whether to curtsy or shake hands. She put out her hand.
“It’s a pleasure, Katie,” Adele said, taking her hand. “Adele Childress. How wonderful to meet you. And those must be your sons.”
“Mitch and Andy,” she said. “Boys. Come and say hello to Dylan’s grandmother, Mrs. Childress.”
They seemed to climb down from the jungle gym a bit reluctantly, approaching warily.
“Are they shy?” Adele asked.
“Not in the least,” Katie said with a laugh. “Maybe they’re afraid they’ll get you dirty. And I’m sure they’ve never seen a car like that.”
“How in the world do you tell them apart?”
“It comes with time. Dylan can tell the difference. Would you like a glass of tea on the porch?”
“That would be lovely, Katie.” She turned to look at her driver. “Randy?”
“I’m fine, ma’am,” he said, going to the trunk which produced a cold drink.
Katie bent at the waist and focused on her boys. “Say hello, boys.” One at a time they said a very quiet “hello.” Then they began to back away, making Katie laugh. “Go ahead, you can play. Come up on the porch, Mrs. Childress. I’ll get you a cold tea.”
As Katie went inside and Adele stepped onto the porch, Dylan threw an arm wide, indicating the chair he had just vacated. She sat down and said, “Thank you, dear.”
“My pleasure,” he said. Then he jogged down the porch steps and into the clearing where he grasped the driver’s hand in a firm and welcoming handshake. Then he was back to the porch. “Now,” he said to his grandmother. “What are you doing here?” He leaned a hip on the porch rail and folded his arms against his chest again.
“Wouldn’t I welcome as hearty a greeting as the chauffeur received,” she said, indignant.
“We both know this wasn’t Randy’s idea. So? Your purpose?”
“Just a little recon, Dylan,” she said. “You mentioned unfinished business of the female kind and Lang said he was fairly sure you were here about a woman. And I was out of the loop.”
“I can’t believe you did this,” he muttered.
“I can’t believe you expected less,” she replied. “I ask very little of you—just that you stay in touch. There are all kinds of things happening in your life and I was…well, curious. Concerned.”
“Gran, I’m of age. I’m self-supporting. Some things I like to work out for myself.”
“Was I born yesterday? The only time you don’t call me regularly or at least take my calls is when something of magnitude is going on and you’re afraid you’ll tell me more than you want to. That doesn’t happen to us often. And I suspect this is the first time it involved a woman.” Dylan remained stubbornly silent. “So, this is serious?”
He gave a nod but said no more.
“Excellent. She’s very pretty, seems nice.”
“There’s no guest room here, Gran,” he said.
“I’ve made arrangements,” she said. “It happens I have an old friend in the area. You remember Muriel St. Claire.”
He chuckled and just shook his head. “Of course. Muriel lives around here? Why?”
“Hell if I know,” Adele said. “The town isn’t exactly…much. It’s even smaller than Payne.”
“I like small towns,” he said.
“Now, there’s a surprise I was unprepared for. When I took you to Payne, you saw it as a prison sentence and couldn’t wait to get out of there.”
“Not prison,” he said. “Rehab. And you were the first to leave.”
“Not until I knew I was leaving you in safe hands. Now, Dylan, what’s going on?”
“When there’s something to tell, you’ll be told,” he said. He loved and trusted his grandmother, but some things were personal. Confiding in her about business matters was one thing, but with matters of the heart, a man of thirty-five did not go to his grandmother for advice.
She sat back. She gave him a small smile. “Sometimes I look at you and can’t help but see my son in your eyes.”
Katie came outside with a glass of tea and a napkin. “Here you go, Mrs.—” She looked into the yard to find the car doors all open on the Lincoln and saw one of her boys behind the wheel. “Boys!” she called. “What are you doing?”
The driver stood up from the passenger side of the car and looked at her over the open door, smiling. “They’re all right, ma’am. They asked permission.”
“They’re going to get that car all dirty!”
“Not to worry, ma’am—I keep it clean.”
“Don’t worry, Katie,” Adele said. “Randy’s on top of things. He’s very protective of the car. Now sit down beside me and tell me