Dahlia Jackson (plaininsight) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2022-12-04 19:26:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, #july 2018, dahlia, dean, grady, jen |
Who: Grady, Dahlia, Dean and Jen
When: Early evening, Thursday July 5th
Where: The Barrett house
Status: complete
Grady was not ready for this. Jen meeting Dahlia? That he was ready for. Dean meeting Dahlia? No. One big happy family dinner? Again, no. It wasn’t like he thought his brother was going to swoop in and be Mr. Handsome and Charming, but… okay, so maybe he thought that could happen. Or Dean would just do whatever he could to get under Grady’s skin because he thought it would be funny. Both scenarios triggered a sense of apprehension in Grady but he did his best to push it all to the back of his mind as he moved around the kitchen. Roasted chicken and potatoes. It was a meal his mom made every Sunday and while Grady knew he wasn’t as good of a cook as she was, he figured Dean might appreciate it… and prompt his brother to go easy on the jokes tonight.
With the chicken in the oven, Grady set the table and then went upstairs to take a quick shower and change. Dahlia was the first woman Grady had dated since the divorce and he wanted Jen to like Dahlia and vice versa. It was still on his mind after he got dressed and headed back downstairs to look for Jen. Honestly, despite the anxiety, Grady was thankful for something to distract him from all the bullshit going on in town. Dinner. Family. It was something normal and he told himself it was all going to be fine.
The food smell was already wafting through the house being all tempting and it made Jen look forward to dinner even if she was feeling a little apprehensive about it all. Her dad was dating again. A part of her wanted to throw a fit like she was seven and remind him that her mom was single again and they could try, damn it! At the same time she knew now it didn't really work like that. She just hoped his dad's new squeeze wasn't some uptight or bitchy woman. She was happy he'd finally met someone but she'd hated her mom's new husband and really didn't feel like going through all that shit again. Maybe she'd go back to Portland if it was really bad, now that her mom was single again, but she really didn't want to. Her best friend was here and Portland had always kind of sucked for her.
She was browsing her phone in the living room when Grady came down, looking nice but nervous. He had to really like this chick, Jen was going to behave nice, unless given a reason not to. "You look very handsome," she told him, sitting up a little to look at him. "When's she coming?"
He couldn't really stop the flush creeping up his neck at Jen's compliment, but he appreciated it. Dahlia had seen him in all kinds of dress, and undress, but he still wanted to look good for tonight. "Uh, she should be here any minute," Grady said, checking his watch briefly. "I've got a few more things to do in the kitchen. Have you seen Dean anywhere?" It wouldn't surprise him if Dean showed up late or decided to ditch out completely, but Grady would rather know what his brother was up to before they all sat down to dinner.
"He said he'd be right back," Jen said as she flopped back against the throw pillow and kept browsing pictures on her phone. "But I don't know where he went." This was nice, things felt kind of normal and her leg was healing. It was like every day now came with highs and lows in her panic; she'd be terrified for certain hours of the day and then it was like her brain didn't want to deal with the fear so it just gave her a mini vacation. She was on one of those now, feeling relaxed and a bit apathetic about the whole thing.
Right on cue, Dean pulled up outside of the house and parked. He was kind of excited for this whole family dinner thing, especially since it would include Grady’s new girlfriend. He’d sat down to eat with Grady and Allison a few times in his life, of course, but only after they were already married. Wives were different than girlfriends, and honestly he was just stoked his brother was dating again, period. Even if this one sucked, at least he was getting out there and acting like a full person now. Dean had assessed the supply of liquor in the house and found it lacking, so he’d gone out to pick up a few bottles of various things so they’d have a nice selection. He was smiling as he let himself into the house with a cheery “heyo!”, his hands full of paper bags. “Not late, am I?”
He'd be right back. Grady frowned for a moment, but resisted the urge to grumble as he headed for the kitchen. With his luck, Dean would show up with flowers for Dahlia or something. Shit. Should he have gotten flowers? It was a big deal, wasn't it? Meeting his family? Grady focused on finishing the chicken while kicking himself for not picking up a small bouquet at least. God, he was so bad at this shit. Some of his apprehension dulled when Dean walked in and carried bags instead of flowers. "No, you're not late," Grady said, shutting the oven and lowering the heat. "Where did you go?"
Dean headed for the kitchen after shooting Jen on the couch a wink and a grin, and set the bags on the counter. “Liquor store,” he answered his brother as he started to unload the selection he’d bought. There was wine of a few different types and some harder stuff just in case Dahlia was a cocktail drinker. “I didn’t know what your lady likes, so I just kinda bought a selection. It actually smells pretty fucking good in here, Grady, I’m impressed. She must be a keeper.” Dean glanced over at him with a grin. He’d known his brother was capable in the kitchen, of course, he’d been living there a while now and this wasn’t the first time. But it was cute that he was cooking for his girlfriend, and any chance Dean got to rib him about it, he was going to take.
