Making Room at the Inn
Page 21
Mazzy was out in the front yard when they pulled up.
“Hi, Mommylove. Hi, Big Man!”
“Do you think she’s going to be okay with us getting married?” Jack asked as they sat for a moment in the car waving at Mazzy.
She would not start leaking out of her eyes again. “Yes, I think she will love it. She loves you, and so do I.”
“I bet you she’s going to love me even more when she sees that little one.” His smile was contagious.
“No more bribery after this, Jack Barton. You’re going to have to be a disciplinarian, too. Molding is bigger than just giving hugs.”
He turned to her, his face serious and his eyes focused only on her. “I know that, Chelsea. I’m going to do everything I can to be the best dad I can be. I do believe that I have an advantage, though, because I have you, the best mom ever, to learn from. But before we get into the serious stuff let’s go have some pure fun.”
“Deal.”
Chelsea got out of the car with the ball of fur in her arms and a smile on her face. No matter what they faced, they would have each other. Jack was strong and so was she. Together they had always been a good team, and now they would be a partnership.
Mazzy saw the cat when Chelsea was three steps from the gate. The little girl clasped her hands to her mouth with her eyes opened wide.
“What is that?” she whispered.
“This?” Chelsea nuzzled the kitten to her cheek. “This is your new friend, if you want her.”
“But we can’t have kitties at our house, Mommy. I don’t want to leave her here unless I get to stay, too. I don’t want to go at all.”
Mazzy was going to wind herself up to crying at any moment. Jack snatched her up before she could get herself to full throttle. “How about we go in and talk to your Grammylove? Your mom and I have some good news to share with you and your new kitty.”
“What kind of good news?” she asked, skepticism clear in her voice and the way she looked at him. “I don’t want to go back to our stinky old ’partment. That would be good news.”
“Then we have the best news, baby.”
“Really?” She grabbed Jack around the neck and squealed, then demanded to be let down. “Tell me, tell me. But first let me hold the kitty.”
“Actually, first we’re going to go inside where you can sit down to hold the kitty, and then we’re going to talk with everyone.”
“Okay!” And she ran into the house yelling that Big Man and Mommylove were here with her kitty.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” she asked with the small cat purring against her chest.
“I have never been more sure of anything in my life, Chelsea. I want to make a life with you and that ball of energy that just ran into your mother’s house. The inn needs a little livening up anyway.”
“I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into,” she said, but smiled.
“How do you know it’s not that you should be aware of what you’re getting yourself into?” He pinched her butt and had her yelping.
“Oh, you’re going to pay for that.”
“That’s fifth on my list of things I like to hear.”
“You’ll have to show me that list.”
“Only if you’re good. Now let’s get in there and make your parents as happy as we are. This is a long time coming, Chelsea. Are you sure you want to turn this one-week thing into a lifetime?”
She reached up on tiptoe and used her free hand to pull him down to her. “I have never been more sure of myself. You are in for the ride of your life.”
“Looking forward to it.” The gleam in his eyes said that they’d discuss that more later, too. “We’d better get inside before I take you back to the inn and let your mom know we’re going to be a few more hours.”
And just in time, because Leigh Moore was out on the porch with Hugh and Mazzy, who was jumping from one foot to the other. “You have one very excited girl here, and I hear there’s a kitty coming in the house. Any other news you want to share?”
“I’m engaged!”
“It’s about time it was real,” her dad said.
They all laughed as they went into the warmth of Chelsea’s childhood home. It reminded her that Mazzy would call the inn home, and Chelsea couldn’t think of a better way of fulfilling all the promises she’d made to herself and her child on the day she was born.
They were home for good.
A word about the author...
Misty Simon loves a good story and decided one day she would try her hand at it. Eventually she got it right. There's nothing better in the world than making someone laugh, and she hopes everyone at least snickers in the right places when reading her books.
She lives with her husband, daughter, and two insane dogs in Central Pennsylvania, where she is hard at work on her next novel or three.
She loves to hear from readers, so drop her a line at
misty@mistysimon.com
Thank you for purchasing
this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.