The squeal of joy had my eyes lifting from the soapy water in the sink and out of the window to where Holly was jumping from the rocky grotto into the water below. Megan and Jen had brought Katie and Emmett over in an effort to disguise the real reason they were there… moral support.

The summer was finally coming to an end, and though Holly and I still hadn’t sat down and had a real conversation, we both knew we were staying. We’d all but moved into Garrett’s house already. Today was the day Garrett was telling his father about Holly, and my relationship with him. We were inviting him to come and meet Holly.

As Jen often put it, I was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I’d cleaned the house from top to bottom. I’d polished everything to within an inch of its life, and we had steaks to grill tonight, including one for Mr. Paul Hill, just in case he decided he wanted to meet his granddaughter.

My eyes were drawn from my daughter as the growl of a diesel engine made it’s way to a stop out the front of the house. My heart hammered loud enough in my chest to make my ears buzz with nervous energy. Drying my hands, I made sure everything was in place before I headed to the front of the house and made a small gap in the blinds. My heart stopped when I saw an older gentleman with the same eyes and jawline as Garrett jump nimbly from the cab of the other, smaller truck that had pulled in beside Garrett’s. Unaware that I was watching him, he scowled in the direction of the house for a moment before smoothing out his features when Garrett met him at the front walk to the house. The only thing close to settling my nerves was that he looked as uncomfortable as I felt, but it only made that greasy roll of nausea come with more purpose.

I really wasn’t ready for this. I didn’t think I ever would be.

Unfortunately, the opportunity to stop this was now out of my hands because I felt the moment Holly slid to a stop next to me, the smell of chlorine and the dryer sheets that hugged the towel she wore, surrounding me in a unique bouquet.

“He came?” she asked quietly, peering over my shoulder.

“Looks that way, kiddo. You ready for this?”

I looked over my shoulder at the small smile on her beautiful face. She wasn’t sure, either. She was as nervous as I was, but for completely different reasons. Now that she’d found her father’s family, she was terrified that one of them would reject her. Her grandfather, her only living grandfather, was a big deal for her.

“Hey, it will be okay. We’re all here, baby.”

“What if he doesn’t like me, Mom?”

“Then it’s his loss. You’re the most perfect being I’ve ever set eyes on. If he can’t see that for the miracle it is, then we don’t need him in our lives.”

Holly sucked in a calming breath and tried to center herself. She nodded as she turned to face the opening door, her anticipation now riding her shoulders as she resolved herself to the worst-case scenario.

The air crackled the moment Paul Hill stepped into the room followed by his oldest son. Garrett shut the door behind him, unaware that his father had frozen the moment his eyes fell on Holly, causing Garrett almost to walk straight into him. The atmosphere immediately became heavy, tense, and charged. Just one spark and everything could go to hell in a handbasket, and three of the four of us knew it.

“Dad, this is your granddaughter, Holly Dee… and her mom, Mikayla.”

Paul’s eyes were wide as he took the room in. I knew what he saw. There were traces of Holly and me all over the place. A mermaid tail blanket draped over the back of the couch, and a teen magazine on the coffee table. Just little things showing our existence in this home, but it all added up to Garrett, his son’s, home being invaded by the female species. When his eyes finally settled on Holly and me, they widened in shock.

“Christ,” Paul said breathlessly as he studied Holly. “She looks just like him.”

Garrett clapped his father on the shoulder and guided him farther inside, out of the small foyer. Garrett said something under his breath and the older man nodded in agreement. Stepping forward, Paul stopped in front of a nervous Holly who looked like she was about to bolt. His breaths came fast and heavy and finally gave way to a heaving sob as he pulled her into an embrace. Within a moment of contact, Holly was crying, too.

“You look like your daddy and your grandma.” He wept quietly and pulled back to hold her at arm’s length. “You’re so beautiful, Holly. More beautiful than even Garrett said.”

“Thank you, sir.” Holly sniffed quietly and smiled. She still looked nervous, but it was nothing to do with rejection now. Shooting a quick glance at Garrett, her smile brightened as he winked at her.

“I didn’t know about you,” Paul said quietly, his eyes flickering to me filled with accusation. Whatever affection he suddenly felt for my daughter, that emotion was not extended to me, and I understood that. I’d never expected him to accommodate me in his life. We had too much of a history to just step past the awkwardness that was between us. I wasn’t, however, going to let my daughter be a witness to that side of this man. I could be the bigger person for now, but I needed to lay down some ground rules.

“Holly, honey, why don’t you go out back and let the others know we’ll be cooking here shortly?”

“Yes, Momma,” she answered obediently, fully understanding that things had the possibility to get a little strange between her grandfather and me. She stepped out of her grandfather’s embrace, kissed me and then Garrett, on the cheek before she disappeared into the back of the house.

