Page 55 of Fall From Grace

“I’m not,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t ask who I was going out with again.

“What happened? He seemed like a good kid.”

I glared. “You met him one time when he came to the door.” Noah was ten times better than all the guys I went to school with but Dad was so judgmental when it came to him.

“All right,” Mom intervened. “Which one of you want to help me with breakfast?” Dad pointed at me the same time I pointed at him, then our eyes locked in a glare again.

Mom swore and walked away. “You’re such a bad husband,” I told him.

"You’re such a bad daughter,” he countered back.

Then we smiled and went to go help Mom in the kitchen.

______

An hour after Mom and Dad left, Noah pulled into the driveway. I petted Gus before locking the house and rushing to the Jeep. Once inside, Noah pulled me into a kiss. “I don’t know how I’m going to manage through the weeks now without seeing you,” he said as he pulled out.

“You just saw me last night,” was what I said, when in reality I felt the same way. I hated that we lived in different counties and went to different schools.

“I want to be with you, always,” he told me.

“Ah,” I mumbled, pleased, “you have a way with words, don’t you? Better not be whispering sweet nothings to nobody else but me.”

He grabbed my hand and kissed it with a smirk. “Never.”

I monkeyed with the radio as he drove. “Are you sure they don’t care that I’m coming over to eat?”

“Are you kidding?” he asked. “Janet is so excited to finally meet you, she’ll probably cook everything in the kitchen.”

I leaned my head back and just admired the way he smiled. “You really seem to like them. I can tell by the way you talk about them.”

“Of course, I do,” he said without hesitation. “I could have been placed in a shitty home with someone who only fostered kids for the check every month, but for once, luck was on my side and I got Dean and Janet. They’re amazing people, Grace, and I can’t wait for you to get know them.” Hewantedme to know these people, and to me, that was what made it important. I wanted to see the couple Noah wasn’t embarrassed to talk about. This was so unlike the boy I grew up with, that boy didn’t have parents he wanted me to meet. From what little I spoke to Dean the other day, I had a good feeling about them too.

Their house was like any other two-story, it was their yard that I knew I’d love in the summertime. It wasn’t much land but they had all kinds of apple trees, and just picturing what it looked like in the summer had me smiling. Two other vehicles were in their driveway and a boat was covered underneath their shed.

Noah walked around the Jeep as I got out and took my hand as we walked to the door. Dean opened it and stepped out before we made it to the steps. I smiled because he was grinning at me, and I just wasn’t one to refuse a smile. “It’s good to see you again, Grace. Come on in,” he took me away from Noah and pushed me into the house. “I’ll introduce you to my darling wife. Janet,” he called for her, but all I could focus on was the delicious aroma coming from their kitchen.

“Something smells good,” I mumbled, taking in the homey feel of the place. It reminded me of my grandparents’ house growing up before they passed away.

“She baked some BBQ ribs, taters, and all kinds of other foods that we hope you like,” he said as Janet stepped out into the hallway.

She was short with brown hair and highlights of gray peeking through. Her face was red from cooking but she welcomed me with a smile and before I knew it, she wrapped me up in a hug. “It feels like I already know you, child, with the way Noah talks about you,” she said, and I stole a peek at Noah who was a little red himself.

“Let’s get out of this small hallway and into the kitchen,” Dean told everyone.

My stomach got a hunger pang just looking at all of the food on the table. “Everything looks and smells so good,” I told Janet.

She beamed and ushered us to sit down. “Come on, let’s eat.”

“We haven’t had a girl over since our boys were in school,” Dean added with a smile.

“Noah told me they were in the army.”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, one’s in Iraq and the other is stationed in Arizona living with his family, so we don’t get to see them much.”

“Good thing we found Noah when we did, things were a little boring around here with just Dean,” Janet winked and I laughed.

“I’m glad you found him too,” I said and everyone looked up from their food. “Honestly, it feels like the weight has been lifted to know he’s been living here in this kind of warm environment… Was it hard?” I asked them all.

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