Sighing, he rubbed his face tiredly. “You can keep her. Tell Adrienne I say welcome to the family, and I’m sure I’ll meet her and her family soon.”
Addy had been listening to all of this with a horrified look on her face, so when I spun the phone around so that the camera was on her, she jerked and spilled coffee all down the front of her t-shirt.
“Shit, shit, shit. Give me a second,” she gasped, fanning her top and keeping the material off her skin. “God, that’s hot.”
“You okay?” I called out, picking up the flannel shirt from the back of my chair that I’d taken off this morning and passing it to her. “Sorry, baby. I didn’t think you’d do something like that.”
“It’s fine,” she started, then whispered, “Who doesn’t burn their boobs on a video call with someone they’ve never met.”
Clearing his throat, Gramps introduced himself. “Hey, sweetheart. I’m Hurst, that guy’s grandpa. It’s good to meet you.”
“I’m so sorry about the whole coffee thing. I wasn’t expecting Marcus to turn the camera on me,” she smiled in the direction of my phone. “My name’s Adrienne Valtolina, but you can call me Addy.”
Just like I knew he would, Gramps had her relaxed and chatting away happily within minutes, leaving me watching her while I finished the form waiting on my desk for me. It wasn’t an easy one to complete because they wanted everything except for a freaking cavity search for it, and by the time I’d signed my name on the last page, I was relieved I could give my attention back to the call and Addy.
That was until I heard my grandad say, “And then there was the time Marcus sneezed and farted when Lindee was changing his diaper. I mean, I’m hitting close to the age that’s gonna happen to me, so I can’t laugh too hard about it, but—”
“That’s enough,” I yelled, getting up so quickly, I banged my knee on my desk.
“Now you have an issue? Son, that’s the tamest story I’ve told her so far.”
“I especially liked the one about you blowing up five trees and an ATV when you were at your cousins’ place,” Addy said dryly, giving me that look women just love to give men when they fuck up. It was a cross between ‘what were you thinking’ and ‘you’re such a dumbass.’
Holding my hand out for the phone, I wiggled my fingers. “Give me the old man now.”
“That’s what the pervert said,” Addy snickered, and Gramps—the twat—burst out laughing.
I didn’t get it. “That doesn’t make sense?”
“It’s a twist on the ‘that’s what she said’ jokes, Marcus,” Gramps sighed, and I just knew he was making some sort of gesture to Addy on the screen, judging by the big grin on her face.
And this was why I liked living in the middle of nowhere. It was also why I liked that my branch of the family had distance between them. I loved every member of it to pieces, even my extended family, but not seeing them constantly kept that love alive. It also kept them alive.
Squatting down next to her chair, I moved Adrienne’s hair off her shoulder.
“Baby,” I said softly, loving the way her expression gentled at the endearment. “Can I speak to him to get this work out of the way so we can spend some time together?”
“Uh huh,” she whispered, then turned back to the screen. “It was great meeting you, Mr. T—”
“Hurst. We already discussed this, you call me Hurst.”
They had?
“It was great meeting you, Hurst.”
“I look forward to seeing you when me and Lindee come to visit.”
Whatever else was said I didn’t hear after that because I was too busy freaking out inside. The Valtolinas weren’t normal, I had firsthand experience of that, but Christ, if she met my family, Addy might decide they were too weird for her.
Because I was panicking, I didn’t remember talking to Gramps, but I know I gave him the information needed for a deal we were working on that he was leading.
The only thing that snapped me out of it was when I remembered I had an Ace up my sleeve—Mrs. Valtolina. Actually, both of the Mrs. Valtolinas. Her grandma and mom loved me and had already made it known they were on my side, so if my family turned out to be too crazy for Addy, I’d just enlist them to help me win her over. Either that or I could kidnap her and hold her hostage until she gave in, but I didn’t want to do that because it kind of reinforced the crazy Townsend image I was trying to get away from.
With a plan in mind in case/when I needed it, I felt lighter when I turned off my computer and asked Addy what she wanted to do. It included spending time with Gibraltar and Rocky, but I also got to show her the puppies that’d been born through the night to one of the ranch’s dogs. We usually had them neutered, but this dog had been pregnant when we’d adopted her.