Happily This Christmas (Happily Inc #6) - Susan Mallery Page 0,17
of it, that’s a regular day. I’ll admit when Hunter was younger, there were times when I didn’t think I could keep it all together, but now it’s much easier. He takes care of a lot of things himself. Sometimes he even does his own laundry.”
“Impressive.”
“I want him to be a good boyfriend and husband with a reasonable set of skills.” She grinned. “I never want to catch my future daughter-in-law looking at me with a ‘what were you thinking’ expression.”
“That’s a long-term plan.”
“I know, but time goes quickly. You have to know that with Joylyn being married and pregnant.”
As she spoke, she pulled out ingredients for salad and put them on the counter.
“It did happen quickly,” he admitted.
Just then Hunter ran into the kitchen. “I’m right on time, Mom.”
She glanced at Garrick. “He has a way of going down to the minute.”
Hunter hurried over to the sink where he washed his hands. “Why be early for chores?”
“We are a work in progress,” Wynn murmured.
Garrick listened as the pair teased each other. They had a good relationship, he thought wistfully, remembering when it had been like that for him and Joylyn.
Mother and son worked well together, Hunter setting the table, then pouring himself a large glass of milk. When the timer on the oven dinged, Wynn took out the rolls while Hunter got down a small wooden bowl. He put a cloth napkin in place before handing the bowl to his mother. She dropped in the hot rolls, and he took the finished salad to the table. He carried over the rolls while she ladled out a rich, thick stew.
Once they were seated, Wynn stretched out her hands to him and Hunter. He had a brief impression of soft, warm skin before she bowed her head and softly said grace.
Hunter mumbled a quick “Amen” when she was done, then reached for a roll before passing the bowl to Garrick.
“This is one of my favorite dinners,” Hunter told him. “It’s really good and there’s a lot of it.”
Wynn smiled. “He’s in the middle of a growth spurt so volume, when it comes to food, is really important.”
“I want to be tall, like my dad,” Hunter said. “At least six feet. Six-three would be better.”
“Six-three is going to be tough,” Wynn told him.
“You’re tall, Mom. For a girl.”
Conversation flowed easily between them. Garrick listened rather than join in, liking the dynamic. He was hoping he and Joylyn would get to be that comfortable together when she moved in. He knew things would be awkward at first, but he was determined to restore his relationship with her.
Less than twenty minutes later, Hunter pushed away his bowl. “I’m done, Mom,” he said, his tone faintly pleading.
Wynn held his gaze for a second before sighing heavily. “You used to like to talk to me.”
“Mom!”
She laughed. “Fine. Go. Clear your place first, though.”
Hunter grabbed his dishes and raced into the kitchen. He dumped them into the sink, started out of the room, stopped, turned back and said, “It was nice to see you again, Garrick,” before disappearing down the hall.
Wynn sighed. “Tonight is his computer game night. He gets two a week, and it’s a big deal to him.”
“I wouldn’t want to stand between him and his computer games.”
“You’d get run over.”
He picked up his glass of wine. “I envy your closeness. Joylyn was only a year older than him when our relationship fell apart.”
Wynn looked at him expectantly, but didn’t say anything.
“It was about the time my wife and I split up. I asked Joylyn if she was upset by that, but she said she wasn’t.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what happened. One day she was my best girl and the next she refused to see me.”
“That must have been really awful.”
“It was. I didn’t know what to do. Alisha, her mom, said to let her work it out. Looking back on the outcome, I think that was the wrong decision. I should have insisted I have my time with her. Even if she sat there, not speaking to me, I would have still been spending time with her.”
“Do you think she was testing you?” Wynn asked.
“I don’t know. I never thought of that.” He frowned. “She knew I loved her, so I’m not sure why she would want confirmation.”
“People get strange ideas about things. Maybe you can talk about it when she’s here.”
“That’s what I thought. We’ll be in the same house, so we’ll have to communicate.”