Snowbound Kisses
Page 7
“Yeah, we missed you, Grandma,” Max agreed.
Grandma shifted her attention to the man in front of her and beamed. “Max!” She hugged him, and Max bent down slightly for full embrace. “I missed both of you, too.”
Now the time to introduce baby Zane to Grandma arrived. “This is Zane, Gram.”
Grandma beamed at the infant in front of her. “You little darling. Yes, you.” She took Zane into her arms and the little guy frowned, and without warning, wailed at the top of his lungs.
Grandma laughed. “You’ll be a singer when you grow up, baby boy.” She swayed to make swinging motions, hoping Zane would stop crying. But, nope. Instead, he increased the sound of his wail to the highest notch—like a fire truck's siren.
“Please take a seat,” Grandma said. Thea flopped onto the sofa and glanced at Max.
As if he understood what to do next, he put down the bag near the seat and took wailing Zane from Grandma’s arms. “Zane is a little grouchy today,” he said. As soon as he was in Max’s arms, the crying stopped. “That’s Great Gramma, buddy. See?” He pointed toward Grandma, and Zane turned to look up at her face. Immediately, he turned his head toward Max’s chest to hide his face. Max made an apologetic smile at Grandma.
“He's never seen me before. I need to play with him for a while so we can get acquainted,” Grandma said. Then she looked at both of them. “My life is rich now. I’m so happy for both of you. Now with Zane in your life, I’m not worried about Thea anymore.”
“Oh, Gram.” Thea stood and wrapped her arms around the woman who never stopped loving her, even if she felt bad for pressuring her to live in an assisted living facility. Thea could have taken care of her in their farmhouse, but Grandma refused to accept that option. After getting married to Max, Thea understood Grandma’s wish. Grandma wanted her to have her own family. Now that she had Zane, her love for this woman had deepened profoundly. “I know you’ll always worry.”
“I do,” Grandma said. “Let me go to the kitchen.”
Thea trailed behind. “I’ll help.”
While Grandma pulled out a container of cookies, Thea added water to the kettle. “How are you, Gram?” she asked. “Did you make friends here?”
Grandma smiled. “Indeed, I am happy. I got to know this nice man.”
Thea’s hand stopped in the middle of reaching for a plate. “Oh.” Turning to Grandma, Thea smiled widely. “What’s his name?”
“Mick. He was a retired chef in Hilton. We never run out of topics for conversation.”
The two important men in her life sat out on the balcony, watching the lush green of summer. Her heart swelled. Max and Zane's presence brought an amazing feeling of security to her life. Now Grandma had a friend she gushed about. At last she wasn’t alone anymore. Thea’s guilt for suggesting assisted living lessened tremendously after she heard this latest news. As Grandma aged, having company was important. Thea couldn’t be happier.
***
MAX POINTED TOWARD the flowers in the yard below to Zane. “See the butterfly down there? He’s looking for food.”
Zane eyed Max’s finger instead. Then his tiny fingers reached to fist around it, and he tried to pull it into his mouth. Drool slid down.
Max stared down at Zane. This little man had changed his life. Although he hadn’t had proper sleep for months since he was born, he wouldn't trade it for anything. Zane was quite a project and yet, being with him brought meaning to his life. He was grateful for Thea’s understanding of his hectic schedule in the studio; she shouldered more than him in taking care of Zane. With his one-month break, he devoted his time to being with her and Zane.
“Max?” Thea called. “Want some of Gram’s cookies?”
He stood immediately, startling Zane. The little guy cried and Max rushed to the diaper bag to search for a pacifier. When Zane continued to scream, Thea took over and fed him a bottle of milk. As if what he did before had never happened, Zane stopped screaming.
Max looked at Thea and she winked at him. Relief flooded his entire body as he understood what she implied. Through her gaze, she assured him that he had done a wonderful job. Thea was an excellent mother to their baby boy, and he was the luckiest man in the universe. He wanted to show her how much he loved her when they had the time to be alone later.
“Grandma, I missed your homemade cookies,” Max said, taking one and stuffing it into his mouth. While chewing, he grabbed another one and took a seat next to her.
“I made two batches. You can bring them both with you.”
Max loved the cookie. “Thanks, Gram.”
“How’s the filming?” she asked.
Instead of correcting her, he answered, “Busy, Gram. My band and I just finished recording for our newest album.”
Grandma smiled at his answer. He felt the thread of understanding between them had been established the moment he’d set foot in her farmhouse more than a year ago.
“Is Thea still writing?” Grandma asked.
Max shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. With Zane in our life, she’s swamped. I’m sure she’ll get back to it when Zane is a little older, though.”
“It ain’t happening anytime sooner. Because when he starts to crawl….”
They both laughed. When he glanced over at Thea, who fed Zane, she smiled at him. She’d heard their conversation. “Even now Zane is a handful, Gram. He’s starting to flip on his stomach and then scream. You put him on his back for a second and he'll flip back. He's kind of like a turtle.”
“Now you know,” Grandma said.
Thea’s patience was undeniable. Max went into panic mode when Zane did the flipping thing. Since then he’d learned so much about taking care of a newly born baby.
They continued to share small talk for a couple more hours. Grandma tried to cradle Zane for a second time, but the little guy passed out after he was fed. Then it was time to say goodbye.
The meeting, with the most important person in Thea’s life, brought tears to his eyes. He could feel how hard it was for her to say goodbye to the woman who’d raised her. Although he had never voiced his promise to Grandma out loud, he believed she knew he would take good care and protect her and Zane.
Grandma’s gift was precious. His life was rich and fulfilled.
*****
Acknowledgements
I'm very lucky to have the opportunity to write my favorite story and share it with you. I wake up every day to do something I love: write. I want to thank my beta readers Mathias and Angi for finding errors I'd missed. Also to my editor, Stephanie, for making the story shine from the beginning to the end. Thank you so much.
Happy reading and enjoy the story!
Thank you!
Dear Reader,
You got to the end of Snowbound Kisses. I hope that means you enjoyed it. Whether or not you did, I would just like to thank you for giving me your valuable time to try and entertain you. I am truly blessed to have such a fulfilling job, but I only have that job because of people like you; people kind enough to give my books a chance by spending their hard-earned money buying them. For that I am eternally grateful.
If you would like to learn more about my other books, please visit my website for full details. You can find it at: www.juliaimari.com.
Also feel free to contact me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email. I would love to hear from you.
Xoxo,
Julia
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Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locals, or events is entirely coincidental.
© Copyright 2017 Julia Imari
Cover Design: Julia Imari
Cover photography from iakovenko123, kotenko and kwasny222 (www.depositphotos.com)
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