Chapter 28
Jamie
I watched the oven timer ticking down and grabbed my oven mitts off the counter to pull out my latest batch of dog biscuits.
“Jamie?” Hank called from the front door. “You ready to go?”
“Be right there!” I grabbed a spatula to slip each biscuit onto a cooling rack and checked the orders that had been placed through my online form.
I was still two dozen short. I’d have to make them later tonight. Between working overtime to get Corey trained up and spending every night with Hank, I’d had very little time to keep up with my biscuit-making.
I turned off the oven and hurried out of the kitchen. Tramp and Lady trailed me to the door. They were always my shadows when I was in the kitchen.
“Sorry, babies, no biscuits today.” Tramp whined. “But you get to go out! Who wants to go see Gamma and Poppa?”
Lady’s ears perked up, and she ran ahead of me to the front door, where Hank waited.
“You ready for this?” I asked.
“Of course I am, Jamie. I won’t feel like a real boyfriend until I meet the family.”
I smiled, stomach fluttering. It had been a long time since I’d had someone to sit beside me at a family dinner.
I kind of thought I’d always be the single one out. But no more.
I laced my fingers with Hank’s and we went out to the car, Lady and Tramp following behind. I didn’t bother with leashes because they were going straight into Hank’s car—which was a little roomier than mine—and then into my parents’ house.
I gave Hank directions, and he drove us over to the little suburban neighborhood in just a few minutes. It was one of the older areas of town, with big, towering trees. A canopy of leaves dappled the sky as we drove under them and parked at the curb across the street.
My brother’s SUV was already in the drive, and my sister’s minivan was taking up the curb closest to the house.
I turned to Hank. “Okay, so they can be a lot, but they mean well.”
“I’m not worried,” he said. “My family is a lot, too.”
Hank had introduced me via phone to his mom, and she’d invited me to join them for lunch in Riverton sometime soon. She was perfectly lovely, asking me about myself without being pushy.
But Hank was walking into absolute chaos. He just didn’t know it yet.
We got out of the car, and the dogs made a break for the front door. Hank chuckled beside me as we crossed the street.
“You bring the dogs here a lot, huh?”
“Almost every week,” I said. “They’re a little too rambunctious for my parents, but the grandkids all love them.”
We let ourselves in, and little Gracie spotted us first. “Uncle Jamie’s here with a strange man!” she called out.
“A man?” my sister exclaimed in faux shock. She knew I was bringing Hank. “That can’t be right!”
She came charging out of the dining room, stopping short when she saw us. “Whoa, this is the new boyfriend?” She looked him up and down. “Not bad, Jamie.”
“Seriously?” my brother said, coming out of the hallway that led to the bathroom. “Stop eyeing the guy up like a side of beef.” He stepped forward. “I’m Jamie’s brother, Nick. I’m glad you’re joining us. It’s a real hen fest.”
“Watch it,” Ashley said, “or we’ll have to peck out your eyes.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “See what I have to put up with?”
His wife, Gwen, came through the sliding door just then. “Oh, poor baby, is your sister being mean to you again?”
“She’s not not being mean,” he grumbled.
“Eh, he can take it,” my sister said. “But get a load of Jamie’s boyfriend!”
Gwen stepped forward. “Oh my gosh, it’s about time we got to meet you! We’ve been asking Jamie about you for ages.”
“We were beginning to think you were imaginary,” my brother put in.
Okay, so I’d put off this meeting for a while. I didn’t want to overwhelm Hank in our first couple of weeks of dating. He needed time to settle in before I thrust this gang at him.
“Not imaginary,” Hank said with a chuckle. “I’m glad to be meeting everyone who loves Jamie. He met my bratty brother, so it seems only fair.”
“But he’s just one brat,” I put in. “You’ve met three in two minutes. You can see why I wanted to wait?”
My siblings laughed. “Whatever. We’re delightful!”
We made our way to the dining room, and Gwen dropped back. “This does put a kink in our plans to run away together, though.”
“Running away with two men would be kinky,” I told her, making her laugh.
“Ooh, I like the way you think!” She rounded the table to corral two kids toward the bathroom. “Nuh-uh. Go wash your hands!”
I led Hank into the kitchen, where Mom was tossing a salad. “Hey, Mom.”
She turned with a distracted smile. “There you are. I was thinking I’d need to send out a search party!”
