Keith looked ready to blow by the time they walked into Grandma’s house. Ever since they turned onto her street, his lips had been a straight line of disapproval. Looking at the area with fresh eyes after what happened last night, she could understand.

A group of unruly teenagers hung out in front of the corner convenience store, smoking and screwing around even though it was barely thirty degrees outside. Only one of every three houses they passed looked fit to live in. The rest had front porches that were falling apart, windows that needed to be repaired, or just generally looked sad.

Even Grandma’s had obviously seen better days. The front walk hadn’t been shoveled in days and the driveway was a sheet of ice. The house desperately needed a paint job and the garage door was partially open because Sara couldn’t get it closed in her hurry to leave the night before.

The contrast between where she lived and Keith’s home was glaring, and Sara remembered why she’d never wanted him to come over. She was ashamed of what the place looked like, but in her defense, maintaining the house was last on her list of priorities. Far behind taking care of Grandma, making sure she had food in the fridge and doing her schoolwork. There just weren’t enough hours in the day to do it all by herself.

When he saw the state of the backdoor, he paused and took a deep breath. He didn’t say a word, but she knew he wanted to. Luckily for her, they’d already dealt with her deceit this morning, though maybe now that he saw it for himself he’d feel differently.

“You know, I really want to turn you over my knee again for not telling me what was going on here, Sara,” he said, reading her mind.

“I know. I’m sorry.” She still couldn’t explain why she hadn’t told him, and looking at it from his perspective made it even worse. The only reason she could come up with was the one she gave him—she just wasn’t used to having someone there she could rely on.

After her parents died, it was only ever her and Grandma. Her aunt and uncle, Molly’s parents, were too caught up in their own downward spiral to pay attention. When Grandma got sick, it was all on Sara and taking care of the day-to-day essentials was all she could handle. Painting a house was so far beyond her capabilities it wasn’t even funny.

“You don’t have to keep apologizing,” Keith said, shutting the useless door behind them. “You just have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

She nodded, not wanting to start the discussion up again. Instead, she headed upstairs to pack up some more of her things while Keith started replacing the locks. They’d dropped Carter off at Kevin and Angie’s so they could work without interruptions. Sara had protested, thinking Carter would be a good distraction for her mind as she prepared to move out of the only home she’d known for almost twenty years, but now she was grateful for the reprieve.

In just over an hour they were done, and Keith hauled the three additional bags she’d stuffed full out to the car. Eventually they’d have to come back and sort through the entire house, but she had enough for now. She knew she couldn’t live there anymore, and even if Keith would have let her, she truly didn’t want to. Selling it made sense, but she’d deal with that later. The last twenty-four hours had been life changing enough. Calling a realtor could wait.

At least that’s what she thought, but when they arrived back home he immediately called Derek and got the number for a realtor he used regularly. Then he made her call and set up an appointment for the woman to look at the house tomorrow. Tomorrow!

Sara tried to protest that it was too much, but Keith wouldn’t listen to her excuses. In his mind, the decision was already made, so why wait? He didn’t say it, but she was sure he was worried that she’d procrastinate for weeks, or even change her mind. She assured him she wouldn’t, that she just needed a few days to get used to the idea, but he wouldn’t budge.

Finally, she pushed him too far with her arguing and he’d bent her over the couch, pulled down her leggings and panties, and delivered a few hard swats to her bare behind. She wanted to get mad, even yelled at him to stop a few times, but the truth was the sharp smacks shut her up and cleared her mind enough that when he calmly explained his reasons, again, she actually listened.

Yes, she wanted to live with him and Carter. No, she didn’t want to live in that house by herself anymore. No, it didn’t make sense to let it sit empty and fall into worse repair. Yes, they should get it on the market as fast as they could, so she could get as much as she could for it. Yes, the money would help her pay for Grandma’s care and for her school.

The whole time they’d had this conversation, as Keith called it, she was bent over with her naked ass in the air. When she took too long to answer one of his questions he gave her another smack to prompt her to respond. Even though it was embarrassing as all get out, she knew he was only trying to make her see that his plan was what was best for her, and it worked quite well in the end. Plus, it led to more sexy time in the bedroom.

Of course, not until after she’d talked to the realtor.

All their arguing was ultimately a waste of time because the realtor advised that it would be better to wait until closer to spring to list the house, and they should use the time until then to clean it out and make some repairs. She recommended they call Derek for the name of a contractor he used regularly on his buildings.

