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“Uh-huh. What do you think?”
“I …”
“What the hell. I trust you that even if we screw this up, you and Ava will be okay. Let’s do it.”
She could feel a big smile on her face. “Okay. I don’t know what we’re doing, Grady, but I do know that it feels right.”
“Yeah. That’s what I’m going on, too. It feels right.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later then.”
“Yep. And call if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay. I promise I will if we need anything, but I’m sure we’ll be fine. See you later.”
“Bye.”
Chapter Thirteen
It was almost eleven-thirty by the time Grady made it back to Hannah’s cottage. The restaurant had been busy tonight. He cut the engine and sat for a minute. Things were moving fast between Hannah and him. But it was like he’d told her earlier; it felt right.
If he’d had other options, he wouldn’t have left Ava here with Hannah while he went to work. But he hadn’t had any qualms about doing it. He looked up through the windshield at the stars. It was one of those crisp, clear December nights that he loved. The stars twinkled brightly, and he smiled. Kayla used to love the stars when they were kids. She always used to talk about wishing on them. He had to swallow around the lump that formed in his throat. “Are you behind this, sis? It feels like you are. You know me too well. You know that left to my own devices, I’d never find a mom for Ava. Is that your plan here?” It was a crazy thought, but he couldn’t help feeling it was true. That Kayla was watching over Ava and him and that somehow, she’d put Hannah in his path.
He blinked away tears when a shooting star streaked across the sky. It was just coincidence, but he’d take it.
He rubbed his hand over his face and pulled himself together before getting out of the car. As soon as he did, he heard Scooter barking. Shit. He hadn’t thought about that. He didn’t want to scare Hannah or to wake Ava.
He hurried to the kitchen door and knocked. Hannah opened it with a smile. Scooter was wriggling in her arms, and launched himself at Grady, proceeding to lick his face.
Grady laughed as he came inside. As soon as Hannah had closed the door behind him, he set the puppy down and went to her, greeting her with a kiss. Then he stood back.
“I could get used to this,” he said with a laugh. “Coming home from work to find my woman and my dog happy to see me.”
Hannah laughed with him. “And your little girl tucked up in bed. Though I doubt she’s asleep anymore. Scooter made a racket once he heard you pull up.”
Grady patted the pup’s head. “He’ll make a good guard dog.”
“He’ll make a good alarm clock, too. Do you want to go and check on Ava? She went to bed on time, but I kept peeking in, and I don’t think she fell asleep until after ten.”
“Yeah. I’ll only be a minute.” He went down the hallway to the spare bedroom where he’d slept last night. He peeked around the door as quietly as he could, but he needn’t have worried. Ava was sitting up, smiling at him.
She held her arms out to him. “It is you. I knew it would be.”
“Yeah, it’s me.” He went and sat on the bed with her and wrapped his arms around her. “How are you doing? Could you not sleep here? Do you want to go home?”
She pulled away and looked up at him with wide eyes. “Do we have to? I thought we could stay here.” The way her chin wobbled made him feel awful.
“Hey,” he hugged her closer and spoke into her hair, “we can stay here. Don’t worry. I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay here.”
She nodded against his chest. “I love it here, Uncle Grady. Hannah’s lovely. And Scooter’s the best puppy in the world. And Slade lives in that little house at the gate, and he keeps us all safe. And soon I’m going to meet Hannah’s brother, Jacob. Because he has an important job that he wants me to help with.” She leaned back again. “Do you think I’ll be able to do it? I don’t know what it is. But Hannah said it’s something important.”
He smiled. “I know you’ll be able to do it. You’ll be awesome. And best of all, I think you’ll love it.” His smile faded. “But if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Jacob’s only trying to share something fun with you. He doesn’t need you to do anything if you don’t want.”
Her little eyebrows drew together. “What is it?”
“I don’t want to tell you because it’s a surprise for you. I think he wants you to like him. And this is his way to share something fun with you.”
“Okay.”
