Page 32 of Open Road (Tattooed Hearts Duet 3)

When the door opened, a little girl stared back at us. She had dark curls that were askew and big brown eyes that stared at us. I waved at her, and she smiled, still looking at us.

“Kara,” a woman’s voice yelled from inside before rounding a corner and finding the child at the door with it opened. “Honey, I told you not to open the door.” The woman bent down to kiss the girl before glancing up at us, her hand on the girl. She was of average height with short brown hair and looked to be in her fifties.

“Apologies, we’re watching my granddaughter, and she’s a bit mischievous at the best of times. Please, come in. You must be Paul’s sons. Your father is around back at the grill.”

She opened the door, gesturing us in. No one said anything, so I introduced myself first. “Hello, I’m Lennox. Zane, or I mean Thane and Slade’s girlfriend. Well, Simon’s too.” Half laughing, half coughing, I stopped, then tried again. “I’m Lennox.”

The woman stood frozen for a few seconds at my comments, but then laughed, reaching out her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you, Lennox. What a wonderful name. I’m Mia.”

Shaking it, I gestured to the three guys. “Simon, Slade, and Thane, but I call him Zane after an unfortunate stalker situation last year where the guy pretended to be Thane, so, yeah.”

I’d give it to Mia for her grace. She smiled, taking in what I’d blurted with no judgment. The guys behind me snorted, doing nothing to help me out.

“Well, I’m glad that’s taken care of, and you’re okay, dear. It’s nice to finally meet you, both.” She held out her hand to Zane first, who took it with ease.

“It’s nice to meet you finally as well. Dad’s talked about you so much, I feel like I already know you.”

“Same.” She smiled, dropping his hand to offer it to Slade. “Slade, I know things haven’t been easy with you and your father, so I’m glad you were able to make time to visit. You’ll find he’s changed a lot in his old age.”

“Humph,” Slade grunted but shook her hand. “Thank you for inviting us for dinner.” He lifted his eyebrow at me after dropping her hand, almost like he was reminding me he could have manners when he wanted to.

“And Simon. It’s lovely to meet you as well.” She peered at the four of us, smiling. “I’m not sure how your relationship works, but I want you to know that you’re all welcome here. I’m so glad to have you and finally meet Paul’s sons.”

She smiled at them, and I could tell she loved the twin’s father, making me happy that we’d taken the time to stop.

“And this is Kara?” I asked, dropping down to the little girl. She nodded, biting her lip as she watched me. “Well, Kara, I think we’ll be best friends. Do you like to draw?”

She nodded enthusiastically, a smile lighting her face. Quicker than I could follow, she began to tell me all about her favorite crayons, dropping her grandmother’s hand to tug on mine and led me to the table out back.

A man at the grill turned as we exited the house, and I could instantly see where Slade and Zane got their looks. The man might be in his mid-fifties, but he was very attractive. He was as tall as my boyfriends, with broad shoulders and muscular arms. His dark brown hair was peppered with just a little bit of gray, and he had a nice beard. He smiled when he saw me, placing the pair of tongs down on the side.

“You must be Lennox.”

“My friend,” Kara said, looking at me. Paul made his way over to us, a soft smile on his face for the little girl. I waved at him, smiling before laughing at Kara. I messed with her curls as she giggled.

“Of course, sweetie. Now, where are those crayons you were telling me about?”

She took me to the table just as the guys followed us out of the house. Zane went to his father, offering him a big hug with a few slaps on the back. I watched as they broke apart, and Paul turned to Slade. His smile never faded, and I hoped that Slade noticed it too. His dad loved him as much as he did Thane, no matter how it might have seemed when they were younger.

Simon stood next to Slade, and when he didn’t move forward, Simon did, introducing himself. “Hello, sir. I’m Simon.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Simon.” Paul shook his hand before looking at his son.

“Slade, I’m so glad you could make it. It means a lot to me.” I couldn’t be sure, but his dad’s eyes looked a bit misty as he spoke.

Slade’s face finally softened, and he stepped forward, wrapping his tattooed arms around him. They stood that way for a while, and I tried not to watch, but I couldn’t help it, wiping a tear as I did. Mia patted my arm as she sat a few glasses of lemonade on the table. I’d been so preoccupied with the reunion I hadn’t noticed her.

“Your hair is pretty,” Kara said, looking up at me with big eyes.

“Thank you. Simon did it. He’s great at doing hair stuff. I bet if you asked him, he’d do something cool with yours.”

The little girl looked over at Simon, who smiled softly at her. He pretended to think about it. “Hmm, you know what, I could put a pink streak in it? Would that be okay?” he asked Mia, who sat down. “It’s washable,” he whispered when she looked between him and Kara.

“Please, grammy,” Kara began to beg.

“Hmm, pink hair means you eat all your vegetables. You able to do that?”

“Savage,” I whispered, chuckling.

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