"Oh." He eyed the liquor and found himself weirdly grateful for it. He had completely forgotten about getting some new wine. "Well, thanks. But... yeah, she is." Grady turned away to wash his hands, wanting to try and distract Dean from teasing him about Dahlia before she had even arrived. "No embarrassing stories," he said, turning off the sink and grabbing a paper towel to dry his hands. "No... well, no stories, preferably. Don't make her feel uncomfortable or ask any invasive questions or you get to sleep out in the yard tonight." Grady kept his tone light, as not to offend his brother. But he had to get the rules out now before it was too late.
“No stories?” Dean echoed with fake shock. “What if she asks for some? I can’t be rude and pretend I don’t have any good stories about you.” He really didn’t have anything that would be very embarrassing, Grady hadn’t done a whole bunch of stupid shit in his life or anything. Just normal type stupid shit that everybody did. But Dean didn’t have to tell him that. He wasn’t truly insulted by his brother’s warnings, even though he’d already planned to behave himself. “I’ll be good, don’t worry,” Dean added as he tucked the white wines into the fridge.
Outside, Dahlia was just pulling up to the house. She took a moment to check her makeup in the visor mirror, and touched up her lipstick before she climbed out of the car. She had debated what to wear for quite a while, wanting to strike a balance between looking nice to make a good impression on Grady’s family, and staying casual enough for a home cooked dinner. She’d opted for a flowy patchwork skirt and a short crochet sweater with a tanktop underneath, a colorful scarf serving as a headband for her hair. She grabbed a wrapped plate from the passenger seat and exited the car, taking a few deep breaths as she walked up to the door to calm her nerves. She was mostly nervous about meeting Grady’s daughter -- Jen’s opinion of her would carry a lot of weight, Dahlia already knew. She straightened her shoulders and rang the bell.
Jen fully expected Grady or Dean to get the door but when the doorbell rang, they both seemed too busy in the kitchen so she got up with a groan and darted out to the hallway. Okay yes, she was curious too, she'd never known her dad to date anyone and he seemed really into Dahlia. The moment she opened the door she could see why, Dahlia was gorgeous, her face almost doll-like, her eyes so large and her lips so pouty. She could be the biggest bitch on the planet and skate by on looks alone so Jen really hoped she was nice too and that Grady wasn't just completely blinded by her. "Hi," she said, stepping aside to let Dahlia in, watching her intently as she tried to figure her out. She'd never wanted to be some meddling evil brat when it came to her parents' lives but... Hell, she could be if she had to. "You must be Dahlia."
Dahlia had expected Grady to answer, and her nerves fluttered harder when an elfin young woman opened the door instead. She recovered quickly and gave Jen a smile. “And you must be Jen,” she said as she stepped inside. Dahlia shifted her plate of goodies from one hand to the other to offer the girl her right one to shake. “So nice to meet you finally.” She bit back on the cliche ‘I’ve heard so much about you,’ because she really hadn’t heard much. Grady was so good at compartmentalizing his life. That was mostly why Dahlia was here, to get to know his daughter. Jen was very pretty in a solemn way, which kind of made sense, and while Dahlia was trying not to read her emotions outright, she couldn’t help but tune in to feel Jen out a little herself. “Hope you like fudge, I’ve got chocolate and peanut butter both,” she added with another smile.
"Can't go wrong with fudge," Jen said and took the plate off her hands like a good host even if she had precious little experience with being one. "You can keep your shoes on," she added as she backed up to take the dessert to the kitchen, torn between her curiosity about her dad's new lady friend and that awkward feeling of not wanting to be alone with her, doing small talk. "Unless you wanna take them off, whatever you want." God, did adults just know how to talk and behave when hosting? She wasn't technically the host here but it was her home and she had answered the door, something she'd not been prepared for at all if she was honest, stupid Barrett men being busy!
Grady pulled the food from the oven quickly and carried it to the kitchen table to set it down before walking to the front of the house where Jen had already opened the door to greet Dahlia. His nerves were working overtime tonight but things seemed to be going okay so far so he smiled and leaned in to press a kiss to Dahlia's cheek. "Sorry about that. Had my hands full. Looks like you two have met. And... Jen's already snagged dessert." He smiled at his daughter, hoping the first impression was a good one. He had never had to introduce his kids to a girlfriend before so he was feeling as lost as Jen was.
Dahlia started to follow Jen as she was backing up, opting to leave her sandals on for the moment. She was about to reply when Grady appeared, and Dahlia gave him a bright smile and squeezed his arm as he kissed her cheek. “We did! And my fudge is awesome, so I can’t blame her,” she said lightly, glancing at the girl with a little grin. She was picking up on everyone’s nerves, and it was kind of sweet but made her skin feel all buzzy at the same time. “It smells really good in here,” she added, beaming at Grady again. She already wanted to kiss him for real, but she was on her best behavior tonight, she knew how judgemental teenage girls could be.