Sara was relieved they wouldn’t be selling the house next week, and felt a bit foolish for acting like a child about the whole thing. She knew Keith was right and that it had to be taken care of, but just like when she was struggling to take care of Grandma at home by herself, she wanted to wait until the last possible second to make the decision. Now that she’d talked with the realtor, she could plan and prepare herself for letting go, instead of having to rush to do it all at once.

The delay also gave her time to figure out how to tell Grandma. She decided she’d wait until the end of January at least, but Keith had other ideas. Again.

He wanted her to break the news when they went to visit next week for the holiday. Sara thought it would be too much for Grandma since it would also be the first time she was meeting Keith and Carter, and since Keith didn’t know her grandma, she wanted to handle it her own way. Besides, it was Christmas! He couldn’t force her to speak, and besides, it wasn’t really his business how she dealt with her family’s business. Right?

Unfortunately, when next week rolled around, things didn’t go quite how Sara planned. Waking up with Keith on Christmas morning was wonderful and being there for the first time Carter saw the tree buried in presents was an experience she’d never forget. The way his eyes lit up each time he ripped away the wrapping paper and discovered a new toy was magical. Unfortunately, their visit with Grandma turned out to be anything but.

Oh, Grandma was thrilled to meet Keith, and doted on Carter like he was her own great-grandchild. Which he actually was, though she knew nothing about Molly’s pregnancy. Sara had kept that from her, not wanting to distress Grandma when she was doing so well. Even though she’d promised herself to tell Grandma right after Thanksgiving, Sara just couldn’t bring herself to tell Grandma that Molly was an unwed mother who had to be begged to keep the pregnancy. Not when she’d finally adjusted to living in a new place without any family around, and her physical therapy was going so well.

Keith began shooting her pointed looks to get on with it after Sara spent forty-five minutes going on and on about the presents they’d exchanged, and her schoolwork, and all the cute things Carter did every day.

Finally, he must have had enough, because Keith took the bull by the horns and made a comment about Sara moving in with him last week. She shot him a glare that would have killed a small animal had it been in the line of fire, but surprisingly, Grandma was thrilled to hear of their co-habitation.

“That’s a big relief to me, sweetie. I’ve been worried about you living in that house by yourself,” Grandma said, throwing that nugget of information out nonchalantly, totally ruining Sara’s argument that Grandma wouldn’t approve of Keith and Sara living together. “It’s too much to take care of on your own anyway. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the house.”

Keith gave her a smug grin and took the opportunity to take Carter for a walk. He scooped up the squirming baby and left, closing the door behind him, leaving Sara and Grandma alone to talk.

Sara sat back in her chair, stunned. Her grandmother hadn’t been a total prude when Sara was growing up, but openly advocating her living with Keith was not the reaction she expected.

“I thought you’d be upset,” she said, taking a sip of her latte. Keith had stopped at a local bakery on the way and picked up homemade Danish and coffee to bring to sweeten Grandma up.

“It’s time you got settled, Sara. I know you’ve given up a lot to take care of me and I love you for it, but now you need to focus on your life.” Grandma took a bite of pastry and looked at Sara slyly. “Do you love each other?”

Sara felt heat rising in her cheeks, but forced herself to answer honestly. “Yes, I love him, and he loves me,” she admitted. “He takes care of me.”

“Does he know about your habit of following your fool heart into trouble when you’re only trying to help?” Grandma asked bluntly. Boy did she know Sara well. Of course, this was the woman who had raised her and dealt with the aftermath of all of Sara’s poorly planned ideas.

“Yes, he knows.”

Grandma peered at her, sharp eyes missing nothing. “And how did that go? Did he make sure you learned a lesson?”

“Grandma! I’m a grown woman, I don’t need to learn any lessons,” Sara said, even though she knew it was a lie. And she knew Grandma knew it too.

“Sara, don’t kid a kidder. You’re tenderhearted and sometimes don’t think before you rush off to save the world and we both know it. The question is, how does Keith deal with it? Does he get angry and yell at you or treat you poorly?”

Sara rushed to defend Keith knowing exactly what Grandma was hinting at. “No, no he doesn’t treat me poorly.” She didn’t want Grandma to have the wrong impression, more than she didn’t want to admit the truth. “He handles it the same way you used to.”

Grandma showed no sign of shock or surprise, but Sara didn’t expect any. That was the way Grandma was raised, the way her marriage operated and the way she raised her children and grandchild. She certainly wouldn’t object to Keith carrying on the tradition. “I’m glad to hear he knows how to handle you. And he’s handsome and good with his son. Looks like you’ve found a winner there, Sara.”

Sara smiled, happy that her worry over Grandma’s reaction was all for nothing. She relaxed and took a bite of the uneaten Danish in front of her. Now that the hard part was over, she could actually enjoy the visit. Then Grandma rocked her world again.