“You have some goddamn nerve being here,” Paul shot at me the moment the patio doors slid closed.

“Dad, I told you—”

“Shut up, boy. You never did know when to keep your dick in your pants. You’re the biggest failure in our family, and this is how you prove yourself to me?”

“Christ, Dad.”

Ignoring his son, Paul stepped closer to me, his eyes suddenly filled with anger and hatred aimed directly my way. I wasn’t cowed by this man or his anger. I wasn’t saddened by his refusal to accept me. I didn’t like him, and I hadn’t from the first time I’d known of his existence. My first knowledge of this man had been the emotional blackmail he’d used on his son to get him to do what he wanted. He’d pushed Dustin into a corner, and he’d rejected Garrett because he hadn’t followed the path he’d picked out for him. The man was hard, cold, and hateful, and worst of all a bully, but Garrett had needed to give him the chance to meet Holly. He’d needed him to know about our relationship.

Now he did.

“Mr. Hill,” I said, my voice toneless. “I understand you don’t like me much. I don’t particularly like you, either, but you’re here to meet my daughter—your granddaughter. Garrett assured me he wouldn’t invite you here unless he was absolutely sure you would extend her nothing but kindness—”

“She’s my blood,” he growled.

“She is, but that doesn’t give you the right to bad mouth me, her father, or her uncle to her. She looks older than her fourteen years, but she’s still my child. Holly has always wanted a bigger family, to learn about her past, and I want to give her everything she wants, but I need you to be the best man you can be around her. My girl has a good heart. She’s kind, sweet, smart, loving, and she’s the most important thing in my world. You will be lucky to get to know her, but you only have one chance here, Mr. Hill, and that’s because your eldest son asked it of me.”

“Who the hell are you to tell me…?”

It was my turn to interrupt him now.

“I’m Holly’s mother. Say what you want out of her earshot,—look at me how you want out of her sight, but never let her know your true feelings about me. She’s my daughter. These are my rules. I want her to get to know you, Mr. Hill, but you won’t use her against us like you did with your sons.”

“And this abomination?” he asked, pointing between Garrett and me. He didn’t even try to deny that he’d used emotional blackmail on both of his sons. He hadn’t so much as blinked. He simply stepped over it and continued on with his insults.

“Our relationship has nothing to do with you,” Garrett snapped before I could respond. “If you don’t like it, you can leave my house and not bother coming back.”

“She’s only with you for your money, boy. If that girl didn’t look so much like your brother and mamma, I would call her a liar. You are a fool to not see how conniving and scheming this girl is. She bewitched your brother and turned him against us. She’s just like her father—”

Garrett laughed, but the sound was bitter and all wrong. “This woman has more money than I ever will. She also gifted me back the land her daddy won from me.” I looked at him surprised with wide eyes in question, and he smiled back at me. “That was what was in the envelope I opened earlier, but I’m declining, and you’re keeping it.”

I shook my head, my mouth opening to respond, but he didn’t let me.

“It won’t matter who the land belongs to when we’re married.”

“Married?” Paul and I asked together, although the tones were completely different.

Garrett barely had a chance to get another word out when Holly rushed back into the room, the towel still wrapped around her. She had faked leaving the house so we could talk, which meant she’d heard everything that had transpired between Paul and me.

Shit.

“You promised I could be there when you proposed, Garrett,” she said, her voice tapering off as she realized we were all staring at her open-mouthed. “Uh… Sorry.”

“You were listening?” Garrett asked quietly.

Holly blushed and swung her hands behind her back before clasping them there and looking guilty. “I’m so sorry, I know I shouldn’t have listened to the conversation, but I saw the way Mr. Hill was looking at Mom, and I really didn’t want him to hurt her feelings. She’s been through so much already, and he’s here because I wanted to meet him.”

Paul looked between Holly and me and shook his head in abject disgust. “It was a huge mistake coming here.”

“Dad…” Garrett started, but Holly shook her head and took over.

“It wasn’t a mistake,” Holly said quietly. “I got to meet you, Mr. Hill, and I got to make up my own mind. You are my grandfather, but that doesn’t make us family. Michael Hern has been the only grandfather I’ve known in my life, and I love him with all of my heart. I hoped that we could be family, but I think you’re only here because you think you should be, not because you want to be.”

Garrett let off a small laugh and shook his head in wonder. He stepped forward slowly and dropped a kiss on the top of Holly’s head with nothing but pride in his eyes. Like me, he was finally seeing how smart this kid was, and how clearly she read a situation.

Garrett walked toward Paul—his hand stretched to the door in invitation. “Come on, Dad, I’ll walk you out.”