Luckily for Dahlia, this teenage girl was nowhere near as judgmental as her teenage brother, but she was wary and on full alert as she tried to suss out what Dahlia was really like. It was weird having a stranger in the house, a stranger who was intimate with her dad at that, and the thought of this woman possibly becoming family one day gave her mixed feelings. She wasn't childish and mean enough to try to put an end to it, but she really hoped Dahlia wasn't going to turn out to be a bitch who'd ruin the equilibrium of their home. Then again, maybe she and Grady were already marked for death so that would never become a problem, but Jen had to choose to think that wasn't the case or she'd drive herself insane. "Oh yeah I'm eating all this dessert by myself," she threatened idly but bit back on adding 'in my room' lest it be mistaken for some teenage sulking.
"At least save a piece for Dean, or he might pout," Grady told Jen before placing his hand on the small of Dahlia's back to gently lead her towards the dining room where the food and his brother were waiting. "Speaking of... Dahlia, this is my brother, Dean. Dean... Dahlia." He felt comfortable enough with the introduction, aware that his brother wouldn't do anything so bad as to jump right into trying to tease him, but there was still a bit of tension in his back and shoulders, like the two would lock eyes and fall in love on the spot. It was ridiculous and had never happened before, but Grady hadn't exactly dated a whole lot before Alison and not at all after. Maybe he felt protective... or possessive. Maybe a little bit of both.
Dahlia was already pretty familiar with the house, since she’d been there several times while Jen was out, but she was grateful for the escort anyway. She was used to dealing with Grady one on one, so having three people’s emotions flying around all at once was a little disorienting. There was wariness and caution from Jen, some anxiety and possessiveness from Grady -- which Dahlia honestly found a little hot at the moment -- and Dean radiated enough jovial good cheer when she laid eyes on him, she was sure it was covering something else. She smiled warmly anyway and offered her hand to greet him, “Hello! Nice to finally meet you.”
“Charmed,” Dean said with a grin as he took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. He shot Grady an approving glance and gestured for Dahlia to take a seat at the kitchen table. “So what’s everybody drinking? Jen? Whiskey sour neat, right?” Dean looked over at his niece with a teasing grin as he started to fetch glasses out of the cabinets.
“Oh, just some white wine for me, thanks,” Dahlia said. She gave Grady a brief brows-lifted look -- his brother definitely seemed like A Lot in comparison to Grady’s usual quiet and easygoing vibe. But siblings could be very different, she knew that as well as anyone. Dahlia reached for a chair but hesitated to sit down yet. “Can I do anything to help?”
Jen stifled a laugh and really, it still felt a little silly to hide the fact she was drinking from her dad. He probably knew, but she'd still have her 'first drink with him' when she turned twenty one, she was sure. "I don't know, something on the rocks?" she chimed in as if she had no clue what that really meant, giving Dean a cheeky smile before turning to Dahlia. "Pretty sure it's against the rules for you to help, like you're a guest and stuff. I feel like dad and Dean should do all the work tonight." She was sure she was expected to help out at least a little but it'd be nice to just sit back and sip on lemonade like it was actually fine wine.
Grady shot Dean a Look and then turned it on Jen. Sure, he knew teenagers weren't innocent and it was more than likely that Jen had already tasted alcohol, but he was happy enough to feign ignorance on that until she turned twenty one. "Jen is right," Grady said, pulling a chair out at the table for Dahlia. "Dean and I are definitely on the clock tonight. Everything's more or less done anyway." He didn't mind it if Dean wanted to pour Dahlia's drink. That gave Grady enough time to grab the rest of the food and bring it to the table. "It's been a while since I made anything this... I hate to say complicated, because it wasn't, but my usual go to lately has been to throw frozen pizza in the oven." Grady set the basket of rolls down on the table. "If it tastes like rubber, we can always order in."
Dean wasn’t sure how he’d gotten recruited to be the kitchen helper, but as long as Grady didn’t need him to do much more than bartend, he could handle that. It was pretty much all done anyway, so he’d probably get stuck with clean up duty. Not Dean’s favorite thing, but he would do his best to facilitate his brother holding onto this gorgeous woman who’d shown up like some exotic bird landing in the midst. Was that racist? Maybe a little. Dean wasn’t going to say it out loud in any case, lest he step on Grady’s over sensitive toes. He made drinks for all of them -- lemonade in a wine glass for Jen -- and set them in front of everyone before he sat down at the table too.
“Nonsense, it all smells delicious,” Dahlia assured Grady, smiling warmly as he bustled around getting everything ready and on the table. It was simple enough fare, but it felt like quite a spread compared to the meals she usually ate alone in the apartment, and it was definitely a delight to be with a family, even if she wasn’t quite a part of it yet. Once everybody was seated and settled, she glanced around and let out a soft little laugh. “I haven’t done this in a while, so here’s to ... a lovely bunch of Barretts, thank you so much for having me over,” she said as she lifted her wine glass to all of them.
