Page 56 of Heart of a Hero

He walked to the kitchen, grabbing a pen and pad of paper from the junk drawer. “Let me have it anyway.” She rattled offthe address, and he jotted it down. “I’ll see what I can find out.” Leaning his hip against the counter, he sucked in a deep breath, hoping she was going to be amenable to what he was going to propose. “Okay, Karen, here’s what I’m thinking. I really want us to move forward if you feel the same way.”

“I do.”

He loved her definitive affirmation. “Good… that’s really good. I’ve been with the girls during practice, and Benji has met them, and has been introduced to you. He knows I like you, and we went on a couple of dates. As he was getting ready for bed tonight, he asked me when he was going to get to meet you. I want us to have a family dinner. Something simple… we’ll order pizza. Your house or mine. Whichever place will make you feel more comfortable. And I’d like my dad to be there, too.”

“I agree.”

He jolted slightly. “Just like that?”

She laughed. “Just like that, Mark.” She sighed, then added, “I wanted us to make this happen after our last date. Then, I was so caught off guard by the interview and reacted with anger. But that wasn’t the right response that I should have?—”

“No… there is no right or wrong response to things that happen, Karen. I want you to be free to feel whatever emotion you’re having.”

Silence met his ears before she finally spoke.

“You’re kind of perfect. It’s going to give me a complex.”

“If we get another night together, I’ll give you more than a complex.”

At that, she burst out laughing again, and the weight that had pressed on his chest for a week finally eased. “So… pizza? Tomorrow night? I know it’s a school night so we can make it fast. A way to ease the two families to get to know each other more?”

“Perfect. And I don’t care which house.”

“Okay, then you three Drummond ladies are formally invited to the Robbins’ household tomorrow night. Six o’clock?”

She laughed again. “That sounds good. Thank you, Mark.”

“What for?”

“For keeping you and me on the right path. I got sidetracked and felt lost.”

“Karen, you mean a great deal to me. And I want to see how far we can go. So, if you get sidetracked, honey, I promise to do everything I can to bring you back to me.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

“Can’t wait.” Disconnecting, he closed his eyes for a moment and let the feeling of contentment wash over him. He knew all relationships had bumps in the road and hoped he and Karen had just made it over their first big one. Now, he was ready for things to be steadier.

The next evening, Mark was in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables to go along with the pizza. His dad walked in and lifted a brow. “I’ve never known kids to want salad with their pizza.”

Looking up, Mark nervously grinned. “I didn’t think about it either until I was at the station today and told some friends what I was doing tonight. Aaron told me I needed salad because that’s what the ladies would want. Brad told me to get dessert, but then he was probably just plugging Bess’s bakery. Colt and Sam couldn’t add much since their girls are younger.”

Richard chuckled. “While Benji was at school and you were at work, I made a fruit salad, just in case anyone didn’t want to fill up on pizza.”

Mark’s eyes widened. “I didn’t even think about that!”

“There’s no reason to be nervous, Son. Benji is looking out the front window, excited to meet the woman you’ve been going out with and saying he already knows the Drummond girls. I don’t think it will be awkward at all.”

“I didn’t want to do this too soon, Dad, but I really want to move things along.”

Richard shook his head. “It’s not too soon, Mark. In all these years, you haven’t brought any women into Benji’s life. You’re a good dad, and you wouldn’t be inviting Karen over if she wasn’t important.”

He nodded. “She is. She’s very important to me.”

“Do you think she could be more?” Richard lifted his shoulders. “More as in someone permanent?”

“It’s too early for me to make a prediction, but she’s not only somebody that sparks my interest, she’s a really good person. If we don’t work out as a couple, which I hope to God we do, then I would still want her in our lives as a good friend.”

“I don’t think we could ask for anything better,” Richard said, clapping Mark on the back.

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