24
“So, Pop, when will we get to meet this Ms. Manchester?”
Jeremiah lifted his head from reading the morning newspaper to glance across the breakfast table at his daughter. He couldn’t help but smile--this was the first time she’d brought up Thea in weeks. He figured Carrie was trying to practice the art of tending to her own business and was certain it was something Connor had convinced her to do. He placed the newspaper aside, deciding to put his daughter out of her misery.
“Is this Sunday soon enough? I’m having her over for dinner. Of course, I’m inviting you and Connor to join us.”
“And, of course, we accept,” Carrie said as a small smile touched her lips, undoubtedly trying not to show too much excitement. She then proceeded to take a big bite out of her toast and glance back down at the magazine article she’d been reading, as if the subject of Thea was dismissed. But she wasn’t fooling him one bit. He knew his daughter and was fully aware of her level of protectiveness when it came to him. By the time he counted to twenty, she would fire off her first question.
He made it to eleven.
“Is she excited to meet your family, Pop?”
He glanced back up. “Probably as excited as you are to meet her.” He folded the paper and placed it aside. “There was a reason I hadn’t introduced her to anyone yet.”
“I know. You wanted to pull a Prince Harry.”
Jeremiah lifted a brow. “A what?”
Carrie grinned. “You know, Prince Harry. He and Meghan Markle had dated for almost six months before anyone knew they were even an item. Harry wanted to make sure Meghan was the real thing before introducing her to the royal family.”
Jeremiah chuckled as he took a sip of his coffee. “Then, no, I didn’t pull a Prince Harry. I knew Thea was the real thing the moment I met her. The reason I didn’t introduce her to anyone was because we were just too busy enjoying each other’s company.”
That was true, he thought, taking another sip of his coffee. He and Thea had gone to the movies a lot and she’d invited him over to dinner a number of times. Then there was the day he’d dropped by her place to chop wood for her fireplace and ended up staying most of the day, simply talking to her while she baked a cake.
“Had you gone to church last Sunday, you would have met her,” Jeremiah added.
Carrie blinked. “She went to church with you Sunday?”
Jeremiah smiled. “Yes.”
A frown settled on Carrie’s face. “You didn’t mention anything about inviting her. Had I known, I would have -”
“Gone?” Jeremiah finished for his daughter. “You should have gone anyway. Not because you knew I had invited a guest but because it would have been the right thing to do.” He knew that would keep her quiet for a little while. She hated getting into discussions with him about church.
It kept her quiet all of thirty seconds.
“Did she enjoy the service or did Reverend Wilcox put her to sleep?”
Jeremiah forced back a smile. All four of his kids swore that whenever they needed a good nap, they could always get one on the Sundays Reverend Wilcox preached. “She didn’t fall asleep, and she said she enjoyed it. I’m going to church with her this Sunday.”
“Hmm, things must be serious for you to leave Oakwood Baptist for any reason, especially to visit another church.”
Jeremiah shrugged. “It’s just for one Sunday, Carrie.”
“I know.” There was a pause. “Do you need my help with Sunday dinner?”
“Nope, I got this.”
She nodded. “Need me to bring anything?”
He chuckled again. “Just yourself and Connor. I should mention, there’s a chance her daughters will be coming to town this weekend.” That perked Carrie up even more, Jeremiah noticed.
“She has three of them, right?”
He recalled telling Carrie that much during one of her interrogations. “Yes. One lives in Florida. One in Texas and the other one in California.”
“They’re probably coming to check you out.”
“They have that right. And before you ask, even with the prospect of additional guests, I still don’t need help with dinner on Sunday. I have everything under control.” He glanced at his watch. “Well, it’s time for me to go.”
Carrie lifted a brow. “Go where?”
“I’m working at the homeless center today,” he said, standing up.
“Maybe you should invite Ms. Manchester to go with you.”
Jeremiah grinned over at her. “I have. A couple of times. In fact, she’s going with me today. I don’t want to be late in picking her up.”
He headed to the kitchen but couldn’t resist glancing back over his shoulder to see the smile that touched his daughter’s face. Carrie might be full of questions but deep down, Jeremiah truly believed his daughter and sons wanted him to be happy. Thea was definitely doing a good job in that department. Lately, he’d been visiting her every day, for some reason or another, and she seemed happy to have him there.
