Adding Up to Marriage by Karen Templeton

Author:Karen Templeton
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2010-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

“C’n we go see Gramma before we go home?” Tad asked as they loaded the groceries into the car. Well, Jewel loaded, Tad was doing the ants-in-the-pants wiggle. Jewel, however, being the designated adult—hah!—had to confine her wiggling to the unseen variety, never mind that she was about to pop right out of her skin. Holy moley.

“Can’t, sugar, I need to pick your brother up from school—”

“But it’s on the way! And I miss Gram-ma—” he launched himself at the tailgate, bounced off, did it again “—’cause we haven’t seen her in for-ev-er.”

Moving the child aside to slam shut the hatch, Jewel sighed, then finger combed those irresistible curls. “I know, sugar, but the school’s actually in the opposite direction. And we’ve got perishables in the car.”

“What’s that?”

How I feel when your father looks at me.

“Stuff that’ll go bad if it’s not kept cold.” She opened the back door and pointed. “In.”

Scowling—and looking so much like his father Jewel nearly choked on a laugh—Tad crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not a baby—why can’t I sit in front with you?”

“Does your father let you do that?” He slid a “You’re kidding, right?” look to her and she smothered another laugh. “Uh-huh. So don’t even go there, buddy. The law says little dudes have to sit in the back in a booster seat because that’s where it’s safest. So come on, or we’re gonna be late picking up Ollie.”

“Life is so not fair,” the kid grumbled as he climbed into the seat and let her buckle him in.

“Too true, sweet pea. But…why don’t I see if your Gramma and Papa can come over for dinner? Seeing as I bought enough chicken to feed half the town, anyway.”

Not to mention having other people around would distract her from Silas’s too-knowing looks. His too-kind eyes. Because it would not do to succumb to those eyes, to let herself even get near the same trap that’d taken far too many chunks out of her heart already. Not to mention her hide.

“Yeah! C’n I call ’em? I know the number.”

Of course he did. Jewel dug her cell phone from her purse and handed it to the four-year-old, who studied it for maybe two seconds before punching in the number. “C’n you get on the Internet and stuff with this?”

May as well fill out his MIT application now and be done with it. “So they say. My mama gave it to me a couple of months ago, but I haven’t had a chance to really play with it.” Meaning she was too much of a techno-boob to figure half of it out. Long as she could make and receive calls and text, she was good.

“Gramma says they’d love to come,” Tad said a minute later, holding the phone to his chest. “What time and can she bring anything?”

“Tell her six, and no. I’ve got it covered.” A little fizz of excitement tickled the pit of her stomach, bubbling away at least some of the anxiety from that little tête-à-tête with Silas earlier.

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