The Paramedic's Forever Family by Tanya Agler

Author:Tanya Agler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-12-23T13:32:56+00:00

* * *

MASON MOVED THE pager around in his hands. A half-hour wait for a table in Hollydale?

“Do you feel like waiting that long?”

“If it’s this or tofu, we’ll stay here,” his grandfather grumbled.

“There are nights I don’t have time to eat on my shift, so a half-hour wait is nothing.”

“Do you know that’s the most you’ve ever said to me about your job?” Grandpa Joe leaned against the brick exterior of the bar, the late sunset and this sudden spring warm spell allowing them to wait outside rather than in the crowded interior.

“That can’t be right. Surely I’ve mentioned details to you and Grandma Betty over Sunday dinner.”

Grandpa Joe arched those bushy eyebrows of his and shrugged. “Name the last time you’ve eaten with us on a Sunday.”

Mason searched his mind and couldn’t remember when until he stumbled onto a memory. “I brought Lindsay and Evan and Chloe with me between Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

“More like she brought you.” Grandpa Joe chortled as he zipped up his jacket. “Not to mention that was months ago.”

What was this? Attack Mason Week? First Lindsay accused him of not being grateful for gifts and gave him a hard time about their friendship, and his lawn, and now his grandfather was arguing with him after that heart-to-heart talk back at the house. Was Goliath the key to his getting along with Grandpa Joe? He couldn’t take a dog everywhere, could he?

His grandfather shivered, and Mason fingered the buzzer once more. “Do you want to go somewhere else? Or should I check to see if they can seat us at the bar?”

“I’m not Evan or Chloe. I closed my jacket because I was cold, and I’m already warmer. I can wait like everyone else.”

The tension between them lingered, and Mason relented. “Grandma Betty would never speak to me again if anything happened to you.”

“And what about you?” His grandfather folded his arms across his chest. “How would you feel if something happened to me? Would you volunteer to work so everyone else could mourn my loss instead of you?”

That punch out of nowhere hurt more than the time a confused, angry patient clocked Mason’s jaw. The buzzer lit up and vibrated before he could respond. Not that he knew how.

They remained silent as his grandfather opened the door for him. Still stunned, Mason handed the glowing buzzer to the hostess, unable to hide his trembling fingers. Grandpa Joe laid his hand on the back of Mason’s hand. “I’m sorry. What I said was cruel and over the line.”

Mason didn’t know which was worse, the fact his grandfather’s statement was blunt, or that it rang true. “Sometimes the harsh truth is a good wake-up call.”

“Nothing excuses unacceptable behavior. Not age, not hunger, nothing.” His grandfather followed the hostess, who seated them at a table next to a group of four women who were sharing a basket of wings.

“Joe!” His grandfather’s boss, Brooke, jumped up with a smile. “It’s wonderful to see you. When did you get here?”

His grandfather rose and stepped closer to the others.

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