Jeremiah had a feeling her husband, although he’d been a good man and provider for his family, hadn’t been too demonstrative when it came to his feelings. He knew women liked knowing they were valued. Hell, some needed attention from their man more than they needed being taken care of. Then again, most could take care of themselves.
He chuckled, thinking how blessed he was to have a son and daughter-in-law who were relationship gurus. Each time they wrote a book, either together or separately, they would give him an autographed copy that he would put in his bookcase as a keepsake. However, for some reason, the last book entitled, How to Jumpstart a Lasting Relationship, had piqued his interest. Probably because it was a book Lance had authored without Asia. Jeremiah was curious to see how his former anti-marriage son’s mind worked now that he’d fallen in love. One night several months ago, when Jeremiah had nothing better to do, he’d grabbed the book from the bookcase and ended up reading it from start to finish.
He was glad he had, because it had given him some insight into a woman’s mind. At the time, he’d had no idea he would be meeting Thea.
Jeremiah truly believed that he and Thea had been brought together for a reason. Now, he just had to convince her of that.
“Are you sure it’s okay if we visit this weekend, Mom?”
A smile touched Thea’s lips. Her girls had her on a conference call. “Of course, it will be okay. I’ve already mentioned the possibility to Jeremiah. He’s invited me to dinner on Sunday, and he has extended the invitation to include you three.”
“That was kind of him. We’re looking forward to meeting him.”
“And I want you to meet him, Kim. He’s a real nice guy.” Thea really believed that and couldn’t stress it enough. Although he was different from her late husband, Thea found herself liking Jeremiah more and more each day.
One of the things she admired most was that he didn’t make promises he didn’t keep. Just like he’d said he would do, he had dropped by one day to chop wood for her. Now she had enough to last all winter.
“We arranged it so the three of us will arrive at your place around two o’clock on Friday. Will you be there?”
“Yes. If I get called in to sub that day, I’ll pass. It’s not every day that my girls come to visit. Even if it is to stick their noses into my love life.”
“Do you have a love life, Mom?”
Thea smiled, thinking of Jeremiah. After every visit, they would kiss goodbye. And they would hold hands whenever they went places together. He had no problem being seen with her and she liked that. And they were constantly running into people he knew. Since he had lived in Gary the majority of his life, he had a lot of friends here. Then again, he was so friendly and outgoing, she doubted he’d ever met a stranger.
“I think I’m getting one, Libby,” Thea said pensively.
“Don’t rush into anything, Mom,” Danielle, her youngest and most cautious daughter said. “Besides, people don’t get married anymore. They just live together.”
Thea wondered if that was Danielle’s way of letting her know that she and Steve had decided to move in together. “I’m old school Danielle. I can’t just live with a man. It wouldn’t feel right.”
“Okay, Mom, we will let you go now,” Kim rushed in to say, which made Thea suspect her assumptions about Danielle and Steve were right. Her daughters were close, so if Danielle had plans to move in with Steve, her other two daughters would know it. Rushing Thea off the phone meant they weren’t ready for a lecture and she definitely wasn’t in the mood to give one. “I’m looking forward to seeing the three of you.”
“And we’re looking forward to seeing you, too, Mom. And meeting your Jeremiah Montgomery, of course.”
Thea smiled. Her Jeremiah Montgomery? Hmm, she liked the sound of that.
After ending her call with her daughters, Thea quickly finished getting dressed. Jeremiah would be picking her up in around thirty minutes. They were helping out at the homeless shelter again today.
She had decided to wear slacks and a pullover sweater since the temperature had turned rather cool. Not cold enough for a coat but a jacket would be a good idea. She drew in a deep breath as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Was that a glow she saw on her face? If there was, she knew it was Jeremiah who had put it there. He definitely gave her ego—and her confidence—a boost. He was such a gentleman, and was always complimentary of her appearance. And he always acted as if he enjoyed being with her. If she didn’t know better, she would think they’d had some sort of connection in a previous life or something.
She heard a knock at the door and her heart started pounding. It was Jeremiah. Smiling, she headed for the door and glanced out the peephole. Seeing him standing there, she quickly opened the door. “Good morning, Jeremiah.”
“A good morning to you, Thea,” he said, smiling and stepping inside when she moved aside for him to enter.
“I’m ready.”
“Okay.” He closed the door behind him anyway and reached out to her, drawing her into his arms. She went into them willingly.
