Page 82 of Comforting the Grump

He chuckled. “That’s what I thought, and here I am.”

“Are you trying to depress the fuck out of me?”

“Nah, riling you up is just an added bonus.” Then his expression turned serious. “What’s on your heart, Marnin? Because I take it this is not a social visit?”

I took a deep breath. “Ennio.”

He slowly nodded, understanding immediately. “I figured.”

“I’m in love with him.”

“Does he know that?”

“Oh yeah. I told him.”

A smile spread across the sheriff’s face. “At least you had your priorities straight. Congratulations, son.”

“You’re…okay with this?”

He cocked his head, studying me with the kind brown eyes his son had inherited. “What would you do if I wasn’t? Would you stop seeing him?”

“I would do whatever I could to change your mind.”

“But you wouldn’t give him up?”

The mere thought of it made it hard to breathe. “Honestly, I don’t think I could.”

“Those are strong words from someone who has always been adamant he doesn’t believe in love and doesn’t do relationships.”

I shifted uncomfortably, my stomach churning with nerves. “I know, sir. Trust me, I know. And I have no explanation other than that he… He changed me. I have no clue what he sees in me, but he loves me back, and it’s the greatest gift I’ve ever been given.”

“What are you here to ask me? Because if your goal was to tell me you’re seeing Ennio, then you could’ve saved yourself the trouble. I already figured that out when I discovered you knew about Ennio’s financial troubles before we did.”

Of course he’d figured it out. The man was a sheriff, after all, trained to read people and situations for a living. “That’s not it. I would like your…your blessing.”

Surprise flickered across his face before he schooled his expression again. “You would?”

How did I explain this? “What you said at the party about me being a bonus son…? That meant a lot to me.”

“Every word was true.”

I had to ask the question that had been playing through my mind the last week. “My apologies for the abrupt segue, sir, but do you know what happened to my birth mother? I have no desire to find or see her, but I was curious.”

He stroked his silver beard thoughtfully before answering. “I was wondering if you’d ever ask me that question. Yes, I do. I looked into her disappearance when I found out because I wanted to ensure she left voluntarily.”

I immediately understood what he wasn’t saying. “You weren’t ruling out my father had hurt her.”

“No, and I needed to make sure. For myself, but also for you.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “But she did leave of her own accord. She moved to Detroit, where she fell on hard times for a while, then got her act together and found new love.She remarried and had three kids—your half-siblings. I kept tabs on her in case you ever asked about her.”

I had half-siblings? My mother had started a new family without me, leaving me behind like an unwanted memory. But strangely enough, I didn’t feel any desire to meet these half-siblings. Was that weird? “Is she still alive?” I asked, my voice as detached as if discussing a stranger’s life.

He shook his head. “She passed away two years ago after a gallbladder surgery went awry and led to complications.”

I absorbed the news, trying to process the fact that my mother was no longer in this world. On some level, I should probably feel sadness or grief, but instead, there was only a sense of detachment. How could I mourn someone I had never truly known? “Is it bad that news doesn’t mean anything to me?”

He shrugged. “She was never your mom. She might’ve given birth to you, but she didn’t raise you.”

The truth hit me with blinding clarity, and suddenly, everything made sense. No matter what my biological ties may be, Auden’s parents would always be the ones who raised me, loved me, and shaped me into the person standing before him. “No, you and Mrs. Frant did. Auden’s mom, I mean.”

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