Page 24 of Like the Season
“What if I have it and give it up for adoption?” Her gaze bored into his.
“I would ask you to consider giving me and Caleb custody.”
He could tell from the way her eyebrows arched that his answer surprised her. “You would?”
“Yeah.”
“And what if Caleb says no?”
“That’s not his decision to make for me. I would hope, based on how he reacted to hearing the news this morning, that he’d be all in. If not, then I guess I’ll be a single grandpa.”
She blew out a long breath, her gaze drifting up to the ceiling. “I want to keep it,” she said. “I just…my mind’s bouncing all over the place. I’m scared, and I…” She focused on him again. “I’m processing.”
They sat back as an elderly man in a chef’s uniform walked up, smiling. “Ella? You too good to come say hi to me now?”
“Hey, Papa Tom.” She stood and hugged him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here. I thought you didn’t work Saturdays anymore?”
“We had a guy call in sick this morning. I was on my way out when I saw you.” Boyd didn’t miss how the man seemed to be sizing him up as he didn’t move his arm from around Ella’s shoulders. “And who isthis?”
“Believe it or not, Papa Tom, this is my father.”
The double-take would have been funny in nearly any other context. “Yourfather?”
“Yeah. I finally tracked him down a few weeks ago. He had no idea about me. Boyd Nyberg, this is Tom Mazzolli.”
Boyd opted to stand and offered to shake hands with him. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
The man’s grip tightened, his expression growing more than a little hard. “She could’ve used you a few years ago, when she lost Helen.”
Boyd didn’t flinch, didn’t squeeze back, refused to blow his cool. “I know. She told me, and I feel horrible I wasn’t here for her. But I’m here for her now, and I swear I’m not going anywhere.”
“He is, and he does,” Ella said. “Please, he’s a nice guy. If anyone’s the villain, it’s Mom’s parents. They never tried to track down his parents. It’s a lot more complicated than I ever knew.”
Tom’s grip finally eased and then he released Boyd’s hand after a terse nod. “So where’ve you been?”
“Florida. I’m trying to talk her into moving down there with me. She could easily find a nursing job, and she can live with me.”
Another appraisal from the older man. “So what do you do?”
“I’m the head of the planning department for Sarasota County.”
“That sounds like a good job.”
“It’s not bad. Help me talk her into this, please? I’ve offered to pay to move her and let her live with me as long as she needs to.”
This time, the double-takewasamusing. Tom focused on Ella, whom he still had his left arm around. “And you’re not home right now and packing…why?”
She hugged him. “I’m…thinking about it.”
Obviously she didn’t want to tell him her other news, so Boyd kept his mouth shut.
Once Tom left them alone again and they were both seated, Boyd leaned in. “Why not tell him about the baby?”
A playful smirk filled her face. “Because I have a feeling if I told him that, Dr. Doucherag wouldliterallyend up disappearing. I don’t mean Papa Tom’s mobbed up or anything like that, but he comes from a large family and has six brothers and over twenty sons and nephews, a family where someone like Rick would be made an example of.”
The smirk faded. “And I still don’t know how the guy’s going to react. Maybe he’ll surprise me.”
“But you’re not sure?”
“Not even hopeful.”
