Chapter 20
twenty
“ B ut you’re going to submit the application this week, right?” Mission raised his bottle of Dr. Pepper to his lips and took a casual sip so Kristie wouldn’t think he was pressuring her.
But he was totally pressuring her to turn in the paperwork so she could enter the King Arthur Baking Company contest that was part of the Colorado State Fair.
He wouldn’t even know about it if she hadn’t told him, and the application window had been open for two or three weeks now.
“I just need to finalize which dessert I’m going to make,” Kristie said. She scooped up another bite of sweet pea salad and popped it into her mouth. “You never told me which one you thought I should do.”
No, Mission hadn’t. The only thing he knew about baking and desserts was that he liked them. Fruit pie, chocolate pie, cookies, brownies, tarts, ice cream—Mission liked it all.
So whether Kristie made a cake with a fancy name like torte with a bunch of other modifying flavor words, or if she made an apple crisp, he didn’t care.
“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s why I didn’t answer that particular text.”
She got to her feet, leaving the space next to him empty. He’d taken a spot on a long wooden bench in the second row back from the fire. “I need another indoor s’more. Do you want anything?”
“I’m good,” he said. “There’s room at the fire for hamburgers now. You want me to make you one of those?”
Kristie beamed down at him. “Yes, please, baby.” She leaned over and touched her lips to his in a quick peck. “I’ll be right back.”
He watched her walk away, everything about her so captivating to him on this slow, easy, hot summer night, with the sun gone behind the Rocky Mountains and the fire blazing on the farm.
Mission didn’t particularly love a larger crowd of people, but he knew everyone here, and he’d always loved the gatherings Molly and Hunter did here. And before them, Gray and Elise.
Mission had always felt so welcome by the Hammonds, and that extended to those important to him.
He switched his attention from where Kristie perused the dessert table to his granddad. He sat on the end of the bench only a few feet away, and he met Mission’s gaze. “You want something to eat, Granddad? I’m going to make hamburgers for me and Kris.”
“Yeah, I’ll take a hamburger.”
Mission grunted as he got to his feet. He knew the toppings and sides his grandfather liked, and he moved over to the table to get the burgers and buns he needed.
He took a spot at the griddle and laid down the trio of hamburgers. They immediately started to sizzle, and Cord turned to him and handed him a spatula.
“I’m done with that,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you.” Mission grinned back at Cord.
“I didn’t know you were seein’ Kris,” Cord said.
“Yeah,” Mission said with a nod. He picked up the salt and pepper shakers that had been stowed in the gravel nearby. “For about a month now.” He seasoned the meat and put the shakers back.
“That’s great,” Cord said. “She’s really pretty.”
“I’ve never been out with a blonde, is what you mean.” Mission grinned at him.
Cord chuckled and glanced over his shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever paid attention to the type of woman you date.”
“I’m more naturally drawn to a brunette,” Mission said. “But there’s something about Kristie I really like.”
“I’m glad,” Cord said. “Good for you, brother.”
Mission slipped the spatula under the first burger and flipped it. “I miss you here, Cord.”
“I was just going to say, everyone’s said how awesome you are as foreman.” Cord passed the plate with hamburgers on it to Jane and turned back to Mission. “I knew you’d be great.”
“Glad one of us did.”
“New job, new girlfriend,” Cord said. “Anything else new I should know about?”
Mission shook his head. “I still don’t like living alone, so nothing new there.”
“And your granddad didn’t want to come stay with you?”
“He’s got his drum studio,” Mission said, casting a glance across the flames to his granddad. “He’s definitely getting older. I’m worried about him.”
If he lost his grandfather, Mission would have no one. Literally. He tried not to dwell on the idea of a world where he was the only person in his family, but the truth was, the thoughts came more and more often.
Every time he saw his granddad, he was reminded that the man was almost eighty-six years old, and he wouldn’t be around forever.
“You need cheese for those,” Cord said, and he took the few steps to the toppings and got the slices for Mission. Cord laid the cheese over the burgers, and Mission pulled the top from the bottom on the first bun and placed it on the griddle over the fire too.
Things moved quickly then, and Mission placed the finished burgers on paper plates Cord held for him only a few seconds later.
“Thanks, brother,” he said. “You should go eat. I think your wife is waiting for you.”
“Probably.” Cord handed the plates to Mission and nodded. “Good to see you, Mission.”
“You too.” He turned to the toppings table and added condiments to his and Granddad’s burgers, then lettuce, tomato, and bacon to his, with those same things, plus onions, to his grandfather’s.
He put avocadoes on his burger, and set the bun on top, looking up to find Kristie.
She stood with Gemma, Samantha, and Karly—a counselor, a horseback riding instructor, and one of Mission’s cowhands—easily chatting with them. Her hair glinted in the firelight like spun gold, and she tipped her head back and laughed.
He filled his granddad’s plate with sides of barbecue potato chips, baked beans, and a cob of fire-roasted corn and took it over to him.
“Something to drink, Granddad?”
“I’ve got something.” He nudged the travel mug at his feet, and Mission suspected he had coffee in that.
