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Chapter 22

Ginny couldn’t believe that she was moments away from meeting her grandfather. She awoke this morning to a text from Grandpa J telling her that Don was back from his camping trip and awaiting her call. Yesterday, she’d asked Grandpa J if he would mind telling Don about her. He’d agreed without hesitation.

Dax had woken up about an hour after she’d received the message to find her staring down at the text. He’d asked her what was wrong. She’d told him it was nothing. That everything was fine. She hadn’t told anyone about what she was doing except Grandpa J. Not even her mom.

It was clear from the look in his eyes that he knew whatever was going on, it was definitely not nothing. And she could sense he was unhappy that she was keeping things from him. He asked again, and when her response remained the same he nodded, ran his fingers through his hair, then scrubbed them over his face. It was obvious that he was frustrated.

She fully expected him to call her on it, to push the subject further, to demand she tell him what was going on. The only people that she had to compare someone to in this situation was her mom and Shane. Either of them would have demanded answers for her odd behavior.

But instead of pushing he just sat up in bed, pulled her onto his lap and held her. He ran his fingers through her hair and rubbed her back. He told her that it must be so stressful having such a high-profile career, and that he was so impressed with the aptitude and grace in which she handled it all. He also said that he understood it was probably hard for her to trust people, and she was right to be wary, but if she ever needed to talk about anything, he’d be there to listen. He’d always be there for her.

It wasn’t lost on her that he was doing exactly what Grandpa J had described as love. He hadn’t let the fact that she was being difficult affect how he treated her. He hadn’t even addressed that he knew she wasn’t being truthful about nothing going on. He’d held her, complimented her and offered his unconditional support.

If she’d had a chance of getting out of this unscathed, it was demolished in that moment, because she knew that he was the one. He was the one that she wanted to “work” with for the rest of her life, and that sadly wasn’t in the cards for them.

But it at least showed her that he deserved the truth. So she swallowed hard and told him everything she knew about her dad. The picture. Chase’s Facebook post. Interviewing Grandpa J and learning about her real grandfather.

He’d sat quietly listening to her as she rambled on and when she finally showed him the text he’d just looked at her and asked a simple question. “Do you want to call him?”

She nodded.

“So what are you waiting for?” He grinned. “Call him.”

So she did. Instead of listing all the things she was scared of and all the reasons she was hesitating to contact him, she pushed the number Grandpa J had given her and put the phone to her ear. When he answered he’d sounded exactly how she’d expected him to sound, how she’d always imagined a “grandpa” would sound. He had a very deep voice.

And the thing she loved the most was that he didn’t waste any time with small talk. He said he wanted to meet her face to face as soon as he could. He tried to insist on him driving to her, but when she explained that she was actually very excited to see the dog rescue, he’d given in. He’d said he was still worried about her driving the backwoods roads though and he would happily go pick her up. She said that Dax would be driving her and he’d conceded once again.

After a quick shower, she, Dax and Capone had been out the door with coffee in hand in less than an hour. The entire ride up she’d been quiet, which was just her default mode whenever she was stressed. Dax seemed to understand.

He’d asked if she’d wanted to talk. She’d said no. He’d told her to pick whatever station she wanted on the radio if she wanted music. And then he’d let her just be quiet.

Capone was on her lap, which was doing wonders for her anxiety, but not so much for her nervous nausea. He must have got into some people food before they’d left because he’d been passing some serious gas the entire trip. As bad as it smelled, it served as much-needed comic relief when she’d started getting too much in her head. It was like he had a sixth sense when she needed to laugh and he’d let one go. She and Dax would crack up and gag as they rolled the windows down even though it was freezing.

Dax slowed down and put his blinker on and she turned to him and asked, “Are we here?”

It was a ridiculous question since she could clearly see on the map lit up on the navigation screen that they were there. But it had just come out.

“Yep, it’s just down this road.”

As they drove slowly down the dirt road that was framed with snow on each side, he glanced over at her and said, “He’s going to love you.”

“Thanks, but we’ll see.” She appreciated Dax saying so but she wasn’t convinced.

It wasn’t that she thought he would hate her, it was just that she’d wanted to know her family for so long that she was scared to get her hopes up and then be disappointed. She’d built this reunion up in her head to mythical proportions. And not just since she’d found the picture. Her daydreams about her family had started when she was a little girl and The Princess Diaries didn’t help. She’d gone through a few years where she was convinced she was a princess and one day a limo would show up and whisk her away to her royal family.

That dream had never come true, but another one was about to. She was going to meet the first male that actually shared her blood. When they pulled up in front of a cabin-style house that was set far back off the road, the door opened and out walked a man that she instantly recognized from the light-Facebook stalking she’d done after she had learned her grandpa’s full name. Donald Gregory Williams Sr. stepped out and he looked exactly like his profile picture. He had white hair that he wore in a short, clean cut and a beard that’s length was somewhere between Santa Claus and ZZ Top. He was tall and still in very good shape. He looked like the Brawny man in his seventies. He wore a flannel shirt, blue jeans and boots.

Ginny hadn’t been sure about how she’d feel when this moment finally came. She’d imagined it so many times and in so many ways but nothing could have prepared her for the reality.

As soon as Dax lifted Capone from her lap, Ginny popped out of the SUV like she was spring loaded and ran up the porch with tears falling down her face and she was met with grandpa’s open arms. He wrapped them around her and she held on tight for so long. It was like she was afraid that when the hug ended, he’d be gone.

She wasn’t sure how long they’d stayed like that, crying as they held each other on the porch, but when she finally did let go she was happy to find he didn’t disappear. He pulled her in once more for a briefer embrace before introducing himself to Dax and Capone and inviting them in for hot chocolate before they took a tour of his rescue facility.

As Ginny walked into the homey cabin she felt one more piece of herself click into place. She realized part of that was thanks to Dax. He gave her the courage and the strength to trust her instincts. To take action and not second-guess herself. To finally be her own person.

She wasn’t sure if she could ever express to him what he’d done for her in the short period of time that they’d spent together, or if he’d ever fully appreciate the gift he’d imparted. But she knew then that no matter what happened in the future, Dax had given her something that was better than any diamond, he’d given her herself.

“Well, you sure were thirsty, weren’t ya, Capone?” Her grandfather bent down and petted the bulldog’s head, starting at his left ear, doing two circles on the crown of his head, and then going to his right and then repeating. She immediately recognized it as the same pattern that she petted his head in.

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