Page 32 of Where the Heart Is

She chuckled. ‘Okay. Let’s just say it was a shock to see Gran get out of your car earlier, then to learn she’d spent the night.’

‘It’s not like that,’ he muttered, sounding gruff and adorable at the same time. ‘It must’ve been an ordeal for her, dealing with a broken-down car, then discovering the first door she knocked on was mine.’

‘Wow,’ Mila mouthed silently. Not only had Gramps been chivalrous in offering Gran a place to stay, when he had every right to slam the door in her face considering how she walked out on him, but he was thinking of how she must’ve been feeling. Incredibly sweet.

‘You’re right, Gramps, she seems a bit discombobulated. It must’ve been tough on her.’

And you—but she wisely kept that to herself. Her grandfather couldn’t abide pity.

‘You two are okay?’

After a long pause, Gramps cleared his throat. ‘Yeah. Though your grandmother wasn’t the only one who got a shock when I opened that door, but it was nice to see Addy after all these years.’

Better than nice, considering the nostalgia in his tone. Where she’d expected animosity if the two of them crossed paths at her wedding, she heard nothing but cautious optimism in Gramps’s voice and it gave her hope.

Not that she was under any illusions they’d reconcile—not after all this time—but it would be nice for some of her family to be civil enough to have regular catch-ups. Her parents were a lost cause—she was closer to the town butcher than to her folks. But Addy and Jack had been her world growing up and it pained her to see them separated by years of unresolved issues.

‘Do you know how long she’s staying?’

‘Not a clue,’ Gramps said, sounding annoyed. ‘I’m not her keeper.’

‘Just asking,’ Mila said. ‘Are you picking her up later?’

‘No. I thought you could drop her wherever she needs to go.’

‘At your place, you mean, considering that’s where her stuff is?’

She didn’t understand her grandfather’s abrupt change in mood.

‘You two sort it out,’ he said, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. ‘I’ve got to go.’

Jack hung up, leaving her staring at the phone in consternation a moment before she caught sight of Addy striding towards her with purpose in her step.

‘My darling girl, I’ve had an idea,’ Addy said, her smile wide.‘We rarely get to spend time together and seeing as I’ve come all this way, why don’t I stay a while?’ She pointed over her shoulder. ‘That farm-stay cottage looks charming from the outside so why don’t I be your first guest? What do you think?’

Mila would like nothing better than to spend quality time with her grandmother. But Jack was lonely and had been for a long time, and from the sound of his voice earlier—and what he’d said about Addy going through an ordeal—he obviously still cared for her.

What would happen if Gran spent longer at Gramps’s bungalow rather than being stuck all the way out here?

Mila didn’t expect them to rekindle their marriage, but it would be good for them to have a chance to resolve their differences and part more amicably this time around. Besides, it would be nice if the two people she was closest to in the world could visit her and coexist harmoniously.

‘I’d love to spend more time with you, Gran, and I will, but I’m sorry, you can’t stay at the cottage.’

Addy’s shoulders slumped. ‘That’s a shame.’

‘Yes, it is. The wiring’s not sound yet and the plumbing isn’t done, plus it needs to pass a building inspection before it’s habitable. I can’t run the risk of anyone staying there, even you, if it could jeopardise the farm-stay project in the future.’

She made it sound convincing, even the part about the inspection, because she knew her gran would probably suggest she live in the unfinished cottage and shower in the main homestead.

‘I understand,’ Addy said, disappointment lacing her tone. ‘Not to worry.’

Mustering her best cajoling tone, Mila said, ‘I would love to spend more time with you though, especially when I’m under all this stress from the aborted wedding.’ She laid it on thick. ‘So why don’t you stay longer at Gramps’s place? I’m sure he won’t mind, what with the bungalow being empty all the time anyway.’

She’d always wondered why her grandfather, a confirmed recluse since Addy left him fourteen years ago, would build a bungalow on his land. He never had anyone come to stay and if her parents ever returned from their travels, he had two spare rooms in his cottage. Not to mention the fact her parents would probably stay with her at Hills Homestead if they ever stopped travelling long enough. They hadn’t been home once since she’d bought the farm so the likelihood of them dropping by was minuscule.

Addy’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘He never has anyone to stay?’

‘Not that I know of, and I’d hear, considering the grapevine in this town.’

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