The Christmas Cookie Crush (Arcadian Falls Christmas #4)

Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Austin

I poke my head into the kitchen where Nana’s sitting at the table reading the newspaper. “Hey, Nana? Can I talk to you for a sec?”

She looks up from her paper and pats the seat adjacent to hers. “Sure, sweetie. What do you need?”

Instead of sitting, I move to stand behind the chair because this shouldn’t be a long conversation. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be out tomorrow night.”

Her eyes twinkle behind her glasses. “Another date with the Daniels’ youngest?”

My cheeks heat as I duck my head in a nod, but I refuse to acknowledge my blush. Why should I be embarrassed? “Yeah.” I rub the back of my neck. “I actually reserved a room for us. At the Riverside Inn. So I won’t be coming home tomorrow night. I’ll probably stop by after ChristmasFest to get my things, but …” I let the sentence hang while Nana stares at me expectantly like there should be more. My blush grows hotter.

“Did I just hear you say you’ll be out all night with the Daniels girl tomorrow?” Grampy grouses from the living room, followed by the telltale sounds of him shuffling in with his walker. He’s gotten better at using that thing, though he low-key hates how well he’s able to use it, even if it means he can get around better. He resents having to use a walker at all, much less use one long enough that he’s gotten good at using it. Because that also means he really does need it.

We found out that part of the reason he had such a big setback in his recovery is because he was trying to get around without using it when no one was paying attention.

Thankfully he learned his lesson—the hard way—and is using the walker. I think the physical therapist telling him he could permanently damage himself if he didn’t listen to her got him on board at last.

I wait for Grampy to make his way into the kitchen before answering. “Yes, Grampy. You heard that correctly. I was planning on telling you, too. I wasn’t trying to leave you out. But Nana’s the one who’s usually waiting up for me, so I wanted to be sure she knew.”

Grampy nods, and I’m not sure if that’s just his normal I’m-in-pain-and-grumpy-about-it face he’s been wearing since he hurt himself or if it’s grumpiness about me spending the night with Nora. “Okay,” he says after a beat. Then he holds up a finger, squinting his eyes at me. “If I find out you got that girl pregnant …” He lets the unspoken threat hang in the air.

I hold up my hands in surrender. “I won’t get her pregnant, Grampy. I promise.” Which reminds me, I need to pick up some condoms today. I definitely don’t need to tell my grandparents about that, though.

“If you do,” he persists. “You’ll marry her, right?”

I chuckle awkwardly. “I mean …”

“You will,” he states, as though I just agreed completely. I knew Grampy was a little on the old-fashioned side, but this seems a bit extreme. Though I have to admit that the idea of marrying Nora doesn’t sound terrible. I definitely don’t want it to be just because of an accidental pregnancy, though.

“Grampy, if I end up getting Nora pregnant, I promise that I will do my best to take care of her and the baby and be a good father.”

He scrunches up his mouth, glaring at me for a moment, then nods. “Okay. I guess that’s good enough. Her dad probably won’t show up with a shotgun to march you down the aisle anyway.”

“Yeah … probably not.” Though the image of Santa Claus forcing me down the aisle with a shotgun is surreal. “I don’t plan on it being a problem, though, Grampy.”

“Well, of course you don’t. No one ever plans an unplanned pregnancy. It’s in the name!”

I can’t help laughing at that.

“Dale,” Nana scolds. “Leave the boy alone. You know things are different than they were when we were young. And even then, there were plenty of women having babies who weren’t married. It wasn’t like in our parents’ day when those girls got shipped off to homes and their babies taken away.”

“Oh, I know,” he says, swatting a hand in Nana’s direction. “I’m just giving the boy a hard time. I gotta have my fun somehow, don’t I?” He shuffles to the chair opposite Nana and sits down. “But sit down, Austin. Christmas is almost here, which means ChristmasFest is nearly over. We need to discuss what’ll happen next.”

He waits for me to pull out my chair and sit while Nana folds up the newspaper. I get the distinct impression that this is a conversation they’ve planned and have just been waiting for the opportunity. Which I haven’t made easy lately with seeing Nora after work every night and sleeping as late as I can before I have to go to work.

“Things slow down a lot once ChristmasFest ends. I usually take the entire week off between Christmas and New Year’s, especially since I work nearly every day during ChristmasFest. Obviously, I haven’t this year, but you have, so you’ll be taking that week off this time.”

I open my mouth to protest, but he silences me with a look, so I close my mouth and wait for him to say whatever else he has in mind. A week off actually sounds amazing, and since Nora’ll have that week off too …

Grampy sighs, distracting me from the possibilities of what I could do with a week off with Nora. “My physical therapist says that I should be able to stop using my walker in another few weeks, depending on how good I am at following her directions. Since I hurt myself last time and she’s advised me that I’m lucky I didn’t fall and hurt myself worse, I’ve decided to listen to her.”