He returned to the throng, stepping into Kristie and leaning his hand on her waist as he asked, “What do you want on your burger?”
She faced him. “I’ll come do it.”
He stepped back as Kris said something to her friends and then came with him. He observed as she put on ketchup and mustard but no mayo, then added tomato and lettuce, but nothing else.
“Spying?” she asked as she joined him at the table with all the sides—some of which they’d already tried.
“Observing,” he clarified. “Then, next time, I’ll know how to make your burger without interrupting you.”
“You didn’t interrupt anything important.”
Still , Mission thought. Now he knew.
With their plates full, they retook their places on the bench and ate. Mission finished and looked over to his granddad and knew immediately he was done for the night.
“Finished?” he took his grandfather’s empty plate and got up to put it in the flames with his.
He loved an outdoor fire, with food cooked over it. The breeze shifted, and a wave of complaints moved through the group as the smoke did too.
Mission didn’t love smoke in his face, but he did love the scent of it. He took a long breath and sent a prayer up to heaven for his granddad’s health.
Then he faced him and Kris again. “I’ll drive you home,” he told his grandfather, though the real bonfire hadn’t even been built up yet.
Granddad would argue if he didn’t want to go—if he wasn’t truly tired—but he didn’t. He groaned as he got to his feet, and he said, “Let me go say good-bye to Matt and Boone and say thank you to Hunt.”
“All right,” Mission said, and he watched his grandfather shuffle off through the gravel.
He sat down next to Kristie again. “I’ll only be gone for about forty-five minutes,” he said. “Did you want to come?”
“Do you want me to come?”
Irritation fired through Mission, but he bit it back. “I want you to do what you want.”
“You’ll be back for the bonfire and fireworks, right?”
Mission glanced at his phone and found that the bonfire would begin in about ten minutes. “Plenty of time to enjoy the bonfire—and the desserts—before the fireworks,” he said.
She looped her arm through his and leaned into his shoulder. “Then I’ll stay here. I’ll have to ride in the back, and that’s weird.”
Mission chuckled. “People ride in the backseat, Kris. You won’t have to stay in the back on the way home.”
“You take him,” she said. “I need more of that sweet pea salad, and I have to figure out how Molly made those Rice Krispie treats, because they’re magical.”
Mission hadn’t seen Molly at all tonight, and he wasn’t surprised. He’d seen Hunt run into the house several times, and Jane and Opal seemed to be going back and forth regularly as well.
“All right.” He turned toward Kristie and kissed her. “I’ll be back soon, then.”
He got to his feet and went over to his granddad, because walking over grass—especially in low lighting—was hard for him.
Granddad finished shaking Hunter’s hand, and Mission steadied him with a hand to his elbow as they started across the lawn toward the house.
Mission waited until they’d both gotten in the truck and he’d driven off the farm before he asked, “You feelin’ okay, Granddad?”
“Yep.”
Mission’s heart squeezed, but what could he do?
Pray.
That was about it.
So Mission did that as he drove his grandfather home, helped him inside his modest house, and made sure he had everything he needed for the evening.
Mission checked his grandfather’s medications—all seemed good there—and the food in his fridge. Also good.
“You don’t need to mother me,” Granddad said as he shuffled over to his recliner and sank into it.
“Someone’s got to.” Mission turned away from the inspection of his grandfather’s living conditions.
He moved into the living room and sat down on the couch near Granddad. “I’m just worried about you.”
“You’re worried about yourself,” Granddad said.
“Both can be true,” Mission said.
“You’ve got the whole farm, boy,” Granddad said as he flipped on the TV. “A good life, full of people.” He looked at Mission. “You’ll be okay after I’m gone, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Mission nodded, his heart suddenly so full. The way Granddad spoke, he’d been thinking about his time on Earth too.
“Things goin’ okay with Kristie?”
“Yeah,” Mission said. “Good enough.” He looked over to Granddad. “She’ll need someone to walk her down the aisle if we get married.”
Granddad sighed and let his eyes drift closed, though he’d just turned on the TV. “Something to hold onto, then.”
“I’m something to hold onto too,” Mission murmured.
“Both can be true,” Granddad said.
Mission chuckled and stood up. “I love you.” He leaned over and hugged his grandfather, wishing he could keep him with him forever. He knew he couldn’t, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
Mission squared his shoulders as he straightened and held his head high as he headed for the front door.
“I love you too, boy,” Granddad called after him, and Mission grinned his way out of the house. Being loved by a good man meant a great deal to Mission, and he sat in the silence with that feeling as he drove back to the farm.
He loved the Fourth of July, and he let himself get swept up in the festivities around the fire pit, eating s’mores made of peanut butter cups and Oreos, singing campfire songs, and watching the kids draw words with sparklers.
Eventually, he settled onto a blanket with Kristie in his arms. The two of them looked up into the dark, country sky, and Mission felt nothing but content and comfortable with her—and with his life.
The first firework screamed through the sky, exploding into red sparks, and the crowd cheered.
Mission included.