Matt had done away with the pen, giving Rosie and her pups free reign of the back of the house. They were getting better at using the papers for their ‘duties’ and Rosie had more room.
“Good. The rest of the house is blocked off so they won’t wander anywhere they shouldn’t. And Rosie is doing a lot better. She can get around on her own. The vet, Travis, will be along in the next day or so to check on them and I left a note with his contact information in case you need to get hold of him.”
Dory shuffled over and slipped her arms around him. “You go and have a wonderful time with Grace and her family. Luke is coming to get me tomorrow for turkey dinner and he’ll bring me back.”
“He better,” Matt said roughly. “Or I’ll kick his ass when I get back.”
“You’d have to get in line, Mathew.” Dory pulled away. “Now go. I’m going to relax with a book and a cup of tea.”
“You ready?”
Grace was slipping into her coat. Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks were rosy. “I am.”
He knew this meant a lot to her. So, even though he’d never been the kind of guy a girl would bring home for the holidays, he was willing to put up with it for her.
The fact that his best pal Betty Jo Barker would be there as well was a bonus.
They said their goodbyes and headed out. The weather was perfect for this time of year. A bit of lake effect snow, but nothing that stuck and the roads were well sanded. They crossed the Canadian/US border with no issues and made good time heading up north.
Grace had an eclectic love of music and her phone had everything from Garth Brooks and Johnny Cash, to Ella Fitzgerald, The Eagles, Eminem and Tool. It was mind boggling, really, but it helped pass the time and other than some traffic issues around the Toronto area, they sailed through.
He pulled into a gas station in Gravenhurst at exactly six forty-five.
“Can’t we make it to the house? It’s only five minutes from here.” Grace peered into the dark. “Do we really need to stop?”
“I’m running on fumes, Bluebell. Give me five minutes.”
It took more than five minutes. The pump was having issues and wouldn’t accept his credit card, and then he had to wait for the vehicle in front of him before he could move to the next one. All in all, it was a ten-minute adventure and Grace was literally jumping up and down in the truck when he slid back inside.
“It’s almost seven,” she said.
“Yeah. I got that.” Matt pulled onto the road. “Is there anything I need to know about seven o’clock?”
She hesitated. “Not really.”
“That doesn’t sound exactly promising.”
“It’s just…” She sighed. “My family is pretty rigid. We have traditions and things that we’re expected to do and…”
“Just what the hell am I walking into?”
But she didn’t answer. “There it is.” Grace slapped his arm. “There’s my house.”
Matt whistled. “That’s a damn nice lake house.”
Grace had her door open before he’d got the truck to a stop and she ran like the wind, twisting between the menagerie of parked cars as she ran to the house. Everything from an old beat up Ford, to a Land Rover and a Mercedes.
He grabbed their periwinkle weekender and followed in her footsteps, his long strides eating up the distance in a few seconds. When he reached the door, Matt hesitated. There were voice
s, excited voices. There was laughter, kids babbling and he picked out Grace’s excited chatter.
It brought a smile to his face. What the hell was she saying?
He opened the door and walked inside. At first no one paid him any mind, but then a little girl with long, dark hair who looked to be about maybe eight or nine tugged on his arm.
“I’m Morgan. Who are you?” she asked, twirling a pigtail.
“Matt.”