Grant wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her in. “Nine months. Just in time for summer.”
Charlie motioned at the mess in front of us. “It’s going to take that long to clean that up.”
“It’ll happen. If your dad has to be here every day sweeping up that mess, the center will be open on time.”
Charlie and I exchanged a look, both of us familiar with Grant’s degree of determination.
“So this is going to be a kind of shelter for kids once it’s built?” Carson asked, daring to creep a little closer. When Grant’s gaze cut toward him, he stopped.
“It’s going to be a big house, not a shelter. It’s going to be exactly like the house of the woman who helped us, but bigger. A place where kids like us can escape for a while,” I explained, able to see it now that the complex had come down.
It had been Grant’s idea, once Cruz had informed us that the needs of the community had outgrown Aunt May’s house. Instead of twelve-hundred square feet of refuge, the new building would have twenty thousand. There’d be places for kids to sleep, get a meal, do their homework, or just play and forget their lives for a few hours or days. Cruz would run it, and we’d make as many visits as we could to make sure the place was living up to the standards Aunt May would be proud of.
“She must have been one great woman,” Carson said, sliding closer when Charlie reached for him. Like a certain someone I knew, Carson couldn’t let Charlie out of his reach for too long.
“That woman managed to turn my sorry self into something,” Grant muttered, winking at me.
“So you’re saying she’s a saint,” Charlie suggested, totally straight-faced.
Grant gave her an unamused look. “Ha. Ha.”
“Do you guys have time to grab a quick bite with us before heading back up to school?” I asked, twisting in Grant’s arms to smile at my daughter and the boy she was quite in like, if not in love, with.
Carson glanced at Grant like he was trying to gauge how he felt about the matter. Poor kid. Grant was his idol . . . and his girlfriend’s father. As if Carson didn’t have enough to be nervous enough around him.
Charlie checked the time on her phone. “Carson has practice tonight.”
Grant shrugged. “Surely he can miss a practice every now and again.”
I lifted an eyebrow at him. Grant had missed one practice in his twenty-plus years of the playing the game.
Carson rubbed the back of his head. “I suppose I could let Coach know I’ll be a little late.”
Grant’s brow lifted. “So showing up late to practice is a habit of yours?”
Charlie and I shared a groan.
“Come on.” I motioned at Charlie and Carson. “We’ll swing by Mickey’s and grab a bite, so you don’t have to miss or be late to your practice.”
“I still can’t believe you’re at A&M.” Grant shook his head as we walked away from the pile of rubble. “The first thing your mom and I wanted to do was escape this state, and it’s the very first place you wanted to go.”
Charlie linked arms with her dad, nudging him. “Hey, it’s in my blood.”
He just shook his head as we headed toward where we’d all parked. After giving Carson directions to the diner, Grant made sure Charlie buckled up and Carson checked his mirrors ten times before letting them pull away. He didn’t stop watching the car until it had turned down the road.
“Come on. You’ll feel better after a milkshake and a greasy burger.” I patted his arm as he approached the old truck he and his dad had worked on.
“I’ll feel better if you climb on my lap and give me a repeat of what you did to me last night.” One dark brow lifted as he opened the truck door for me.
“After lunch,” I said, jolting when he slapped my butt as I crawled in. “I don’t want to have to hurry—I want to take my time with you.”
“Consider my calendar cleared. Take all the time you want.”
I shook my head at him as I buckled, glancing around once more. “This place hasn’t changed.”
Grant leaned into the truck door, letting his gaze wander with me. “No, it hasn’t.” His head shook. “It’s still one of my favorite places on the planet.”
My forehead lined. “The Clink?” I paused, my confusion settling deeper. “Okay, I’m waiting for the punch line.”
“No punch line. It’s true.”
“We barely made it out alive. We never had enough to eat. Why am I recapping this for you?”
“Yeah, that’s true,” he allowed with a nod. Then his gaze shifted back to me. The look in his eyes pulled the air right from my lungs. “This is also the place that brought me to you.”