“Does Molly ever spend any time with her son?”

Sara choked on her food at the question, chugging back her latte to make the pastry go down while desperately trying to figure out how Grandma knew. She’d been careful never to mention Molly’s pregnancy and only gave Grandma vague answers when she asked about her wayward granddaughter. The women hadn’t been close in years so it wasn’t hard. Somehow, despite all her subterfuge, Grandma obviously knew and Sara decided there was no point in denying the truth.

“No, she doesn’t. How did you know?”

“Sara, I may not be able to walk anymore, but the stroke did nothing to my brain,” she chided, but Sara still didn’t have a clue.

“I know that, Grandma, but that doesn’t explain how you knew. I made sure I never mentioned it.”

“And why was that? Did you think I couldn’t handle the truth?” Grandma let her displeasure show and Sara felt guilt creep in. She was only trying to protect Grandma, but maybe she’d overstepped in this case. “Didn’t you think I’d want to meet my only great-grandchild?”

No, Sara hadn’t thought of that at all. She’d been so concerned with not letting Grandma know just how big of a jerk Molly was, and how messed up the situation was between Molly and Keith, that she didn’t even consider that aspect of it. In hindsight, she recognized her error, but at the time everything was so crazy that her decision made sense. Now she had to make Grandma understand.

“I’m sorry, Grandma, but there was so much going on at the time and I didn’t want to worry you. You were getting better and so focused on your rehab that I didn’t want to burden you with Molly’s problems.” Grandma needed that rehab after being almost immobile during the year Sara had tried to take care of her at home. The physical therapist had come in once a week to work with her, but it wasn’t anywhere near the same as having one on site that worked with Grandma daily. That was why Sara had used her college money to pay for the nursing home—so Grandma could be as independent as possible, not stuck in a bed for the rest of her days.

“I’m not a child, Sara. I dealt with one son dying and another wasting his life away and ruining his family. I know what Molly’s issues are and why she does the things she does. I could have handled it,” she scolded, making Sara feel like a child even though she’d only done what she thought was right. “In fact, I did handle it when Molly came here and told me herself.”

Sara was shocked at this news. As far as she knew, Molly hadn’t seen Grandma in years. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? Does she visit you often?” A disturbing thought popped into her mind. “She doesn’t ask you for money does she?” Sara would kill Molly herself if she was hitting their grandmother up for money.

“Calm down, Sara. She used to come about every other month or so, but I haven’t seen her since Carter was born so I figured she’d either settled down or lost her mind. The fact you’re here with Keith and Molly isn’t tells me most of what I need to know. I just hope you two are involved for the right reasons. On both sides.” Grandma paused after that ominous statement. “And Molly hasn’t asked me for money in a year, after I told her in no uncertain terms that I had no money to give.”

“What do you mean about us being involved for the right reasons?” Sara didn’t understand what Grandma was trying to say, especially since she’d just told her they loved each other.

“I don’t want you to get hurt, or for you to hurt him, Sara. You say you’re in love with him, but do you love him, or do you love Carter’s father?”

“I love Keith. Yes, I approached him because I wanted to be close to Carter, but we’ve been dating for months, and what we have goes beyond him being my cousin’s son’s father.” Sara was offended Grandma was even suggesting that Sara only loved Keith for his connection to Carter. She’d never be so cruel.

“All right, Sara, calm down. I was just asking a question. I’m sure everything is fine between you two,” Grandma soothed, but it didn’t relax Sara one bit. “You can’t fault me for being concerned since this is the first time I’ve heard about your relationship.”

“What?” An angry male voice asked from the doorway. Of course, Keith had come back right at that second and overheard that bit of information. Sara looked at him and winced at the expression on his face. He radiated disappointment and hurt, and she didn’t blame him. She’d just have to explain that she hadn’t been able to figure out a way to tell Grandma about Keith without also telling her about Carter.

“Oh, Keith, I’m glad you’re back,” Grandma called, trying to smooth over the tension hovering in the air. “I was missing that sweet boy of yours. Bring him over here and sit by me so we can play.” She patted the chair next to her and looked at him expectantly.

Keith shot Sara a look that promised they’d be talking about this later, no doubt while she was over his knee, but he dutifully went and sat next to Grandma.

They stayed for another half hour, but Sara could tell Grandma and Carter were both getting tired. She stalled as long as she could, but when Carter started crying and Grandma could barely keep her head up, Sara knew it was time to go. Funny how the young and old both needed a nap at the same time. Maybe when they got home, she could say she needed one too and head right to bed.