I grinned at Jane’s husband and wondered what karmic debt had been owed to Jane that she’d found a partner in life who fit her personality so well. The doorbell rang, distracting me. I opened the door to find a woman in peach nurse scrubs with unruly dark hair standing in my doorway. A tall man with sandy hair and a crooked smile was standing behind her, holding a bright blue gift bag.
“Sweetheart!” Dick crowed, hitching Danny on his hip and dashing across the room so fast even my vision couldn’t track him. He handed a squealing Danny off to me while he threw his arms around the brunette, lifting her off her feet with the force of his hug. “Oh, I have missed you so much, Nola. I think you’ve grown! Are these summer visits to Ireland really necessary? Can’t ya just tell the whole McGavock clan just to move their asses to Kentucky?”
“Yes, Pops, I’ll tell my Irish family to abandon their ancestral lands and move to the land of the Yanks because you have separation anxiety,” she said, her odd lilting accent muffled by her burying her face into his shoulder.
The sandy-haired man snorted at her comment and shook Dick’s free hand. “And you saw us a week ago when we got off the plane. And three days ago. And yesterday.”
“I know, Jed, I’m making up for lost hugs,” Dick said, not relaxing his grip.
“Is that your girlfriend, Mr. Cheney?” Danny demanded, his blue eyes narrowing suspiciously at Nola. “Because I thought you were married to Miss Andrea. I like Miss Andrea. She looks like a Disney princess.”
I had mentioned my son’s ability to pick up on potentially awkward social situations and zero in on them like a hawk, yes?
For a second, Dick looked completely horrified. Nola’s head popped up from Dick’s shoulder, and she let loose a great, braying laugh. Andrea took pity on both of them and said, “Danny, honey, this is Nola. She’s Mr. Cheney’s granddaughter. Several times great-granddaughter, but we shorten it for convenience’s sake.”
Danny’s eyes tracked between Dick, who was in his mid- to late thirties, and Nola, who was maybe pushing the bottom of that range. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
“It is, trust me,” Dick assured him. “And I haven’t seen my lovely granddaughter for two months because she just had to go visit her family in Ireland.”
“Let it go, Pops.”
“There are some really nice rentals right here in the Hollow. They could relocate. You could get them a group rate,” he noted.
Nola’s voice was flat as she said, “Grandpa Richard.”
Dick winced and took Danny by the hand. He told him, “When she uses my proper name, that means I’m in trouble. Let’s go get you another cookie, huh, bud?”
“There are cookies?” Jed asked brightly, following them to the snack table. “Do I get a cool hat, too?”
“You brought me a present, so yes!” Danny crowed.
Nola closed her eyes and shook her head. “Give me strength.”
“The infamous Nola,” I said, stretching out my hand to shake hers. “Nice to meet you!”
Nola grinned broadly, snapping out of her prayers. “Sorry, we should have stopped in days ago, but I’ve been settling back into my work schedule at the clinic, which is always difficult after getting back to the States.”
“I’m glad to meet you. Jane said you were a nurse, but she didn’t mention the connection to Dick. I’m sure we’ll be taking advantage of proximity the next time Danny wakes up in the middle of the night throwing up.”
“Does that happen often?” she asked.
“One time, I did it off of Seth Perkins’s top bunk,” Danny boasted, running across the room and climbing up my leg. “It was amazing.”
“Not for the kid on the bottom bunk,” I told him, hoisting him onto my hip.
“Well, Danny, distance vomiting notwithstanding, happy birthday to you,” Nola said, extending her hand for a shake. “Thank you for inviting us. I’ve never been to a Bigfoot birthday party before,”
Danny shook her hand firmly and whispered, “It’s the perfect spot for one, and do you know why?”
“Tell me,” Nola said, grinning.
“Because there’s a Bigfoot living in the backyard.”
Nola’s dark brow winged up. “Really?”
Danny nodded. “Uh-huh, I’ve seen him out my window.”
Nola glanced up at her boyfriend and gave a sort of exasperated roll of her eyes. “You don’t say.”
“Yep. And we’re going to catch him tonight,” Danny declared. “Mom got all of the equipment.”