“I don’t need a goddamn escort, boy. I know when I’m not welcome.”

“You were welcome, Mr. Hill. This is your son’s home. I just think you made up your mind long before you got here. You weren’t willing to try and make this work.”

Paul Hill walked out of Garrett’s house, slammed the door and probably never once looked back, leaving the three of us standing and watching his exit together. I didn’t think Holly or I would ever see him again, but I knew Garrett had a sense of obligation. It was the same one that Dustin always had. I just wasn’t sure how long that was going to last if his father hated the idea of us as a family. Garrett was more like his brother than I’d ever known, and he would only take his father’s insults for so long before he grew tired of them. I wasn’t going to be the reason for that, though. I may have chosen my family, but I still knew what family meant, and I knew how lucky I was to be supported in all of my decisions.

“So…” Holly said with a one-shouldered shrug, stepping out from between us once Paul’s truck had left the house in a dust cloud raining against the windows behind him. “I do believe Garrett was proposing badly before all of that.”

“Holly!” I admonished, giving her a look I knew she would interpret.

“What?”

I turned to face her and shook my head. “That wasn’t a proposal. That was just a consideration for the future. It was a conversation you shouldn’t have even been listening to.”

“I know I shouldn’t have been listening, but, Mom, are you sure it was just a consideration?” She nodded to my side, and I glanced over with a quiet gasp as I felt my legs go weak.

Garrett was on his knees—his smile lighting up the room as his eyes shone with nothing but love. In his hands sat a small velvet box that he flipped open to reveal an exquisite diamond engagement ring.

“What are you doing?” I asked with heart palpitations.

“I’m asking you to marry me.”

I laughed and leaned against Holly as she wrapped her arm around my waist with a quiet squeal of joy.

“We have a strange history you and I,” Garrett said reverently, his gaze holding mine. “And it goes back long before we really even knew one another. By all accounts, we never should have met so anonymously and obliviously, but we did, and we fell in love against all the odds. You were meant to be in my life, Mikayla Quinten. You may not have always been mine, but I hope you always will be in the future. Marry me. Take on the world with me as my wife.”

I stayed silent for the longest of time—my body trembling as my daughter squeezed me gently, reminding me that an answer was expected. I sucked in a breath and looked across at my daughter who was smiling like she did when she was truly happy.

“Of course I will.” I felt the first tear fall with the quiet, happy laugh falling from my lips as I leaned into Holly for strength.

Garrett was on his feet and had Holly and me in his arms. I could hear the uneven sound of his breaths as he fought his own emotions, but I gave into mine and let the happy tears fall. We huddled around one another, and when he reached for my hand, I gave it to him, watching as he slid the ring on my finger while Holly watched on with a giant smile of glee. I stared between it and him for a moment before leaning in to kiss his lips. I waited for him to rise. Instead, he pulled a small bag from his back pocket and dropped another ring into his palm. If I’d been happy before, it was nothing to what I felt when he took Holly’s hand and slipped a tiny infinity ring onto her index finger.

“This,” he said, voice wavering with emotion, “is your ring, kiddo. Will you take the name Hill, Holly? After your dad, and for me?”

There was a beat when the world felt as though it fell into perfect silence, and it was broken with a girlish squeal as Holly flung her arms around his neck and cried. Her body shook with emotion as he folded her up in an embrace, a small tinge of surprise bringing tears to his own eyes. I don’t think he’d really counted on how much Holly already loved him, and as hoarse yeses fell from her lips, she released him with another emotional squeak.

“Good,” he said, standing and holding another box out to her. “It means that I can also give you this.”

“What’s this?” I asked, glancing over Holly’s shoulder at an old style key sat on a velvet cushion.

“This is the key to Sassy Pants’ stable. She’s yours as long as you promise to look after her,” he said to Holly who screamed and flung her arms around Garrett again. He caught her and swung her around in his embrace, while I watched on with a happiness that burned through my veins.

I really was happy.

Happier than I thought I could be.

Happier than I’d once thought I’d deserved to be.

I knew that I would always love Dustin Hill. I would love him for being the man he was, for being the man I knew he would be, and for giving me the most perfect creature as a daughter. I loved him for showing me how to love, for showing me what love could be, and for making me feel like I mattered. I also loved him for giving me Garrett, because I believed with all of my heart he was the reason I’d got a flat that day, and I believed he was the one that sent Garrett out there to annoy me. He would always be a part of our lives, and it felt right that it should be that way.

I looked down at my finger and the bright flash of the gorgeous stone that now sat on my ring finger in disbelief.

I was going to be Mikayla Hill.

Mikayla Hill…

Just like I’d written in all of my composition books fifteen years ago.