Greyson (The K9 Files) - Dale Mayer Page 0,63

now. Her men were pretty damn special, both of them. Immediately she realized what she just thought. She had to smile. Her next thought was, And Kona and I are pretty damn special females too.

After the swing, her guys ran to the teeter-totter, with Greyson holding on to Danny, while she joined them on the other side. Danny was having a blast, Kona giving yips of happiness too. And then someone had given her a balloon. She handed it over to Danny, and he ran and laughed. He fell a couple times and looked like he might want to cry, but Kona was there first, then Greyson was right behind, scooping Danny up, laughing, and helping him run again. All in all, it was a great time. Those hours seemed so full of fun and laughter, after these last few weeks of tension, and they passed much too quickly.

She smiled when it was time to go. “I didn’t think something like today was possible,” she said. “It was really lovely.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” he said. “I’m really glad we had this time together, just us, free from our troubles for a while.”

“I know. It was great.”

They were back at home in no time to drop off the lunch leftovers, as they readied to leave again. She quickly buckled Danny in and then got into the driver’s seat. “Where to, Mr. Wants Me to Meet His Grandparents?” she asked, teasing.

He gave her directions, and they backed out of the garage. The one thing she noticed that put a reality check on their excursion to the park was the fact that Greyson had kept Kona on alert at the park, and his own gaze was ever watchful. Even as they now left her driveway, he was searching for faces, for vehicles, for anything out of the ordinary.

When she pulled onto the main highway, she asked, “Well? Are we all good?”

“I think so,” he said, “It feels like we are.”

“Good,” she said, “because I really don’t want to bring danger to your grandparents’ door.”

When they arrived at his grandparents’ place, Greyson didn’t even get a chance to open his car door before both his grandfather and his grandmother were out on the front steps with big grins on their faces. Leo milled around their feet barking happily.

Jessica looked over at him and said, “Uh-oh.”

“Uh-oh is right,” he said. “They’re definitely eager to meet you.”

She got out of the car and focused on unbuckling Danny from his car seat. As soon as she had that done and held him almost protectively in front of her, she and Kona followed Greyson to the front steps, where both grandparents were waiting for them.

“I guess we should give them points for being patient enough to let us get out of the car,” she said, with a note of humor.

He chuckled, then wrapped an arm around her and said, “Absolutely.”

“You’re really playing into this, aren’t you?” she said, but she made no move to leave his embrace. It felt very much like a united front going forward.

“I’m not playing into anything,” he said. “I’m happy, and I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a day as much.”

And, on that note, she had to admit she hadn’t had a day quite as nice either.

As soon as she and Danny and Kona were all introduced to his grandparents, they were ushered inside and then out to the backyard. There she put Danny down, and they even had a couple toys for him. She wasn’t exactly sure, but the grandparents also had a little sprinkler attached to a garden hose that seemed made just for Danny. The water only sprayed about a foot high, but Danny was enthralled.

She quickly scooped him up and took off his outer layer of clothing. She looked over at Greyson’s grandmother and said, “He’ll be soaked in no time.”

She smiled and laughed. “Well, we could always dry him off,” she said, “but you’re right. The clothing might take a little longer. I do have a dryer here, if need be.”

“Well, this is easy, and it’s a nice warm afternoon,” she said.

With Danny at the center of attention, and loving every moment of it, the barbecue was lit, and the ribs that had apparently already been in the oven for a few hours, were transferred onto the grill.

As she watched Greyson’s grandmother work hard in the kitchen, Jessica asked, “Is there something I can do to help?”

The woman looked pleased to be asked but immediately replied, “Absolutely not,”