“I care about her very much.”
“I love to hear that. She’s always been such a ray of sunshine from the time she was a little girl.”
“That’s how I describe her, too.” He smiled, looking out over the ocean as the sunset lit up the western sky. “She speaks so highly of you and your husband and the summers they spent here.”
“Yes,” she said, her smile fading a bit. “We didn’t know then what was happening at home. But we don’t need to talk about that. Thankfully, it’s all in the past now.” She patted Jace’s arm. “I won’t keep you. I just wanted the chance to speak to you one-on-one, to tell you what our Cindy means to us.”
“I’ve never known a big family like this one,” he said. “It’s quite something how you all look out for each other.”
“You’re welcome with us, Jace, and we’ll look out for you and your boys, too.”
Her words touched him deeply. “That’s very kind of you, and I’m honored to be part of something like this. Although, you know, the boys don’t really belong to me. Not anymore.”
“They’ll always be part of you, no matter where they live or who raises them.”
“Yes, well, I suppose that’s true.”
“Do I need to rescue you, Jace?” Cindy asked when she came to the slider.
“Of course you don’t.” Adele laughed as she went up on tiptoes to kiss Jace’s cheek. “I’ve had a lovely chat with your handsome young man, and now I’ll leave you to go see if the boys ate all the cake.” She hugged Cindy as she went inside.
“She’s quite something,” Jace said, smiling as Cindy stepped into his embrace.
“She sure is. I hope she didn’t threaten to beat you up, too.”
“Nah, she told me I was welcome here with your family, which was very sweet of her. It’s been a long time since I was part of a family—and never one quite like this one.”
“I’m very glad to have you here with mine.”
He waggled his brows at her as he kissed her. “Today’s been one of the best days of my life, and it’s not over yet.”
John bided his time,waiting until his grandparents said their goodbyes and headed toward their cottage behind the main house. He slipped his arm through his grandmother’s. “I’ll walk you home.”
She laughed. “It’s right there, Johnny boy. I think we can find it.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t escort you, does it?”
“Happy to have you,” Russ said.
“I was hoping I might talk to you guys about something,” John said, his full stomach turning a bit. He’d been on edge all day, anticipating this moment.
“Are you all right?” Adele asked.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing bad. At least I hope you won’t think it’s bad.”
“Come in,” Russ said when they reached the cottage. “And take a load off. You want a drink?”
“I won’t say no to that.” John sat on the comfortable sectional sofa Adele had wanted so there’d be plenty of room for visitors.
His grandfather made him a gin and tonic with a twist of lime and handed it to him.
“Thanks, Pop.” John took a couple of sips of his drink while he waited for them to get what they wanted and join him in the living room.
“What’s going on?” Adele asked.
“I shared some news with the rest of the family recently, and I wanted to tell you guys about it.”
“Okay…”