Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Griffin laughed as I followed him up the brick walk. He waved to a group of young girls running through the sprinkler on the front lawn next door, and one of them waved back. “Hi, Uncle Griffin!”
“Hi, Mariah,” he called back. “Your dad home?”
She shook her head, her hair throwing water droplets. “He’s at work. Grandma is here.”
Griffin nodded. “That’s Cole’s daughter,” he said to me. “My goddaughter.”
“Adorable.” I smiled at her. “How old is she?”
“Eight. They moved in with his mom after Cole’s wife died.”
I gasped. “How did she die?”
“Giving birth to Mariah, actually.”
My heart ached for the handsome police officer I’d met last night, and for his cute young daughter. “God, that’s awful. He never remarried?”
Griffin shook his head. “Nope.”
We climbed the steps onto the front porch, and I noticed the pretty hanging baskets of flowers and white rocking chairs and the welcome mat that read Fáilte. Before we could even knock on the wooden screen door, someone pulled it open.
“Well, hi there, big brother.” A pretty woman with a long, caramel-colored braid over one shoulder and wide brown eyes grinned at us. She had the same dimple in her chin that Griffin did. “Glad you could make it.” She winked at me. “And this must be your bride.”
“Don’t start,” he warned her. “Blair, this is my sister, Cheyenne.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
“You too.” She stood back, holding the door. “I was hoping to set eyes on the girl who made Griffin break his number one rule. Come on in. Mom’s in the den if you want to say hello.”
“Is it optional?” Griffin muttered.
Cheyenne laughed. “Probably not.”
Griffin looked at me. “One last warning. My mother can be overbearing. And dramatic. And she plays dumb even though she’s not.”
“It’s her favorite game,” confirmed Cheyenne.
I laughed, still wondering what the number one rule was that Griffin had broken for me. “I’ll remember that.”
Cheyenne led the way through the living room and dining room toward a small den that looked like it had been added on to the back of the house at some point. A woman with a messy cap of silvery hair was resting on the sofa watching television, but she immediately got up when she saw us. Her face, gently lined with age, lit up with excitement. Right away, I saw where Griffin’s blue eyes had come from.
“Well, hello,” she said with enthusiasm, ignoring Griffin to take both my hands in hers. “What a lovely, lovely surprise!”
“Mom, this is Blair,” he said.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Blair. I’m Darlene Dempsey.”
I smiled. “Nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Dempsey.”
“Please, call me Darlene.” She squeezed my hands. “Aren’t you adorable! Look how adorable she is, Griffin. Isn’t she adorable?”
“Where’s the cat, Cheyenne?” Griffin asked.
Darlene glared at her son. “I asked you a question.”
Griffin rolled his eyes. “She’s adorable,” he grumped.
“Can I get you something, Blair? Tea? A snack? Some cookies? I made chicken salad for dinner. Do you like chicken salad?”
“We’re not staying, Mom.” Griffin’s tone was firm.
His mother shot him a dirty look. “You have somewhere so much better to be?”
“We’re just picking up the kitten.”
“You have to eat dinner, don’t you?”
“We’re going out.”
Darlene sniffed. “Well, I think you can spare a few minutes for your mother. You haven’t been to see me in days.”
“I was here Monday to mow the lawn, Mom. It’s only Wednesday.”
“That’s what I said. Days.” She looked at me again and smiled sweetly. “Come sit for just a moment. I don’t have company too often, and it does get lonely. I thought I’d have grandchildren to spoil by now, but . . .” Her expression turned mournful. “Alas. I remain bereft.”
Behind me, Cheyenne sighed heavily. “Griff, why don’t you come sign the paperwork? Then we can get your new best friend all loaded up.”
“That’s fine,” Darlene said, taking a seat on the sofa again and patting the cushion beside her. “Blair and I will just take a moment to get better acquainted.”
I glanced at Griffin, who looked reluctant to leave me alone with his mother. Sorry, he mouthed, but he followed Cheyenne out of the den, and I lowered myself onto the sofa, knees pressed together, hands clasped around them.
“So,” Darlene said brightly, patting my leg. “Tell me how you and Griffin met. Have you known each other long?”
“We met just last night, actually. I was driving down Main Street and blew a tire.”
“My goodness! Were you hurt?”
“I was fine, just a bit shaken up. When I got out of the car, Griffin and a couple friends were standing there. And then . . .” I wrinkled my nose. “I fainted.”
Darlene gasped, steeling her fingers over her heart. “You fainted!”
“Yes, but Griffin caught me before I hit the ground.”
“The Lord at work!” she exclaimed, looking toward the ceiling.
I laughed. “He towed my car back to his garage, and then he was nice enough to let me stay over, since I had nowhere to go.”