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“Me, neither.”
When he turned the truck into the driveway, Elizabeth glanced ahead at the house. It was brightly lit. But how? She was sure they’d carefully locked up before they’d left. “Jack, did we leave that many lights on when we left?”
He focused on the house. “No, we didn’t.”
“Who could it be? Tom and Carol aren’t due back for another five days!”
“I guess we’ll find out.” He turned to her. “Stay here with the doors locked while I check out the house.”
She didn’t argue, but she stared after him, praying for his safety.
“Mommy?”
“Oh, Brady. I didn’t know you were awake.”
“Why aren’t we getting out?”
“Jack is checking out the house. Some lights were turned on that we thought we’d turned off.”
“Do you think someone is stealing our presents?” Brady asked, his eyes big.
“I don’t know, sweetie.”
Just then Jack came out on the porch and reached for Elizabeth’s door. “We have a surprise. Come on in.”
When he realized Brady was awake, he reached out for the boy. “Come on, little guy. I think you’ll like this surprise.”
That unleashed Brady’s many questions. Elizabeth smiled as she gathered up Jenny and climbed out of the truck.
When she opened the door to the house, she knew at once who had lit up the house. They’d left their suitcases in plain sight. “Brady, you’re going to like this surprise.”
“How do you know, Mommy?”
“I just think you’ll like it,” she said with a smile.
Then the bedroom door opened and Tom stepped out.
“Grandpa! You came back!” Brady exclaimed and launched himself to Tom’s open arms.
“Of course I did, boy. Didn’t you expect me?”
“I don’t know. You were gone a long time.”
“That’s what I told Carol.”
“Didn’t she mind?” Elizabeth asked.
“No, she was ready to come back. She said she was ready to begin her new life as lady of the manor!”
“Tom Ransom, you make it sound like I’ll be a lady of leisure!” Carol protested as she came out of the bedroom.
“Hello, Carol, and welcome home. We’ve missed you.” Elizabeth smiled and held her arms for a hug. “How was Paris?”
“It had lots of museums and places to visit. And the food was good, but we got hungry for our kind of food. It was time to come home.”
“We’re glad you came back,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll pull together a meal.”
“Leftovers will be fine, Elizabeth,” Carol said.
“That’s just it. We ate out this evening. How about hamburgers? That shouldn’t take long.”
“Perfect! That’s what we were thinking of. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all.” She set Jenny down and took off her coat. Jack came over and lifted Jenny into his lap.
“Don’t wake her,” Elizabeth said.
“I won’t. I just thought she’d be more comfortable if I held her.” While he was giving his excuse, he was gently rocking Jenny in his arms.
“Likely excuse!” Carol teased.
“You can see through it, can you?” Jack asked, grinning.
“Yes, because I wanted to do the same,” Carol admitted.
“Okay, I’ll let you hold her since you’ve been gone for a few days.”
“Bless you, Jack! That’s so nice of you.”
When Tom came into the kitchen, he found his wife contentedly rocking Jenny. “How did you get that job?”
Carol smiled at him. “Jack volunteered me for it…because he realized I’d missed her.”
“Good for Jack. I swear she would’ve traded me for Jenny several times,” Tom growled.
Elizabeth smiled at Tom. “It’s a deep-seated urge, the need to have children. Jenny is honored to help Carol.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth,” Tom said.
“Hey, I’m the one who gave up Jenny to Carol. I should get some credit.”
“That’s true, Jack.” Elizabeth smiled at him. “Perhaps I’ll let you help with the dishes.”
“Thanks a lot,” Jack said, taking the teasing good-naturedly.
When the burgers were ready, Carol handed Jack the baby and they sat down.
“Grandpa, did you bring me a present?”
Elizabeth jerked her head around. “Brady, what did you say?”
“A boy in Sunday school class said my grandpa would bring me a present from Paris…whatever that is.”
“You do not ask for presents, Brady.”
Tom tried to answer, determined to rescue Brady. But Elizabeth would have none of it. “It’s time for you to go to bed, Brady,” she said sternly.
“Yes, ma’am, Mommy. I’m sorry I got in trouble.”
“I know, sweetie. I’ll be up in a minute to see you.”
“I’ll come help you get ready, Brady,” Jack said.
The little boy extended his hand to the big man and they went up the stairs together.
“He’s a good man, Elizabeth.”
“Yes, he is, and he’ll make some woman a great husband.”
“But not you?”
“No, Tom, not me.”
“Why? Did you love Reggie that much?”
Elizabeth bowed her head. After a moment she said, “No, Tom, unfortunately, I didn’t, but by the time I realized it, it was too late. I already had Brady. I decided to make the best of it, but then Reggie came back and—and we created Jenny.”
“Surely you don’t regret Jenny?” Carol asked.
“No! Never! But I don’t want to risk marriage again, when my judgment is so awful.”
Tom laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Honey, you can blame Reggie for that. He learned to play the role that people wanted to see. You’re not the first one he misled.”
“But I don’t want to run that risk.”
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