He kissed her and she kissed him back, reveling in just how romantic he was. She hated comparing him to her late husband, Eric, but at times like this, she couldn’t help doing so. The two men were vastly different when it came to matters of the heart. She was convinced Eric hadn’t had a romantic bone in his body. Definitely not a passionate one. He’d always told her that romance wasn’t important as long as he was a good provider for her and the girls. The sad thing was, she had believed him…until she’d met Jeremiah. Now she knew a man could be a good husband and father, yet still deliver romance and passion.
Last night, after the movie, she’d invited him back here for coffee and dessert like she’d done several times. It had been during one of those times that he’d told her about his ex-wife and all the cruel things she’d done. Thea found it hard to believe that any woman could be that heartless to her children, and so callous to the man she married--a good man. Some women never realized their good fortunes until it was too late.
Jeremiah finally released her mouth and she automatically leaned in close to rest her forehead against his. They were both trying to get their breathing under control. “Are we moving too fast, Jeremiah?” she asked him quietly. It seemed their kisses were getting deeper and hotter each time their mouths joined.
“I don’t think so, Thea. However, if you ever feel we are, just let me know and I’ll slow down. I never want you to think I’m trying to rush you into anything.”
And that was just it. She never felt that way, because she was an eager participant in everything. The kisses. The hand-holding. His visits. Their dates. “I’m just so new at this, I wasn’t sure.”
He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “It’s just as new to me. I’ve never met anyone like you, Thea. I wake up every morning anxious to see you, to talk to you and spend time with you. To be honest, after Edwina, I never figured I’d ever become interested in someone else. But then I met you and everything changed. You’re the type of woman any man would want to have in his life.”
“Oh, Jeremiah.” Sometimes he would say things that made her want to cry. With him, she felt valued and appreciated. “And you’re not rushing me. I like how things are going between us and hope you do, too.”
He smiled broadly. “Trust me, I do. I guess when you get to be our age, sometimes you feel like you don’t have time to waste. Every second matters.”
She nodded and leaned back to look at him. “I talked to my girls earlier. They will be here in two days.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to meeting them.”
Thea smiled. “And they’re looking forward to meeting you.”
Jeremiah nodded. “Carrie and Connor will also join us for dinner on Sunday.”
She smiled. “It’s going to be a houseful. Are you sure three additional people won’t be a problem for you?”
“Positive.” He took her hand in his. “I guess we should leave now or I’ll be tempted to kiss you again. If that happens, there’s no telling when we’ll get out of here.”
She chuckled. “Then let’s go, because our help is definitely needed at the shelter.”
He took her hand and they headed for the door.
Just as Jeremiah had predicted, Carrie liked Thea immediately, and he wanted to believe her daughters had liked him. They were friendly, just like their mother. One thing was for certain--Carrie, Connor and Thea’s daughters got along great. Once Carrie and Connor discovered Kim had twin boys, they had a ton of questions about what to expect. They even discussed possible names although Carrie and Connor didn’t yet know the sex of their babies.
Jeremiah couldn’t wait for Lance, Lyle and their wives—and in the case of Logan, Claire, since he had no doubt that Logan would win her over--to meet Thea and her family.
“Dinner was great, Jeremiah, and everyone is getting along wonderfully,” Thea said, coming to stand beside him near the fireplace. “You have a beautiful home.”
He chuckled. “Thanks. It’s the same house plan as yours, but over the years I added a room or two to give the boys some space. I can’t wait for you to meet them. They’ll be home for Thanksgiving.”
She leaned toward him, close enough that he could smell the perfume she always wore. “Is that an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner?”
“Of course. But I figured you’d already made plans to spend the holidays with your daughters.”
“Usually I do, but the girls and their husbands—and one significant other--decided to do something different this year. They will be going on a seven-day cruise. They invited me to join them, but I decided to stay here. Kim’s in-laws will be taking care of the twins so I’m free, if the invitation still stands.”
Jeremiah grinned broadly. “It stands.” He wasn’t worried that he and Thea were planning an event that was a month away. He was certain that when Thanksgiving rolled around, they would still be a couple.
He glanced around the room again. Connor had pulled out a board game and teams were being decided. “Did you notice they didn’t ask if we wanted to play.”
“I see that,” Thea said, chuckling.
“Come on then,” Jeremiah said smiling. “We’ll enjoy a cup of coffee and some of that cake you made while the young folks play their game. I doubt we’ll be missed.”
He took Thea’s hand and led her to the kitchen.