too. “Ford flew us out to come see you. He wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Well, it’s definitely that.” I gave her a big squeeze and then moved on to my dad, stepping into his embrace and immediately inhaling his scent, oil paints and wood varnish. “Daddy, oh I missed you.”

“Missed you too, sweetheart.” He gathered me in his arms and dropped a kiss on top of my head. “It’s so darn good to see you. This is quite a house you’ve got here.”

I felt my cheeks flush and glanced at Ford, who was still on his haunches and rubbing Rook’s neck. His blue eyes were on us though, the expression in them so happy and loving that my heart ached at the sight of it.

Gone were the days of his permanent scowl. His handsome face smiled much more often nowadays. He was still grumpy at work, but he was even getting better there.

Pushing to his feet as he held my gaze, he extended a hand toward me. I took it and he pulled me closer to his side. He slipped an arm around my waist and smiled at my parents. “You must be starving after your flight. I wish I could tell you that I have a homecooked meal ready for you here, but that would’ve been difficult to pull off without making Lila suspicious.”

I glanced up at him. “Don’t sell yourself short. You have cooked before.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, but if I started on a whole meal and couldn’t give you an explanation for why I was cooking it, you would’ve known something was going on.”

“True.” I turned back to my parents, my heart so full at the sight of them here, so unexpectedly, on Ford’s patio, that I felt like I might just pop. “There’s a place by the beach that has fishing nets hanging from the ceiling. The first time I went there with Addy, I knew you guys would get a kick out of it. Let’s go there.”

“I love fishing nets hanging from the ceiling,” Mom agreed immediately, taking my arm before glancing at Rook. “Does he stay or is he coming with us?”

“He’s for sure coming with us.” I called him over and let Mom dote on him while Ford led Dad to the guest room. He doubled back to the truck to grab their luggage, and once it was all offloaded, we all climbed in and drove to the restaurant.

During lunch, Rook leaned on my mom’s leg, evidently liking her as much as he liked me way back at the beginning. My folks were kind of kooky and I’d been intermittently worried about us all spending Thanksgiving together, but Ford didn’t seem to mind it at all.

He’s probably used to it now that he’s been around me for so long.

I smiled as I watched him and my dad having an easy conversation about the differences in design of historic homes in various parts of the world. They really seemed to have hit it off and Mom finally turned to me.

“Let’s leave the men to it and take Rook for a walk on the beach. What do you say?”

“Let’s do it.” I turned to Ford and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “You guys have fun, okay? We’re taking Rook out for a bit, but we’ll be back.”

He smiled. “Remember to try to encourage him to make friends.”

I winked. “Aye aye, Captain.”

Chuckling, he shook his head and turned back to my dad, but I felt him watching me as I walked away. Rook trotted dutifully by my side until we were on the beach. Then he took off running and did a few laps on the sand, evidently not at all tired after all the running he’d done this morning.

Mom looped her arm around mine and smiled at me as I watched him play. “You’re in love.”

I groaned and tore my gaze away from Rook to look at her. “Is it that obvious?”

“I’m your mother. Of course, it’s that obvious.” She winked, a truly joyful smile on her lips. “Gosh, I’ve waited so long for this moment. It’s good to finally see you truly happy, my love.”

“It’s good to finally be truly happy,” I confessed. “I can’t believe I almost missed this. If I’d stayed in New York…”

I didn’t even want to finish that sentence, but thankfully, Mom didn’t need me to. “That city was never right for you. It’s a nice place and all, but spirits like ours need to be free, not caged in by a concrete jungle on all sides.”

I chuckled. “Something like that.”