Jen was half-expecting Dean to have snuck a tiny bit of alcohol in her glass and was disappointed to find out that he hadn't. Not that she could blame him, Grady probably would have sniffed it out even over the smell of wine in his own glass. "Cheers," she said as she raised her glass, eyeing Grady as she drank to Dahlia's toast. Her dad was usually a little awkward but it was still weird to see him this kind of awkward, a lady involved kind of awkward. She obviously hadn't been there when he was dating her mother and it was like seeing a whole new side to him she'd never really known existed. Yet another 'oh shit my parents are human' moment, she was still getting used to those. "He cooks more than he says he does," she said as she put her glass down. "We're not eating crap every night."
Grady felt like he had gotten past the awkwardness with Dahlia, but it was different when his family was involved. He didn't know why he was still so nervous. Being out of the dating game this long had really done something to his psyche. Grady lifted his own glass and smiled at Dahlia. "We're glad you were able to make it," he said, hoping it didn't sound as lame as it felt. "And for the record, I like to think we never eat crap, but yes, there are times we have to call out to Dino's." He always felt guilty when he couldn't be home for dinner with Jen, but Grady did feel a bit better knowing Dean was around more often than not. "Hopefully this will not be one of those nights." Grady set his glass down to hand the food over to Jen to get her plate first.
“Dino’s is excellent junk food,” Dean piped up, though everyone at the table already knew that. And if Dahlia didn’t, Grady needed to fix that as soon as possible. “I worked there for a while as a teenager, so I’m still contractually obligated to say so.” He grinned and helped pass the food around once Jen was done with it, only taking about half of what he felt like he could eat just to make sure everybody got as much as they wanted first. He hadn’t forgotten all of the table manners their mother had drilled into him and Grady. “So Dahlia, Grady tells us you’re an artist ... you make a good living at it, or is this gonna be your only meal for the week?” His tone was light and teasing, and he hoped she was able to take it that way. Grady definitely needed a woman with a sense of humor.
She did laugh as she filled her plate, shaking her head a little. “I do all right for myself,” Dahlia said. “I do some more commercially-viable work to pay the bills, and still have some free time for personal projects. It’s a struggle on occasion, but I always eat, so I can’t complain.” She sipped on her wine again before picking up her fork, her gaze drawn to Jen again. “What I mostly sell is pet portraits ... I would love to see some of your little critters sometime,” Dahlia told her with a warm smile. “Painting almost nothing but dogs and cats gets old, you know?”
"Really?" Jen asked with a healthy mix of skepticism and delight. "You know what kind of critters they are?" She was guessing yes, with the way Dahlia had said that, and glanced over at her dad with a grin. If Dahlia was cool with her critters then that was already a big plus in her book. Her parents and her brother were not fans, obviously. Of course she didn't currently have anything 'scary' like spiders or snakes, but plenty of people were grossed out by beetles and snails.
Grady did his very best not to grimace when Jen's bugs came up as a topic. He was the Sheriff of this town and had seen and heard a lot of terrible stuff. Having an insect phobia simply didn't make sense and likely put a dent in whatever tough exterior he tried to project. But those damn bugs were in Jen's room and stayed there. If the door was open when Grady passed by, he closed it. He also tended to check his bed sheets for any escapees before calling it a night, not that he'd ever admit that out loud. He caught sight of Jen's grin and narrowed his gaze at her, though playfully. "I think a painting of a snail in a hat would make a great addition to the house," he quipped, lifting his own drink to take a sip. "Or maybe a monocle?"
The pure disgust from Grady that Dahlia picked up on amused her greatly, but she tried not to let it show. He knew now that she was an empath, but she presumed that nobody else at the table did. Jen’s delight was a fun contrast to the way her father was feeling, that was for sure, but Dahlia loved that he indulged her interest even if it made his skin crawl. That was a sign of a good father, which just made him even sexier. “Your dad has described them to me, yeah,” she answered the girl, grinning. “I’ve honestly never seen a big snail up close, I’m intensely curious. Do you have a favorite? Or one that would look best in a top hat and a cravat in a painting? Any distinguished little gentlemen in your collection?”
"Well I can show you if you want, after dinner," Jen replied with a little smirk and wondered if Dahlia would be as cool about it as Phee had been. She was definitely on board with a cool painting of her oldest snail who was the closest she could have to a favorite, getting too attached didn't go well with creatures with lifespan as short as the beetles but this snail had been through the ringer for six years now and yes, she was fond of it. "Where would you hang the painting, dad?" she asked, shooting Grady another amused look. "It'd be very Alice in Wonderland with a top hat and monocle. Maybe it'd make you love them!"