“Sorry we’re late,” I said. “I had a batch of dog biscuits in the oven, and time got away from me.”
“Are you still doing that?” She flapped a hand. “Never mind that, introduce me to your friend.”
“Mom, this is Hank, my boyfriend.”
“Nice to meet you,” Hank said, extending his hand for a shake.
Mom bypassed his hand to pull him into a hug. “Anybody who loves Jamie is welcome here.”
“Thanks.”
She gave him a squeeze. “But don’t you mess this up,” she warned. “Jamie’s our baby.”
“Mom,” I said. “I’m twenty-six!”
She withdrew from Hank, eyes sparkling. “You’ll always be our baby, though.”
“And such a cute baby he is,” my sister said, coming up behind me and ruffling my hair.
“Oh my god, Hank, let’s go. Now that they’ve started, they’ll never stop.”
Hank laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “How can I blame them, though? You’re adorable.” He dropped a kiss on the tip of my nose.
“Aw, okay, you can stay for dinner,” Mom said. “Go on. Go sit down. I’m just about done.”
“Let me help you finish up.”
She flapped her hands. “Not today. You don’t want to throw your boyfriend to the wolves just yet.”
I smirked. That was fair.
We returned to the dining room, and I led Hank to my chair, pulling out the one beside me. “You can sit here.”
He took his seat, and soon the rest of the family was coming in, each of them talking amongst themselves as they got settled. My sister was teasing my brother about his fragile ego, while my sister-in-law tsked at mud stains on the knees of Gracie’s jeans.
Joey and the two older teens—Pacey and Tessa—dragged in extra folding chairs so there’d be enough seats, while the dogs ran around the table, looking for dropped goodies even though we hadn’t started eating yet.
Hank took hold of my hand. “Your family is great,” he said. “They all love you.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“But why was your mom surprised you’re still baking the dog biscuits? You’ve been getting more and more orders to fill.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “They don’t really get why I like doing it. They think I should open a bakery.”
“A bakery?” Hank looked surprised. “Is that something you’d like to do?”
“Not really. Catering pays the bills, or I wouldn’t do it either, you know?”
“Well, you’re getting enough orders that maybe you can launch your own business soon.”
Wouldn’t that be nice?
Ashley overheard. “Are you finally leaving the catering job?” she asked. “You know Mom and Dad have offered to help you get started in your own business.”
“Sure, if it’s a bakery,” I said. “They don’t exactly want to fund a gourmet dog treat business.”
“I mean, they might?” She sounded doubtful now. “It’s just that they want whatever you do to have every chance of success. A bakery is a surefire bet.”
“But it’s not what he wants,” Hank said.
Ashley glanced between us. “Right,” she said slowly, “that’s important too.”
“Jamie has been filling orders for dog owners in town for a while. My boss gives them out to our customers, and they love them.”
“What is it you do, Hank?”
“I’m a dog groomer.”
“A dog groomer!” Dad boomed as he came into the room. “Well, you two are a matched set, aren’t you? Do you love dogs as much as Jamie?”
“Probably more,” I said. “Dad, this is Hank. Hank, my dad.”
Hank stood to shake my father’s hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
Dad looked approving. “You too. We’ve all been very curious about Jamie’s mystery man.”
My cheeks heated as everyone started joking about how long they’d wanted to meet Hank and how I kept hiding him away. Hank took it all good-naturedly, chuckling at the notion he’d been the subject of family dinners for three weeks now.
“I’m glad to finally put the rumors to rest,” he said. “I’m a real man.”
“You sure are,” Ashley said appreciatively.
Her husband, who’d stayed outside until just before dinner, nudged her. “Sitting right here.”
She turned and kissed his cheek. “And you’re the best, babe. But you have to admit, Jamie did good.”
My sister-in-law giggled into her glass of wine as Mom set the salad in the center of the table. My brother carried a platter of roast chicken out of the kitchen, raising his eyebrows. “What are we talking about?”
“Nothing,” his wife said, exchanging a grin with my sister. “Just talking about how lucky Jamie is to find someone willing to put up with all us brats.”
My brother smirked. “It does take a special sort.” He glanced at Hank. “Hope you know what you’re in for.”
Hank took hold of my hand. “I can handle it,” he said. “Jamie’s family is my family.”
“Dang,” Ashley said. “This one’s a keeper!”
I smiled into Hank’s eyes, chest warm. “Yeah, he is.”