“Grant sure looks good with a baby girl in his arms,” Sutton said.
Jules sighed dreamily. “He sure does.” She imagined him in the future with their little ones, loving them up alongside her siblings and their kids. She knew she was getting way ahead of herself, but she couldn’t help what her heart saw.
“Hadley loves the broody boys,” Leni said. “Better watch out, Daph.”
Daphne grabbed a cookie. “I know. Jock’s already sizing up a chastity belt.”
They all laughed as they watched Grant and Levi toss Hadley into the pile of leaves. Grant shoved Levi, and he fell beside her. Joey jumped on Grant’s back, and he pulled her over his shoulders, tossing her in the leaves, laughing as he turned around, hollering something to the other guys. Archer threw the football to Grant. Levi intercepted it and was immediately tackled by Jock. Joey jumped on top of them, and Hadley threw leaves at them.
Jules had longed for this type of reunion for too many years. She leaned against her mother and said, “I love those fools so much.”
“Me too, baby girl.”
They went back to getting dessert ready, and Jules told them about Grant’s plans for the Silver Lining Foundation. They asked a million questions, and Leni offered to help in any way she could. Jules was telling them about his plans to fix up the bungalow when the guys barreled through the door with Joey and Hadley in tow, bringing laughter and general chaos.
Grant tugged Jules into his arms, and she said, “I was just telling everyone about the foundation and your plans to fix up the bungalow.”
“I told the guys, too. They’re coming over to help Saturday.”
“Really? That’s great.”
“We’re looking forward to it. You picked a good egg, Bug.” Her father dropped a kiss on her cheek and headed across the room to her mother.
Jules warmed all over at her father’s approval, taking in the chaos around them as Jock scooped up Hadley and Daphne helped take off their little girl’s jacket. Joey and Archer stole cookies, and Leni swatted at them. Their father embraced their mother, the two of them talking quietly between kisses. Sutton handed Levi a fork, and the two of them huddled over a chocolate pie on the counter, gobbling it down and peeking over their shoulders between bites. They did it every Thanksgiving, which was why her mother always made an extra chocolate pie, and Jules found it funny each and every time.
Her heart was full to near bursting as Grant gathered her close and kissed her. It was unhurried, despite the ruckus around them, and sweeter than ever before. It was the kiss of a man who had found his happy place.
Mission accomplished.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“I THINK WE should start with that monstrosity out back,” Grant’s father said Saturday morning. He’d shown up ten minutes ago with Fitz and Wells and a trunk full of tools.
“You don’t like the octopus tree consuming the bungalow?” Fitz asked sarcastically.
Grant chuckled. “I think that’s a good place to start.” He was hoping to get the driveway cleared out, too, but after taking a closer look at the property, he had a feeling he’d underestimated how big a job it was just to clear the brush away from the bungalow.
Jules knocked on the window from inside. She was holding Crash and waving his paw. Grant lifted his chin and blew her a kiss. She was getting ready for work.
“You have a cat?” Wells asked.
“Sort of. That’s Crash. He was a stray. I forgot you haven’t been inside since I got back. I’ve made a few changes. Come in and take a look around. We’ll grab some water bottles while we’re in there.”
As they headed inside, his father looked down at the welcome mat and arched a brow. “Jules?”
“Who else?” Grant pushed the door open.
Jules breezed out of the bedroom with her coat on and a big bag over her shoulder. “Hi, you guys. Sorry I can’t help today, but don’t worry, we stocked the fridge. We’ve got bottled water, sodas, beer, a bunch of snacks, and sandwich stuff.” She waved to the bags of chips and pretzels littering the counter. “There’s also ice cream, cookies, and fruit.”
“Thank you, Jules. You didn’t need to go to all of that trouble,” his father said.
Jules shrugged. “You never know what you’ll be hungry for.” She hugged his father and brothers. “Have a fun day!”
Grant opened the door for her and pointed to the earplug in his right ear. “I figured I’d try it out.”
“I hope it helps.”
“Me too.” He kissed her. “I’ll let you know how it goes. Love you.” He gave her ass a pat as she walked out.
His father went straight to the pictures hanging beside the bay window, and Grant’s stomach clenched. He’d already gotten used to seeing the paintings and family photos, and he hadn’t thought about them when he’d invited his family inside. The pictures were casual shots taken at events, one of him and his entire family the day he’d left for the military, with Bellamy and Keira flanking him, clinging to his waist. There was another picture of his family taken at one of Jules’s grandmother’s birthday celebrations. His family was sitting at a table, and his father had one arm around Grant’s mother’s chair, the other around the back of Grant’s chair. The third picture was taken on the beach. He had no recollection of when it was taken, but there were balloons tied to beach chairs and Grant, who looked to be around eleven or twelve, Wells, and their sisters sat with their knees in the sand around Fitz, who was buried from his neck down. They were all wearing goofy smiles.
“Bro, you have curtains.” Wells tapped on the island and said, “Where’d you get this?”
“I made it,” Grant said.
“The bench is a bit girlie,” Fitz teased, pulling a book from beneath. “I didn’t know you were into romance novels.”
Grant glowered at him and ripped the book from his hands, tucking it back where he’d gotten it from.
Wells picked up the cactus and snort-laughed. “Check this out. The guy is definitely whipped.”
Grant barked, “Put that down.”
“Touchy, aren’t we?” Wells set it down. “Why don’t you just buy this place?”
“Because I’m just starting to pull together the foundation,” Grant said tightly. “One major life decision at a time is enough.”
Wells scoffed. “It’s hardly a major life decision. You could pay cash for this place and it’d be a blip in your bank account. I’ll never understand why you have to overthink everything. Are you afraid of commitment?”
Grant gritted his teeth, his patience wearing thin. “Not everyone can be like you and act now, think about the consequences later.”
“Grant was married to his job for fifteen years, Wells. Give him time to figure his shit out,” Fitz said.
“I just meant, it’s prime real estate. It’s not like it would be a bad decision,” Wells said.
Ignoring his brother’s need to dissect his decisions, Grant went to his father and said, “Jules had those family pictures at her place.”
His father pointed at the one on the beach. “That was the weekend of Bellamy’s fourth birthday. All she wanted was a pink big-girl bike with training wheels, and the company I ordered it from sent a red one. You went outside at the crack of dawn and painted it pink without any of us knowing. You tried to tell us you didn’t do it, but the paint on your sneakers gave you away.”