Page 49 of Worth the Fall
“Dad, this is Brooklyn. I’m not sure you two have met yet. She took Sierra’s position.” Thomas introduced me to his father, but as an employee, of course.
What else would he introduce me as?The woman who wants to go rock climbing on my chestprobably wouldn’t be all that appropriate.
“Brooklyn.” Mr. O’Grady extended his hand, and I reached for it. “It’s lovely to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Have you?” I tilted my head to the side, unsure of how to take that. “It’s nice to meet you as well. The decorations are incredible. It’s like a dream come true.”
He smiled so big and genuine that I couldn’t help but smile back. “They always do such a beautiful job. Wait until you see it for winter. You’ll never want to leave.”
“I actually believe that,” I said, still smiling.
“We were just calling it a day, and we’re going to grab some food downtown. Wanna join us?” Thomas directed the question toward his father, and I swore my heart stopped beating altogether as I held my breath and waited for his response.
“No. You three go and have fun. I still have some phone calls to make. But now that Patrick’s house is done, family dinners are back on. No excuses,” he demanded, and I felt like I was intruding on something a little too personal.
“I’ve missed them actually,” Thomas said, and Clara jumped in, clapping her hands together. It was something I noticed she did whenever she was really excited.
“I love dinner at your house, Pops. I’ve missed them too. Did you meet Jasper? He’s the cutest,” she asked, and I watched as Mr. O’Grady’s dark blue eyes narrowed.
“That scruffy dog? I met him. He’s here with your uncle now.” He shot Thomas a subtle disapproving glance, but Clara’s eyes lit up.
“He is? Uncle brings him to work. How fun!”
“Apparently, your uncle doesn’t go anywhere without him anymore,” Mr. O’Grady added, and Thomas only shrugged.
“I think it’s good for him. Patrick needs a friend,” Thomas said, and I cleared my throat because this really was more than I should be hearing.
Even though I secretly love it.
“Can we go see Uncle Patrick? I want to see him and Jasper.” Clara pretended to pout, and I knew it was a tactic to get her way.
I wondered how Thomas would react to her little game.
“Not today. Uncle Patrick is working really hard to get something done, and we shouldn’t bother him.”
“I’m not a bother.” She stomped her little foot in defiance, but didn’t argue the matter any further.
“Well, I need to get going. It was nice to meet you, Brooklyn. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around,” he said before leaning down to face his sweet granddaughter. “And you. Next time you’re here, you’d better come see me and give me a squeeze, okay?”
“Okay, Pops!”
“Promise?” he pushed.
“Promise!”
And with that, Mr. O’Grady walked away and left the three of us standing in the middle of a fall dreamland.
“It’s technically not quite dinnertime yet, but what do you say about going downtown to the diner?” Thomas seemed to ask both Clara and me.
“Ooh, I love Main Street Diner. Don’t you, Brooklyn the Pumpkin Slayer?” Clara bounced some more. It was like the girl had eaten a fistful of sugar while I wasn’t looking, even though I knew she hadn’t.
I nodded because everyone from Sugar Mountain ate and loved the diner. It was an institution the same way this resort was. The only problem was that it was definitely not the spot you went to if you wanted to be alone or not be seen by half the town at any given moment. Chances were pretty good that if you went to the diner or the saloon, you were basically asking to have your private business talked about to whoever was willing to listen.
“I do love it. They have the best waffles. Have you ever had them?”
She shook her head so fast that her brown hair flew all around her face. “I don’t think so. But we can’t have them now. It’s not breakfast time.”
I gasped. “But breakfast for dinner is the best!”