"Fat chance of that happening," Grady said with a brief smirk of his own. Okay, sure, he could handle a funny painting of a bug...insect... whatever snails were... but he wasn't about to start going into Jen's room to admire them. "You can hang it wherever you want though. Maybe in the front hallway so he can greet everyone who comes over. That way they know what they're getting themselves into." A house full of creepy crawlies, that was what. The short lifespan should have been a silver lining but Jen just got more. Grady motioned at Dahlia with his fork as he glanced at Dean. "If you ever get your own place and need some art, her paintings are pretty incredible. The non-snail in a top hat kind."
Dean was always amused by the bug conversation in this house, and he was smirking as he chewed and glanced between Grady and Jen. He didn’t love Jen’s bugs either, but he didn’t have the kind of phobia that his brother did, and it was sweet to see how happy they made her. Jen could be a weird, stoic kid, so it was good when she got enthusiastic about something. He’d been invited to meet all of her pets, and while he’d mostly forgotten what types they were and their names, he respected her interest. She was the smartest person in the family, Dean was pretty sure. “Oh yeah?” he asked Dahlia with a smile. “What else do you paint?”
“I don’t know if I’d say incredible,” Dahlia said with a pleased little laugh. The compliment made her feel a little flushed, which was kind of unusual. The praise just meant more and more, coming from Grady. “Just kind of ... whatever I feel like at the time. Sometimes they’re portrait-ish, sometimes just abstract. I take a lot of inspiration from music? I like to mix it up.” She shrugged a shoulder and smiled. Her art was better seen than described, and maybe she would get to show them someday, if she became part of this family. “The dogs in pirate costumes definitely sell faster,” she added. “But I’ve had some of my other work in galleries here and there.”
Jen had no idea how serious this thing between her father and Dahlia really was but she was having a hard time imagining the woman painting something for her specifically. Sure it made sense to buy her good will somehow but a small painting that was already ready made more sense for that. Still, it was fun to imagine what kind of paintings she might make of Jen's critters and it made her want to go show them to her after dinner like she was some overenthusiastic ten year old. "Oh my God, pirate dogs," she cooed and tittered. "Yeah that sounds more like a painting you would like, dad. Or is it too criminal?" She gave him a cheeky grin as she wondered what style of paintings Dahlia made and if she could spy on her on some social media or something rather than ask.
Grady hadn't been dating Dahlia terribly long but he knew she would absolutely paint something for Jen. It wasn't just to get into Jen's good graces, it was just the kind of woman she was. Kind. "Pirates?" Grady chuckled and shrugged. "I mean, if it's a pirate dog, then I think I'd have to give it a pass. How can you be upset with a dog, even if they're plundering treasure, or whatever it is pirates do. And they are incredible," he told Dahlia, aware that she was just being modest. "The best I can do is stick figures and even those look horrendous."
Having painted several pirate dogs in her time, Dahlia nodded sagely along with what Grady said -- it was impossible to blame them for their crimes. Then she huffed and gave an affectionate roll of her eyes. “Maybe drawing just isn’t your medium,” she said, leaning in closer to nudge Grady with her elbow. “You could be a brilliant sculptor or an abstract painter and you don’t even know it yet. I believe everyone is an artist in some way or another.” Dahlia decisively forked up a bit of food, like that settled the matter. One day Grady would find a hobby he actually enjoyed and it would be really good for him, in her humble opinion.
The suggestion made Dean laugh a bit and he cocked an amused eyebrow at Grady. “So you didn’t tell her that your special talent as a kid was turning your eyelids inside out and chasing me around the house?” he asked, grinning. It definitely wasn’t the most embarrassing reference he could make, but he’d been sworn to good behavior.
"Oh, ew!" Jen said loudly as she remembered the boys from her own class who'd done that. "Dad!" It was very hard to think of her dad doing something like that, he was so stoic. Then again it was hard to imagine him as a kid at all so she was really picturing him as he was right now and that just made it worse. It still made her laugh even as she pulled a face at him and Dean.
Grady blinked in surprise at the memory, since it honestly took him a moment to remember that far back, but once he did, Grady grinned and reached for his drink. "Are you sure that wasn't you chasing me?” It probably was difficult for Jen to imagine her dad doing something so childish, but it didn't necessarily embarrass him for Dean to reveal such a silly thing. He didn't really want to be seen as some stoic cop who didn't know how to have fun or laugh, though he knew that's how he came across to most people. "Look, every time I did that, it was probably because you did something to me first. Fair is fair. If it makes you feel better," he added to Jen. "I don't think I could turn my eyelids inside out anymore, even if I tried."
“Oh okay,” Dean said in a tone of playful disagreement. “You were always twice my size, striking first was just good strategy.” He knew he’d been a terribly annoying little brother, but that was the job of a little brother, wasn’t it? There was a pretty significant age gap between them, and it had felt even wider as Grady grew into a teenager and Dean was still a kid-kid. They’d maintained a good enough relationship because Grady had always been a good person and tried to look out for him, but there had been a pulling away that had stung at the time. It was perfectly natural and healthy as Grady matured, but Dean had done a lot of dumb bullshit for more attention. He looked over at Jen with a smirk. “Be glad you’re a twin, you and Hunter were on equal ground from the start.”