“That’s good,” I murmur, unable to help myself.

Grampy shoots me a glare, and I roll my lips between my teeth to stop any further comments. “Yes, well. This fall and surgery and recovery have driven home some very important realizations for your nana and me.” She clears her throat, and he grunts. “Fine, for me. I’m not getting any younger.”

I’m glad I’m already clamping down on my lips with my teeth because otherwise I might not have been able to stop myself from saying, “No kidding,” out loud. But then I realize where this conversation must be headed, and all desire to make quips leaves in a rush. Leaning forward, I rest my chin on my hand, keeping my attention focused on Grampy.

He takes a deep breath and continues. “I—we”—he motions between him and Nana—“your grandmother and I appreciate your willingness to come back here and help out with the shop. Sheila told me about your baking attempts.”

I squirm in my seat, opening my mouth to say something, though I don’t know what exactly.

Grampy holds up a hand to stop me from speaking. “For the record, I’m thrilled that you used my cookie recipe to woo your young lady.”

“It’s very sweet,” Nana interjects, reaching over to pat my hand. “Your grampy won me over with his baking skills.”

Chuckling, Grampy shakes his head. “That’s not quite how I remember it.”

“Oh, you hush,” Nana says, sitting back and folding her hands primly in front of her. “It was certainly a contributing factor.”

“Sheila also mentioned how dedicated you were,” Grampy continues, “covering the costs of the failed batches out of your paycheck. She also said you did well after just a little bit of instruction.”

“It wasn’t that hard once she showed me what to do. I just …” I spread my hands in front of me and shrug. “I hadn’t decorated cookies since I was a kid, and I don’t remember any of them being that detailed.”

“Exactly,” Grampy says as though I just made his point for him. “You’re a natural. Which only makes sense, considering.” He lays his hands in front of him on the table, palms covering the green placemat. “What I’m trying to say is that I—we—would like it if you stayed on past Christmas. Past whenever I’m fully back on my feet. I want you to help me run the bakery.” He pauses to examine my face. “If you’re interested, that is. I know Arcadian Falls isn’t that exciting for a young man such as yourself. And while you’re certainly welcome to stay here with us for as long as you like, I intend to pay you enough so you can support yourself just fine if you want to live on your own.”

I blink a few times, staring at my hands, a little shocked that this is coming up now. And that Grampy’s the one bringing it up. I figured I’d have to talk him around to letting me stay on with the intention of eventually taking over. I didn’t think he’d offer it to me on a silver platter like this.

“We know it’s not the best time to move and that most of your stuff is still in Portland with your parents,” Nana puts in when I don’t respond right away. “And considering the fact that you’re finding somewhere to spend the night tomorrow, we know we’re cramping your style to some degree. We appreciate all your help, but we don’t expect you to live with us forever. We know you need your independence. But we’ve always loved having you around. Even though we understood why your parents decided to move you and your brother to Portland when you were a child, we hated losing that connection with you. It’s been so lovely having you here again.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand, and I turn it over to hold hers.

“It’s been my pleasure, Nana,” I tell her, finally responding. “Yeah, the hours have been long for ChristmasFest, but I enjoy working at the bakery. I’ve loved that place since I was a kid, and it’s been fun to see how it works from the inside.” Giving her hand a squeeze, I release it and face Grampy. “I’ve actually been thinking I’d like to stick around and help out too. I was planning on talking to you about it after Christmas, thinking I’d need some time to make a convincing argument about why you should let me stay.”

Grampy chuckles. “Austin, your nana’s right. We love having you here. I know I’ve been a crotchety old man this visit, and I’m sorry for that. Pain and frustration bring out the worst in me. But I know I’m not a young man anymore, and as much as I wanted to pretend I could go on at the same pace forever, the truth is, I’ve been feeling my age more and more in recent years. Sheila’s almost like a member of the family, so I’ve been letting her take on more of the work, but I always envisioned passing on the bakery to one of my children”—he gestures to me—“or grandchildren. But for so many years, that didn’t seem like something anyone would want. And then you came to help out.”

“Yes,” I say, making my voice as firm and definitive as I can. “I want to stay. I want you to teach me everything you know as soon as you’re up to the job.”

Holding up a finger, Grampy wags it at me. “Not until after New Year’s. You’re taking that week off, young man. I’m still the owner, which makes me your boss, so what I say goes.”

“Yes, sir,” I answer, grinning. Standing, I move around the table to give him a hug.

He makes an, “Ohhh,” sound, like I’m being overly demonstrative, but pats my shoulder all the same.

When I go around to Nana, she stands and gives me a solid hug in return. “I’m so happy you want to stay,” she whispers, and all I can do is nod in response, not trusting my voice around the lump in my throat.

“I should get going,” I say, stepping out of her hug.

She pats me on the arm once more. “We’ll let Sheila know you’re running a little late so she has today’s order for the kiosk ready and waiting for you.”

I grin. “She always does.”