AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Steph released a sigh. She’d be late if she didn’t get going on fixing Pops dinner. Yeah, it might be her birthday, but she wasn’t going to leave her grandpa hanging. Maybe she could bring him some dessert from whatever restaurant Cal planned to take her to. He told her it was a surprise, so she’d asked, “What should I wear? A dress?”
“Don’t you always wear a dress?” he’d replied.
Okay, so he had a fair point.
Her phone buzzed with the ongoing group text. Most of the messages today had been about her birthday.
Have so much fun on your date,Brandy’s text read.Tell us everything!
I will,Steph wrote.
Yeah, have a blast,Everly texted.
Maren wants a full report of all your birthday presents,Julie added.
Me too,Lori texted.
Steph laughed.Everyone will get a full report—well, mostly full. If there’s kissing, then you’ll have to imagine that report.
Before she closed her phone, an email came through. She opened it and scanned through the message from her new English teacher. She’d signed up for an online English class that she decided would be fun to take. She’d see where things went. Apparently, her teacher had already assigned reading homework. That, she could do. She closed down the email, then slipped her phone into her dress pocket.
Heading out of her bedroom and down the hall, she found Pops sitting in his recliner, with the TV on low and a crossword in his lap. Cal had told him something about avoiding dementia by doing word puzzles. And Pops pretty much listened to everything Cal said. Tonight, Lydia and Jorge would be coming over for another board game battle with Pops—which meant Steph wouldn’t have to worry about him while out with Cal.
When she suggested that she’d be fine if Pops came along, Cal had said that wasn’t an option.
“What’s for dinner?” Pops asked, without looking up from his crossword.
“How about warmed-up casserole from last night?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Cal had actually cooked last night—a giant chicken casserole—and Pops would love the leftovers.
She scooped up a dish, then set it in the microwave. Pops could do all of this, but it was the gesture that Steph thought important. Besides, she was doing much less for her grandpa over the past month than ever. With Cal recently moved to Everly Falls, so many things had changed—for the better.
Cal had set up a collaborative business with Austin and Ian, with them sharing their networks, and even working together at times—Austin with his architecture business, Ian with his handcrafted furniture, and Cal taking on private residence renovations.
He’d told her he was going to start on Pops’s house in the spring, but he’d already whipped out a couple of projects—replacing the shelves in the laundry room and adding a small deck that extended from the back door. Pops had been delighted and helped every step of the way.
The microwave dinged. “Pops, dinner is ready,” Steph called out.
“I’m right here,” he said.
She spun to see him sitting at the kitchen table, a coy smile on his face. “Lost in thought?”
“Apparently,” she said, her skin warming.
“Thinking about your man?”
Steph smirked. “Can’t share those thoughts.”
“You mean you can’t kiss and tell?” Pops said.
Where was all this coming from? Oh yeah, Pops was a nosy rooster.
She set the bowl of casserole in front of him, then poured him a glass of milk. Next, she sliced a peach for him. “Do you want toast or anything else?”
“This is excellent,” Pops said between bites. “Hitting the spot already.”