"God no," Jen said with a roll of her eyes. "Hunter's always been a pain in the ass." Maybe it would have been worse if he'd actually been physically bigger than her, but she didn't think so. He'd been annoying in ways that weren't physical. "I'm actually curious to see if you can flip your eyelids again," she added as she looked at her dad. It was morbid curiosity and she didn't really want to see it, but it seemed like such a little boy thing to do, she'd never even tried it, it just looked painful and gross. Thinking about it now she felt a weird feminist urge to do it anyway, but she knew when that equality thing was plain dumb so she quieted it down.
Grady shot Jen a mild look when she called her brother a pain in the ass and nearly pointed out that she could be one too sometimes. Weren't all kids a pain in the ass at one point or another? "I'm not doing that," Grady said calmly as he forked up another bite of food. "Definitely not while we're eating. And we should be talking about something other than disgusting things I was able to do when I was a kid." This time he looked at Dean, since he was the one who brought it up in the first place. "We may be closer in size now, but I could still take you." At least Dahlia looked amused, rather than put off.
“Yeah yeah, whatever you say old man,” Dean teased, snickering a bit. All kids -- all people -- could be pains in the ass, especially to their families, but he found it pretty hilarious to hear Jen say it so blatantly. Dean loved Hunter to death too, but in Dean’s experience, he was a bit more high maintenance than his sister. It was so interesting to watch them grow into different people, even if he’d done most of that watching from afar for most of their lives. “What about you, Dahlia? Any siblings?” he asked, wanting to turn the conversation back to Grady’s new squeeze. The whole point of this was to get better acquainted, right?
Dahlia had been listening to the banter with a smile on her face, definitely amused by all of it. It was so nice and different to sit down to dinner with a normal, functional family. Everything seemed lighthearted and affectionate, instead of devolving into bitter yelling matches and thrown plates. When Dean asked about her, her smile disappeared for a moment and she looked a little startled even though it was a totally natural question. “Oh, uh ... yes, I have a half brother,” she said with a nod, trying to keep her tone light. “We’re not really close. Um, my niece though, she lives with me right now, she’s actually the reason I moved up here. Jen, you might know her -- Elodie Hunt? She’s your age, I think ...”
Jen didn't really know Elodie but she certainly knew who she was and she couldn't hide the surprise in her expression. "Yeah, we-" she almost said they'd graduated together, but they hadn't. Elodie had never showed up for her graduation, she and the grouchy Lucas kid had gone missing. There was a whole lot to unpack there but she'd already paused for a couple of seconds and realized how weird that looked. "Had some classes together." Elodie Hunt was Dahlia's niece. That was just trippy and she was living with her now. Jen was pretty sure she didn't want to be a part of Elodie's life so this dating situation had just gotten uncomfortable. What could she even say about the girl? She didn't know anything about her except that she was weird as fuck and not in the way that appealed to Jen. "I don't really know her though. My friends are all younger than me, I'm one of those cool kids."
Grady knew plenty about Elodie at this point and he was watching Jen's face as he chewed his food. He felt a sliver of guilt that he was silently hoping Jen wasn't friends with Elodie, just because the girl seemed to have a lot of issues, but he also knew kids like that probably needed stable people like Jen in their lives. Grady reached for his beer to wash down his food before he nodded. "Elodie is certainly interesting," he said, glancing at Dahlia. Of course, he wanted to be tactful. There were a lot of things about Dahlia's niece Jen probably didn't know or understand and that was okay.
Even without her empathy, Dahlia could read between the lines well enough. Jen obviously didn’t know Elodie, but the dislike there was loud and clear. While part of Dahlia wanted to get her hackles up and defend her niece, nothing bad had actually been said, and she honestly understood where the caution came from. Elodie was a troubled girl from a troubled home, who had been through a lot of trauma. Dahlia still wasn’t sure if she could actually help her, but she definitely wanted to be around to try, when no one else was. She gave Jen and Grady a bemused little smile. “She would probably take that as a compliment,” she said, her tone still light. “And there’s nothing wrong with having younger friends. I bet they look up to you.”
Jen was aware that she was probably an open book and she tried to school her expression. Dahlia was gracious about it at least so that was another score for her. "More like I look up to them," she replied with a little shrug as she focused on her food again. It was mainly Phee who made her almost want to do one more year of high school so they could hang out more but details weren't really important here.
Grady thought Jen might say more, but she was suddenly interested in her food so he supposed that was that. It was probably time to shift the focus away from Jen and Elodie to keep things peaceful. He took a bite of his food, then looked at Dean in an amused sort of way. "Speaking of cool kids..." Grady reached for his beer and glanced at Dahlia, a teasing sparkle in his eye. "Have you met any nice ladies in town we could shove in Dean's direction? I think he could use the distraction." He very nearly made a comment about finding a job, but realized keeping the peace at the dinner table meant keeping the peace with Dean as well.
