Chapter 19 Grant
Ever since my talk with Sybil about Thomas needing something to do, an idea started forming in my mind.
Heath, Cameron, and I came up with a brilliant plan.
Thomas needed an activity to keep him going but without too much responsibility.
We’d fashioned one that would fit his requirements, and tonight was the perfect time to bring it up.
We were meeting at their apartment for dinner.
I stepped into their building at the same time as Heath and Evie.
As the three of us entered the elevator, Evie pouted. “Uncle Grant, why didn’t you bring Ruby?”
My eyes bulged. I looked up at Heath, who frowned.
“Evie, this is a family dinner,” he replied.
“And Ruby’s not part of the family?” She looked at me. “Oh, right. She’s your friend .”
She gave me an uncharacteristically suspicious glance. I didn’t even think she could be suspicious.
Heath cleared his throat. “That’s personal, Evie.”
She turned to her dad with wide eyes. “So I’m not allowed to ask?”
“No! ”
My brother liked giving me a hard time, so I was amazed that he didn’t question me.
“Ruby will join us another time,” I told Evie.
“How late do you reckon Cameron will be?” I asked Heath as we got out of the elevator.
“He’s already here.”
Damn, tonight was such a surprise.
I rang the bell, then took out my phone and texted Ruby.
Grant: How’s the dinner rush going?
She replied quickly.
Ruby: Today’s been a blur. I haven’t even gotten to eat yet.
I stared at the phone. What the hell? She was at the restaurant. How could she not eat?
I immediately texted Sherry. She’d given me her number during one of my visits so I could contact her about anything security-related. But this was even more important.
Grant: Sherry, make sure your boss actually goes to the break room and eats.
She replied as Cameron opened the door.
Sherry: She hasn’t eaten? Oh my God. I’m on it.
Good. I was going to check on Ruby again later. If Sherry failed, I’d personally go to the restaurant and make sure she ate.
“Hey, hey. Guess who was first?” Cameron said, sounding oddly proud.
Our parents’ place was small. From the doorway, you could practically see the living room and kitchen area. They only had the one bedroom. Sybil and Thomas were already sitting down at the table .
“Dinner’s ready. Come in!” Sybil was smiling from ear to ear.
I checked my phone as I went to join them and grinned. I had a message from Ruby.
Ruby: You’re bossing my employees into feeding me?
Grant: Yes. And I want a picture to make sure it’s happening.
Ruby: You’re not getting it. You might be able to boss Sherry, but not me.
Grant: Then I’ll be at the restaurant in 20 minutes to check for myself.
The next second, Ruby sent me a picture of her in the break room holding a bowl. I couldn’t see what was in it, but it didn’t matter.
Ruby: Not sure if I like that you’re so bossy.
I grinned. Oh, she liked it. I was sure of it.
Grant: At the cabin, you liked that I took charge.
Ruby: Clearly, I shouldn’t have said that. It went straight to your head.
Grant: You know it.
“Uncle Grant, are you texting with Ruby?”
I looked up from my phone at Evie, whose eyes were fixed on me. Heath blinked, clearly taken aback by his daughter’s behavior. Cameron just started laughing, but Sybil and Thomas were looking at me with interest. I decided to be open.
“Yeah. I was checking on her. She didn’t eat all day, so I asked one of her employees to make sure she had dinner. ”
Cameron’s expression was comically shocked. Heath just looked surprised. But Evie was grinning from ear to ear, and Sybil as well. I swear, if you didn’t know they weren’t actually blood related, you’d say they had identical grins.
“Will you look at that?” Sybil said, then clapped her hands together. “All right, everyone, let’s dig in. I made bouillabaisse.”
“Does it have fish in it?” Evie asked, scrunching her nose.
“Yes. I’m trying out new recipes, and this one caught my eye. But don’t worry, I have goodies in the fridge in case you don’t like it.”
“Okay.”
Sybil turned to me. “You know, whenever we get to do this again, you’re more than welcome to bring Ruby.”
If possible, Evie’s grin was even bigger than before. What was it with these two?
I nodded. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”
We each filled our plates. My brothers and I hadn’t decided who’d bring the job up, so I did.
“So,” I said, clearing my throat, “I have an announcement to make.”
“You’re getting married!” Evie exclaimed.
I nearly choked. “What?”
“Evie!” Heath chastised.
Cameron’s eyes bulged, and then he looked at me. “Are you?”
“No!” What the hell? I could understand Evie making all sorts of assumptions, but Cameron?
“Oh,” Evie said, sounding sad.
I blinked rapidly, looking up at Heath, who just shrugged. Shaking my head, I tried again. “Thomas, we need your help with something.”
Thomas immediately straightened up, looking from me to Cameron, then to Heath. My brothers probably realized what I was getting at, because they were suddenly both looking at him.
“Yeah, we do,” Heath replied. “We’re setting up a pro bono security operation for preschools. We haven’t found anyone we can trust overseeing it. Would you be able to spare a few hours every day?”
My brothers were looking at Thomas, but Sybil’s expression caught my attention. Her eyes softened, and she nodded slightly at me.
“Of course, of course,” Thomas said. “Anything for you boys. And you said you can’t find anyone for this?”
“As I said, it’s just a few hours a day, not even enough for part-time. Most people scoff at that.” We could easily just make it part of someone’s existing job, but Thomas was clearly eager to fill a few hours of his day with work.
“Well, I’m ready to start whenever you want me to. Honestly, I could use some sort of schedule.”
“Darling, this is wonderful,” Sybil said. “How many hours a day would that be?”
