“That’s because he’s a good man.” Mike nodded curtly at Tank.
“Well, I’ve never been given much of anything, and your family has spoiled us rotten. Thank you for being so generous.” She hugged Mike.
“You want to thank me? Keep bringing these little ladies over to visit.” He cocked a grin. “And a few cookies wouldn’t hurt.”
“I’ll remember that for our next visit.”
“Who dis?” Rosie asked, pointing to a picture of Tank when he was a little boy.
Mike said, “That’s my boy Tank when he was just a little older than Juju.”
Rosie’s eyes bloomed wide. “He little!”
“Once upon a time, he sure was.” Mike winked at Leah. “Did you meet Blaine yesterday? He’s not as big as Tank, but he has bright blue eyes and he’s always looking at pretty ladies.”
The girls nodded, and Junie said, “He doesn’t have stowies on here.” She rubbed Mike’s forearm.
Mike cocked a brow at Tank.
“Tats, Gramps,” Tank explained. “That’s right, Twitch. Blaine keeps most of his stories hidden under his clothes.”
“Stories, huh? I like that,” Mike said. “And I’ve got some good stories for you. Tank and Blaine were my first ice cream buddies.”
“I like ice cweam!” Rosie said.
“Me too!” Junie said.
“Let’s see if I’ve got some for you, then.” Mike went into the kitchen, and the girls ran after him.
“You don’t have to give them ice cream.” Leah started after them.
Tank intercepted her, drawing her into his arms as Mike called out from the kitchen, “Grandpa’s house, Grandpa’s rules,” and the girls giggled.
“Your family spoils us,” she said softly.
“You and the girls deserve to be spoiled. You’ve shouldered a lot for years.” He heard his grandfather getting out bowls and talking with the girls, so he lowered his lips to hers.
She looked nervously over her shoulder.
“They’re too busy to look for us,” he reassured her.
“Sorry,” she said softly. “I’m sure you’re used to women falling all over you, but I don’t want to confuse the girls.”
“I get it, but unless you’d rather I didn’t, I’m going to take advantage of the few minutes we get when they’re busy.”
“I’d rather you did.” She went up on her toes, meeting him halfway in a sweet, slow kiss.
“And now we’re going to the table,” Mike said loudly. He winked at Tank as they came into the room, leading the girls to the dining table. “I think Tank and your mama need some ice cream, too.”
“Good idea,” Tank said, and Leah blushed as he dragged her into the kitchen, away from little eyes, and kissed her again.
She tore her mouth away, whispering, “Your grandfather is your wingman?”
Tank laughed. “He never has been in the past, but he’s doing a hell of a job.”
He lowered his lips to hers again, crushing her soft body to his as he deepened the kiss. She came away breathless and flushed.
“We are not doing this here,” she whispered, and tugged him into the other room, blushing adorably.
“Hey, doll, can you grab that picture off the end table?” Mike pointed to the picture of their last family reunion before Tank’s grandmother and Ashley died. “That’s it. The one with all the people in it. The girls want to know about Tank’s grandmother.”
“She dead,” Rosie announced.
“Rosie,” Leah said exasperatedly as she handed Mike the picture, and she and Tank joined them at the table. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. She’s right.” Mike looked thoughtfully at the picture. “This was the last picture with my entire family. See this beautiful woman? That’s my Hilda, Tank’s grandmother.”
“She pwetty,” Rosie said.
“Yes, she was, like your mama, and all the rest of these women. We Wickeds know how to pick ’em.” Mike winked at Tank.
“And keep their pwomises,” Junie said.
Mike gave Tank an approving glance. “That’s right, little lady. Let me show you my family.” He pointed to each of the people in the picture and told a little story about them as they ate their ice cream.
“Were you sad when Hilda went to heaven?” Junie asked.
“I was. I cried like a baby. When I lost her, I wasn’t sure I could go on.” Mike patted Tank’s forearm. “But this guy came over every night and kept me company. We would get in the car, and some nights we’d drive for hours. Other times we went for ice cream, parked at the beach, and sat in the car eating and watching the sunset, talking about my Hilda.”
Leah looked at Tank with so much emotion, he hugged her against his side, memories pummeling him of those difficult times after losing his grandmother. He’d been twenty-three when his grandmother died, and even now, nine years later, he couldn’t fathom losing his grandfather, too.
“I fell in love with Hilda the first time I saw her,” Mike told the girls. “I was only seventeen, but I’d been on my own for a year, and I knew I’d be with her forever.”
“Why were you on your own?” Leah asked.
Mike sat back, his eyes narrowing. “My father ruled with an iron fist, and I’d gotten enough bruises to last a lifetime, so I took off at sixteen, met Hilda a year later, and when I turned eighteen, I put a ring on her finger. I never regretted it. We didn’t have much, but we had love, and that was enough.”
“I’m sorry you went through that,” Leah said.
“It’s okay, darlin’. We can’t choose our parents, but we can choose how we live our lives.” Mike ate a spoonful of ice cream and pointed to Ashley in the picture. “See this beauty? That’s our Ashley, Tank’s younger sister. She’s in heaven, too.”
Tank’s gut twisted, and Leah put her hand over his.
Junie looked solemnly at Tank and said, “Were you sad when Ashley went to heaven?”
“Yeah, Twitch. Real sad,” Tank admitted.
She tilted her head, her ringlets framing her serious face. “How did you get happy?”
He couldn’t very well say that he hadn’t been happy until Leah and the girls came into his life, so he told her the truth in a way she could handle. “I remembered all the good things about Ashley, and I spent a lot of time with my grandfather and my family.”
“Eatin’ ice cweam?” Rosie asked.
“Yeah, Cheeky. Eating ice cream, driving around, watching the sunset,” Tank said.
“And, some days, watching the sunrise from the front seat of that car, too,” Mike reminded him. “Tank would show up at my place at all hours of the night. Sometimes we’d sit on my porch and talk, but usually we went for a drive. Most of the mileage on your mama’s car is from those drives. Tank and I could go hours not talking, staring out at the water. But the silence was filled with memories of our sweet Ashley. She was smilin’ down on us then like she is now, from up in heaven with my Hilda.”
“And Wiver and Gwampa Leo,” Junie said.