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“It’s not a reporter.”
I looked through the doorway behind him. “Who is it?”
“My dad.”
I slid down Drake’s tall frame, stunned. “Uh . . .”
“He’s waiting out in the SUV; I wanted to give you a heads-up first.”
I blinked and blinked, not believing this was happening. “Wow. How did this come about?”
He took my hand and brought it to his mouth. His sensuous lips skimmed my skin. “I’m tired as hell of being away from you and Jameson. And I don’t want anything to stand in the way of us being together. So, I thought I’d better get my act together and do what I should have done a long time ago.”
I wrapped my arms around him and snuggled into his cashmere coat. “So, you brought your dad here to what, duke it out?”
“If we have to. We haven’t said much to each other for the last five hours in the car, but he came.”
“And you went and picked him up. That says something.”
“It took some convincing on my part to get him in the car.”
“When did you decide to do this?”
“On my way to the airport I kept thinking, what the hell am I doing? Do I really need to attend another awards show? I should be home with my kid and my sexy girlfriend.” He leaned away to give his eyes the opportunity to rove over me.
I was so, so in love with him right now. “Yeah, I’m winning all the beauty awards over here in my nightshirt.”
“I like nightshirts—they show a lot of skin.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a guy.”
“A guy who’s in love with you.”
I was getting all sorts of verklempt, but then I remembered a little something. Or a big something. “Drake, I love you. So much. But I need to tell you something.”
He arched his brow.
I took his hand. “Honey . . . baby,” I sang. “Uh, your mom’s here.”
He gave me a blank stare.
“Did you hear me?”
“I heard you, but that can’t be.”
“Oh, I assure you, it’s true.”
“Did you invite her here?” he accused me.
“I’m going to forgive you for that tone since you just flew across the country to be with me, but the answer is no, I didn’t invite her. Not to say I wouldn’t . . .” I smirked.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, that came out harsher than I intended. I just can’t believe it. What is she doing here?”
“Well, believe it or not, this place was calling to her—and her grandson happens to live here. She’s pretty grandma-happy.”
“My mom doesn’t get happy anymore.”
“Wrong again.” I tapped his nose.
He ran a hand through his hair. “What are we going to do? My dad is here.”
I thought for a second. What would Daisy do in this situation? The answer was obvious. “I don’t think it’s any coincidence they are both here, so we are going to let fate run its course and stay out of its way.”
He let out a huge breath. “Charlotte, I haven’t been around both of my parents since I was seventeen.” I’d never heard him sound so unsure, perhaps even scared.
I stood on my tiptoes and placed my hands on his cheeks. “I’m going to be by your side the entire time. I promise you it’s going to be okay. Better than okay, even. And when it’s all said and done, you’re going to forgive me, and I’m going to forgive you, and then we’re going to make up.” I brushed his lips with my own.
“I think I’m ready to make up now,” he groaned.
I placed a finger on his lips. “Not yet, lover boy. Talk to your parents first. Work out what you need to. I’m not going anywhere.”
He leaned his forehead against mine. “I love you, Charlotte.”
“I know.”
Chapter Thirty
“Dad! You’re here!” Jameson ran into the dining hall where Drake sat, downing copious amounts of coffee. It was definitely going to be a five-cup day for me. But well worth it. My lips were still swollen from last night’s welcome-home extravaganza.
Drake popped up like he wasn’t tired at all—or stressed that his parents could come down at any moment. Neither of them knew the other was here. We kind of thought we should keep it a surprise, seeing as Calvin had been a bear about coming with Drake in the first place. He was worried his animals wouldn’t be properly taken care of by his farmhand—more like he feared being human, just like someone else I know. And we didn’t see any sense in waking Nora to tell her. I mean, it was rude to wake people up in the middle of the night, unless you planned on kissing them breathless ’til dawn’s early light. That was acceptable.
Jameson ran into Drake’s open arms.
Drake wrapped him up tight. “I missed you, son.”
Those words choked me up more than any others. I stood and watched the beautiful scene before me, wishing Drake could have the same kind of reunion with his parents. I thought about his rough-and-tumble dad the night before. I wasn’t sure Calvin was a hugger or had hugged anyone in the last twenty-plus years. He was more like an angry lumberjack with thinning gray hair. Still handsome, though, like a Sam Elliott. He’d only said a few words to me before we showed him to his room. Like Nora, he acted as if he were in a sacred place, lightly treading and looking around in wonder.
