AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They got out and walked up the front porch and into the door.
No one greeted them, which he found odd. Normally his grandmother was rushing toward him, but maybe she was busy in the kitchen.
When they got to the back, he saw his father and grandfather sitting there with a glass of scotch in their hands. “Where’s Grandma?” he asked.
“I thought she was in the kitchen,” his grandfather said. “Marci!”
There was no answer, but he’d let it go for now. “Dad and Grandpa, this is Faith O’Malley. Faith, my father, Sean Brennan, and my grandfather, Logan Brennan.”
“Listen to all these nice strong Irish names,” his father said.
“Very Irish,” she said, moving forward.
That was the first time his father had said that. Though he did remember there was a time his father insisted that he’d find some nice Irish girl to be with. That she’d understand him. He wasn’t sure why he was just remembering this now and it was starting to make him wonder if Faith was right. That the men were in on this. His father included.
“There you are,” his grandmother said, coming into the room. “I was upstairs in the linen closet looking for one of my spring table runners.”
He didn’t understand his grandmother’s need to always decorate so much for the holidays, but she enjoyed it. He could care less and noticed that Faith didn’t do those things either.
“It’s nice to see you again, Marci,” Faith said. “We brought some wine.”
“Wine would be lovely,” his grandmother said. “Sawyer, why don’t you pour us both a glass and fill me in on how Curt is doing.”
He went to the kitchen and opened the bottle of wine Faith had picked out, then poured them both a glass. When he came out, his father had a glass of scotch ready for him. He was sure he was going to need it.
“He’s doing well,” he said. “Moving around and back in his bedroom upstairs. They are pleased with his progress and he and Grandma aren’t fighting as much.”
His father laughed. “I talked to Gretta the other day. She said things are going well. Curt looked great when I saw him a few weeks ago too.”
He knew his father went to visit and do anything they needed done. He should have been the one to do it, but there was part of him that didn’t want to run into his mother again and the other part that was struggling to find the time to balance everything in his life.
He’d known for a while he was in love with Faith, but since she wasn’t saying anything, he wasn’t going to. He figured when the time was right, it’d just happen.
“He was happy to see you,” Sawyer said. “I know they want to meet Faith. I’ll try to get there in a few months if I can. It’s hard to break away on the weekends when James has been covering for me.”
“I doubt he minds doing it,” Faith said. “You’ve said more than once you cover for him because he’s got a wife and kids.”
“And now you’re in a relationship,” his grandmother said. “So he should cover for you too. It goes both ways.”
His grandmother was looking at him and then Faith. “I’m fine with it,” Faith said. “I understand Sawyer is committed to his job. I like helping him with it. He’s doing a great thing out there.”
“He should be committed to more than his job,” his father said.
He ignored that. There was no reason to reply. It’d only set him off and he was sick of defending himself all the time.
* * *
Marci finished cleaningup dinner with Faith’s help, then said she’d be right back and went upstairs to put her linens away. She’d already snuck up there earlier to call Jolene and get some advice on what to say and how to act as she still felt horrible about the way they cornered Faith.
Thankfully, Faith didn’t seem bothered by it and acted as if it never happened.
She pulled her phone out and texted Jolene fast. She knew her neighbor had a full house but was told to reach out when she could and Jolene would sneak away and call her.
She waited a minute and was going to return downstairs, but her phone rang in her hand.
“Hello,” she said quietly.
“How’s it going?” Jolene asked just as quietly.