Dahlia gave a light laugh as Dean looked up from his food abruptly, shaking her head in reassurance. “Unfortunately not,” she said. “But I’ll keep my eyes peeled.” She’d always thought she could be one hell of a matchmaker if she wanted to be, but it seemed like too much meddling in other people’s lives when she had the advantage she had. The immediate impression she got from Dean was that he definitely didn’t want to be hooked up with anyone, and that was answer enough for her.
Dean gave a little snort and rolled his eyes to dismiss the idea. “Oh yeah, I’m a total catch right now, unemployed on my brother’s couch,” he said breezily. He flashed Dahlia a grin. “Don’t do that to any poor innocent ladies you meet, okay?” There were more reasons beyond his pathetic situation to avoid romantic entanglements ... such as the fact he might be dead soon, the crushing debt that would still exist if he did survive ... and the fact he’d already found a fuckbuddy he was pretty happy with. None of which were good things to bring up at the dinner table with Grady’s new girlfriend present, who seemed like a really nice woman. Just more proof at how much more his brother had his life together than Dean did. As always. “Though I’m sure there are a lot of disappointed singles out there now that the sheriff’s off the market,” he teased, turning it back on Grady. “So maybe now’s the best time to look, when their standards are lower ...”
"Well, the sheriff was on the market for a while and they didn't show up so they can just suck it," Jen said and for some reason all the women she pictured vying after her dad were varying shades of awful so just thinking of them got her hackles up. Dahlia gave off good vibes at least, so far so good, but it was still a little hard to make peace with the fact that the relationship between her parents was too broken to be fixed. She wasn't as naive as Hunter was but there'd still been that faint hope that maybe they could work things out. She'd also thought her dad deserved a good woman so she was very torn between those two opposing emotions.
Grady glanced between Dean and Jen, not entirely sure how it all got turned around back on him, though he supposed he should have expected it. It wasn't like he hadn't been asked out by women over the past five years, he just hadn't really felt. And he had been pretty focused on his job and his kids. "Okay, so no poor, innocent ladies," he agreed after a moment, flashing a grin at Dean. "Maybe someone challenging to keep you busy and out of trouble." Grady still wasn't entirely sure what kind of trouble Dean was in. He knew there was a lot of debt, but everything else was sort of vague. Though Grady had to admit he was relieved that Dean was keeping his nose clean in Point Pleasant so far. That was one less thing for Grady to have to worry about.
Dean’s nose didn’t feel as clean as it might look, considering he was now fuckbuddies with one of Grady’s deputies, and there was a man in town he planned to blackmail to try and save his own ass. Neither of which he could bring up at the dinner table in front of his niece ... though Dean didn’t plan to tell Grady in private either. He could only imagine how that grin at him would change if he was honest about all the shit he was in. “What I really need is some rich old widow who needs a cute live-in pool boy,” he joked lightly as he poked at his food with his fork, appetite suddenly leaving him. He was used to covering everything up with jokes and charm, it was like second nature by now. It just made him feel more alone than he could properly describe. “You know any of those up in Overlook?”
Jen couldn't help the laugh that escaped her at the thought of her uncle hooking up with any lady in Overlook. As far as she knew, most of them were witches and she almost told him as much to let him know how out of his depth he'd be if he went that route. Thankfully the laughter was warranted without the witchcraft comments, the idea was funny in a crude and ridiculous way. "Does she have to be old?" she asked and cocked a brow at Dean. "Is there something you're not telling us?" She ducked her head as she laughed again, feeling like maybe she'd ventured onto thin ice with that implication. Talking about people's sexual interests wasn't something she was used to doing anywhere near her dad and it felt weird to cross that threshold even if she was eighteen now.
"Honestly, I don't think there are any old ladies living up in Overlook," Grady said with a chuckle. "And the ones who do live there definitely don't need a pool boy. Now, I do know a few widows in town who wouldn't mind having a handsome young man come around to massage their feet a few times a week. Maybe mow their lawns. You'd probably get some good tips." He was teasing, mostly because he knew a lot of the wealthier ladies in town were married and joking or not, he definitely didn't want Dean sniffing around that kind of trouble.
Dean grinned and winked teasingly at Jen, amused that she would ask such a thing. She was growing up to be much more fun than he would’ve thought, raised by Grady. Maybe it was that teenage rebellion kicking in. Though his brother was right behind Jen, making him laugh and wince at the thought of old lady feet. He could joke around about it, but grannies weren’t truly his thing. “Oh, were those the kinds of offers you were getting?” Dean asked, smirking. “Lucky for you that she came to town then, huh?” He gestured at Dahlia with his fork.
