Miss Jessamine seemed reluctant as she opened her purse and took out two tickets. She gave them to Opie and smiled. “We would love to have you. The more, the merrier. Well, tootles. I should get going. Lots of preparation to do for opening night.”
She was barely out the door when Gray let out a deep sigh. I chuckled. Did that sort of thing happen to him a lot? Why not?If he wasn’t married… and straight… and my fiancé’s father… I gasped. Where the hell did that thought come from?
“Opie, I could kiss you,” Gray said. “You saved me.”
“See, Daddy?” Opie beamed at the older man. “You shouldn’t scold me when I’m doing something nice.”
“It’s you!” I cried, staring at Opie’s companion. How had I missed the familiar face? “You’re the one who rescued me last Christmas. Lawson, right?”
“I thought you looked familiar,” Lawson said. “How have you been? This is my husband, Opie. Opie, this is Gray’s son-in-law…”
His husband? I hadn’t expected that. Opie seemed close to my age. There had to be at least ten years between them, but they looked happy. And he called his husband Daddy?
“Ozzie,” Gray said when I took too long to answer. “And the wedding hasn’t happened yet.”
Before I could fathom what Gray meant, Opie threw his arms around me in a hug. “Hi, Ozzie! Let’s be friends.”
I’d never made friends this way before. “Umm, sure.”
He released me with a grin. “Great. We’re having lunch. Why don’t you and Gray join us?”
“Actually, Opie, we’re getting our food to go, and here it is right now.”
Dolly Mae came up to our table, bringing two large paper bags with handles. “I may have added a little extra, a little something to welcome you to Bristlecone Springs. And who knows? Maybe I’ll see you again to discuss the wedding.”
Chuckling, Gray took the bags from her. “No pressure, Dolly Mae. Thank you.”
Opie pouted. “You’re leaving already? But we just became friends.”
“Have Law bring you over sometime, Opie, and you can spend more time with Ozzie. But for god’s sake, leave the hen this time.”
Hen? What was that all about? I waved at Law and Opie, then followed Gray out of the restaurant.
“Sorry about that,” he said. “Hope we didn’t overwhelm you.”
“Not at all. It was… different, but not in a bad way.”
“You sure?” He flashed me a grin that made my heart skip a beat. “Because you’ve barely been in town for half an hour, and you’ve already had one person hankering to cater for your wedding, one house call coming up, and an outing. If it’s too much, I can always make an excuse for you.”
“No, I’m looking forward to everything.”
And to my surprise, I was.
4
GRAY
“What do you think?” I glanced at my son’s fiancé, then returned my attention to the road. He’d just taken the first bite of his chicken burger and moaned. My stomach twisted uncomfortably. I didn’t dare think too much about it; all signs pointed to me going senile. That was the only plausible explanation for the way Ozzie made my stomach flutter.
“Either I’m starving, or this is the best chicken burger I’ve ever had.”
I grinned, pleased that despite the unassuming look of the restaurant, he liked the food. Bristlecone Springs had always been home to me, even when I’d lived in Denver for a while. Usually, I cared very little about what anyone had to say about the town—about how small it was, the nosiness of the townspeople, the lack of entertainment, and the harsh winter months. I’d heard all the complaints from Emma and Carter. But Ozzie seemed to take it all in stride.
Him being a sport about the town only made me want to show him all the things to love about Bristlecone Springs. Sure,some people were busybodies, but they were the first to notice if something was wrong. Everyone and their mama might hit you up to support various activities, but they would throw a fundraiser for you if you had difficulties. For sure, the good outweighed the bad.
“You haven’t even tried the pie yet,” I said.
“I’m saving that for last.” Ozzie took another bite of the burger. Dammit. His moans went straight to my gut. I squirmed in my seat and picked up my drink with one hand while steering the truck with the other. Maybe a big sip would cool me down.
