Page 57 of The Virgin's Baby
“And you look like a goddess, little momma,” he said then kissed her cheek. “I feel a little tired today. Just not up to it all, I guess.”
“I think you look great,” I told him. “Better than ever, if you ask me.”
“Well, I don’t feel better than ever,” he grumbled.
Aspen patted his hand, drawing Grandad’s attention away from me, which I was thankful for as I looked under the tree to retrieve the present I’d bought for her. “Maybe you should call your doctor and schedule an appointment tomorrow?”
“Maybe,” he said.
I stood up with the wrapped package in my hand. “Here you go, Aspen. This is my gift to you.”
She pointed to the one with my name on it that was near my foot. “And I bought that one for you. Pick it up, and we’ll open them at the same time.”
As my grandfather looked on, I took the seat opposite Aspen after handing her the present. We unwrapped our presents, and I found mine to be incredibly touching. “Our babies. When did you do this, Aspen?”
“I knew it would surprise you.” She smiled at me. “I had that one done a month ago. It’s one of those 3D things. You can really see all three of their faces in it. I had it done in sepia to match the gold frame I had it put in.”
“I love it.” I got up and went to kiss her on the cheek then noticed my grandfather frowning and couldn’t understand why he was doing that. But I wasn’t about to ask him anything.
I wanted to see Aspen’s reaction to the gift I’d gotten her. She pulled the top off the box and pulled out the diamond necklace, holding it to her chest. “Ransom, this is gorgeous. It looks like a million bucks.”
My grandfather leaned forward to look at it. “Pretty damn close.”
Stroking her chin to make her look at me, I said, “It’s nothing compared to your beauty, Aspen. But when I saw it, I thought of you.”
“How sweet.” She put her hand over mine and held it to her cheek. “I love it. Thank you.”
After we exchanged the rest of the presents, we had a nice lunch before heading off to do our own things. Aspen went into town to visit her old roommates and have Christmas with them too.
That left my grandfather and me alone. I had no idea how scary that would be.
When a knock came to my bedroom door, I wondered who it could be. “Who is it?” I called out.
“Me,” my grandfather called out. “Can I come in and talk to you?”
“The door’s unlocked.” I went to take a seat on the sofa instead of lounging on my bed the way I’d been doing.
Grandad’s expression was stern, and I had no idea why that was. He took a seat on the loveseat across from me. “Ransom, I’ve got to let you know that I’m damn happy that you’ve got kids on the way.”
“Good. I’m glad that makes you happy, Grandad.” I chuckled as I thought about all those babies in a house that hadn’t seen any since I was one year old. “This place is going to get pretty lively here in the very near future.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed. “I’ve got more I want to tell you.”
“Go on then,” I said, but couldn’t understand the way my body tensed up.
“Ransom, I’ve been watching you and Aspen. That girl loves you. Do you know that?” he asked.
I didn’t think he needed to be this involved in my personal life. “I’m aware of how she feels about me. You know that girl is vocal.”
He seemed surprised. “So, she’s told you that she loves you then?”
“She has.” The tension got a tighter grip on my body as I felt a strange energy coming from my grandfather.
With a groan, he rubbed his temples. “And what have you done about that?”
“Nothing. I want things to stay the way they are now.” I got up to pour myself a Scotch. Maybe that would ease the tension his little visit was causing me.
“Why would you want things to stay the way they are now?” he asked.
