AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve given lessons dozens of times, Hope. Honestly, you took to it quicker than anyone I’ve ever known.” Grayson’s expression reminded her of a proud Papa.
“I think the fact that I teach Zumba and other exercise classes helps,” Hope said.
“You keep surprising me, Hope Matthews,” Grayson said, shaking his head in wonder. “You’re a woman of many talents.”
Hope let out a hearty laugh. “Well, I have to in order to keep up with you. You’ve been full of surprises since day one.”
They drove back to the cottage, where Hope showed Grayson to the guest bedroom so he could change into dry clothes. At the same time, she headed to her bathroom and took a quick shower before changing into a skirt and a long-sleeved top.
When she made her way to the kitchen, Grayson was already sitting at the counter, looking at his cell phone. “What do you feel like grabbing for lunch?”
“I’m open to whatever,” Hope answered.
“Lady’s choice,” Grayson said.
“Okay. I could go for some really good pizza. There’s a place about five minutes down the road. Pizza Roma. They make signature pizzas that are out of this world. And they also have amazing salads and appetizers.”
“I’m sold on it.” Grayson rubbed his hands together. “What are we waiting for? My stomach is growling like crazy.”
Grayson drove them to Pizza Roma, with Hope acting as a human GPS to get them there. The establishment was a small, Tuscan-style building with big, wide windows and an authentic Italian vibe inside. Once they were seated and had a chance to look over the menu they decided to pick a few different pizzas to share. One barbecue chicken pizza. One white pizza with spinach and bacon. And a large mozzarella salad. They both ordered ice tea.
While they waited for the food to arrive, Hope took the opportunity to tell Grayson about purchasing one of his books.
“So, I picked up one of your books at the book store,” she said in a conversational tone. “It was really great. I read it to Ella before bedtime.”
His eyebrows raised. “You did? Which one was it?”
“Circus and snowflakes. The pictures were incredible. Ella really responded to it.” Hope couldn’t help but smile at the memory of reading the book to her daughter. She had been surprised by the bright colors and the upbeat, whimsical theme. She now knew why Grayson Holloway had reached the pinnacle of his profession. His work was stellar.
“Now that’s one of my favorites. I won a Caldecott for that one.” He shook his head. “Sorry, that sounded like bragging. I’m just proud of the award because I never thought I’d ever get one.”
“It was really good. You’re a great artist and storyteller. Did you always want to be an author and illustrator? I know you said before drawing was the only thing you were good at, which I find hard to believe by the way.”
“Nah. For the most part I had no idea what I wanted or who I wanted to be. I was a bit of a rabble rouser growing up.”
Hope wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“Part of the reason why my dad and I aren’t close stems from that time period when I was young and a bit out of sorts. My dad lost his parents in a tragic accident. Everything crumbled a bit after that. He became very distant from us and chose to focus on his career. My parents’ marriage was falling apart. I started acting out.”
“It sounds like a situation that snowballed out of control.”
“It was seriously out of control.” A sorrowful expression crept over his face. “I was sent away to school because my parents couldn’t deal with me.”
Hope could hear the pain in Grayson’s voice. “I’m sorry. That must have been painful.”
Grayson ducked his head down. For a few moments he didn’t say a word. Hope could see he was struggling with something.
“Were you ever close with your dad?” she asked, hoping to bring him out of his silence.
He swung his gaze up to meet hers. “Maybe when I was a small fry.” Grayson winced. The lines around his mouth showed strain. “We were inseparable.”
“What happened?”
Grayson let out a ragged sigh. “The accident that killed my grandparents changed everything. A drunk driver going the wrong way on the highway hit them head-on. They were on their way to visit us. My father blamed himself.”
“Oh, that’s awful. I’m so sorry,” Hope said, her heart hurting for Grayson and his family. Such an immense tragedy altered lives forever.
“I was just a kid, but I remember the double funeral and my father’s all-consuming grief. He became obsessed from that point on with adoption and he basically gave up on his faith. Up to that point it hadn’t been an issue in his life, but once he lost his adoptive parents he threw himself into the whole issue of being adopted. As a result of his research he published a bunch of books on adoption and identity, but he lost his focus on our family.”