“It depends on the day,” Cameron went on, putting yet another spoonful of bouillabaisse on his plate. “Some days just a couple of hours, but some days it might be more like six.”
Sybil frowned. “Six? That doesn’t sound like part-time.”
“That will just be on days when the team is at a school, installing everything.”
“Right, right,” Sybil said.
Thomas seemed to relish this new piece of information. “Up to six hours, eh? That’s perfect. Honey, I’ve been used to twelve-hour workdays my whole life. This is part-time for me.”
Sybil smiled. “I’m glad for you, darling. So, what’s the verdict on my bouillabaisse?”
There was a chorus of “I like it.” Even Evie nodded, but only half-heartedly.
“When do I start?” Thomas asked.
We discussed the details as Sybil served chocolate mousse. It was her specialty. Evie was over the moon.
“All right,” Cameron said about an hour later. “I’m taking my leave. I have plans for the evening. ”
“Do we want to know?” Heath smirked.
“No, you don’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Evie asked.
Heath winced. The perils of teasing in front of his daughter. “Nothing, sweetheart. We should be going too. Tomorrow is a school day.”
“Yes! And I want to read a few more chapters of my book before bed.”
“What are you reading?” Sybil asked her.
They spoke about her book right until they left.
Afterward, Sybil went to the fridge, taking out various fruits.
“How long will the project be for?” Thomas asked me.
“For now, we only signed up a few preschools. But since we’re offering this for free, we expect more will take us up on the offer.”
“That’s great,” he said.
Sybil came back to the table, putting a bowl in the middle. She looked at me with a knowing smile. “So, how’s Ruby? Has she had dinner?”
“Yes, she did.”
“Grant, I can’t tell you how good it is to see you getting close to someone,” she exclaimed.
Thomas turned to her. “Should we be talking about this? You said you didn’t want to seem like you’re expecting anything.”
“Well, I’m not expecting anything,” Sybil said. “We’re just happy for him.”
“You’ve talked about this?” I asked them.
Thomas nodded. “Of course,” he replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “She brings this up at least twice a year. But ever since we went bowling, she brings it up twice a week.”
“Don’t talk like it’s a nuisance,” Sybil said. “You like gossiping about the boys’ lives as much as I do.”
“That’s true,” Thomas agreed, then started to laugh. “What’s the point in having kids if you don’t get to gossip about their lives?”
I had a lot of affection for these two. As weird as it always felt for me to call them Mom and Dad, it felt natural for them to refer to us as their kids.
“I’ll take that as my cue. This is my time to leave as well.”
“Yes, yes, run away,” Sybil said with a knowing smile. “Maybe check on Ruby again.”
I schooled my features. I was going to check on Ruby, but I didn’t want to own up to it. I had no idea what Sybil would do with that information. Ever since I’d introduced them, I was seeing a completely new side of Sybil.
“All right, you two, I’m going. Have a great evening.”
“You too,” Thomas said. “And thanks again, son.”
He was in a great mood, and I was happy that my brothers and I put him there.
Once I got in the car, I checked my phone. It was 10:00 p.m. Ruby wasn’t going to be off for another two hours, but I called her anyway. To my astonishment, she answered.
“Hey, you,” she said.
“Hey. How’s your evening?”
“It’s good.”
“Is it very quiet?”
“Yeah, I came out for a bit of fresh air, and what do you know? I was thinking about you, and then you called.”
“And why were you thinking about me?” I decided to head to Ruby’s restaurant instead of my place.
“That I’d like to see you.”
Her honesty caught me off guard.
“That’s such a coincidence. You know where I’m heading?”
“Home?”
“Nah. To the restaurant.”
She gasped. “Why?”
“Because I want to see you too. ”
After a pause, she replied, “I won’t say no to that. But you do know that—”
“You’re there until midnight. No problem. I’ll just wait at the bar and have a drink. Then I’ll walk you home and convince you to invite me in for a nightcap.”
“Such an inventive way to get yourself into my bed.”
“You know it.”
I heard someone speaking faintly in the background. “Oh, Sherry is calling me inside. Guess I’ll see you soon.”
Excitement filled her voice. It was contagious.
“Exactly.”
Since I wasn’t on a schedule, I searched on my phone for places where I could buy flowers. I finally found a grocery store nearby and headed there first.
Twenty minutes later, I parked in front of The Cozy Place and got out, then reached back in for the bouquet. I had no idea what type the flowers were, but they looked decent enough.
I went straight inside, walking up to the bar. No one really paid attention to me. The place was still half full of patrons eating despite the late hour. The bartender recognized me and glanced at the flowers.
“Just a tip,” he said as I approached, “Boss is in the break room.”
“Thanks.”
I headed to the back. Ruby was sitting down, sipping an orange drink. She immediately got to her feet when she saw me. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, but several loose curls came down her shoulders.
She grinned, taking the bouquet from me. “You brought me flowers.”
I stepped closer to her, capturing her earlobe between my thumb and forefinger before splaying my hand on her neck and the back of her head.
“I just wanted to see you tonight. ”
She frowned slightly, but then her face opened up into a smile.
“I can’t believe it.”
“I can’t either,” I replied. Her eyes widened, and I kissed one corner of her mouth. “This is all new to me—bringing flowers, missing someone.”
She exhaled sharply. “Oh, Grant.” I pulled back, looking her in the eyes. “You make me want to invite you for that nightcap right now,” she said.
I grinned as I leaned in for a kiss. “Fantastic idea.”