It was her turn to laugh lightly as she glanced over at Grady’s face. She didn’t want him to feel on the spot to say he was lucky. Even if he felt that way, it could be awkward to be so candid in front of his daughter. Dahlia hoped she was making a good impression so far, but they were still just getting acquainted. “It was good timing for both of us, I think,” Dahlia said with a warm smile. “Come to find out Grady only takes a night off once in a blue moon, I caught him on a rare night out.”
"Yeah, that's going to drive you crazy," Jen piped up before shooting her dad a somewhat apologetic look. It was true though, he worked a lot and she understood why but it could be frustrating. Especially when she was scared and this week she'd been scared a lot. Overlook was becoming like a second home and she wished she could read Phee's thoughts or feelings so she could be certain she wasn't overstaying her welcome. "Maybe you should get a part time job at the station if you want to hang out with him more." She'd meant to say that as a joke but it came off a little colder than that and she cringed inwardly at how awkward she was being.
The amusement Grady had been feeling faded quite rapidly when Jen spoke, but it wasn't like he could even be angry about it, since she was right. He worked a lot. Probably too much. He made a lot of sacrifices for this town and in turn, his family suffered. They always had. If they had been alone, Grady would have had a conversation about it with Jen, but he didn't want to make Dahlia, or even Dean, feel uncomfortable. "It's true," he said with a slightly strained smile, not wanting the mood at the table to take a dive. "The job definitely makes it harder to have a proper social life. Then again, most people take one look at me and scatter, so even if I had the time, I scare everyone off."
“Hey now, don’t throw shade at the man putting a roof over our heads and food on the table,” Dean said to Jen. To soften it, he forked up a tiny bit of potato to lob it at Jen’s plate and flashed her a grin. It wasn’t any more respectful to waste said food on the table, but he had to maintain his Cool Uncle status. If she even thought he was cool in the first place. She had when she was younger, but teenagers were a much more unforgiving audience, and she knew the nature of the trouble he was in now.
Dahlia could feel the change in Grady’s mood like a drop in the air temperature, and she felt bad that she’d phrased it that way. Dean’s attempt to break the tension was sweet but a little immature, and Dahlia looked over at Grady as she dropped one hand under the table to gently squeeze his leg. She knew he had an important position in town that was also very demanding, and it was hard on him to juggle it all and still make time for family. And her.
Jen gasped and gave Dean an indignant look before she laughed and flicked the small piece right back at him. It was all show, she was stupidly grateful that he'd done that instead of letting her words sit there like a thundercloud, unchecked. "No shade," she said then, nudging her dad's foot under the table. "Great people shouldn't be hogged by one person," she added with a sigh because Grady really was great and he was out there helping people and she was being a brat about it. It was just hard when she was scared for him and herself when normally she was always so cool about being home alone. If anything she enjoyed some of that independence but that had been abruptly ruined for her this week.
"Hey now, we've got a guest," Grady said lightly, shooting Dean a look. It was like having Hunter back in the house sometimes. He felt Jen's foot nudge his, which he took as sign of an apology - as much as a teenager would apologize, anyway - but he still couldn't help but feel guilty. If they could get a couple more deputies on in the department, he would have more time for his family. But as it was now, it just wasn't feasible. "I'll do my best to make sure there's enough of me to go around," he joked, this time flashing Dahlia an apologetic smile. Mostly for the slight discomfort at the table.
She smiled back at him, aiming for reassurance. This was just a tiny ripple of tension compared to the rough waters her own family’s dinners almost always had, on the rare occasions they had all eaten together. Dahlia could feel Grady’s guilt about multiple things and wished she could soothe him properly. “You’re just a man in high demand,” she said warmly, patting his knee before she took another bite of food. “But still found time to make this amazing chicken, ohmygod,” she added.
“Our mom used to make this every week,” Dean piped up, fine with moving on from making Grady feel bad. He wasn’t always opposed to that, obviously, but not over how hard his brother worked, that was unavoidable as the sheriff, they knew that better than most, growing up with a cop for a dad. Plus the more he was gone, the less he was on Dean’s case about the trouble he was in and getting the hell out of his house. He had something like a plan, he just had to make it happen and not fuck it up and end up dead. “This almost tastes just like it,” he added, shooting Grady a little grin.
He was in high demand but that didn't mean he was always welcome. Grady had a feeling some people in town believed he knew more than he let on. Sure, in some cases he did, but for the most part, he was as much in the dark as anyone else. Offering Dahlia a small smile, he decided to let Jen's comment roll off his back for the moment. "Nothing'll come close to her cooking," Grady agreed. "Next time we'll have Dean cook us something." He grinned, well aware that his brother's skills were not in the kitchen. "Get him to pull his weight around here a little."
Jen made a little 'yikes' expression at that idea, looking between her dad and her uncle with comical concern. She really had no idea if Dean could cook, but it was only really funny if he couldn't. Maybe he was a master chef! But he'd have to prove himself. Not that she knew how to cook much but she was eighteen and her parents hadn't taken much time to teach her so whose fault was that? "I don't know, he could just vacuum," she suggested since she hated vacuuming and it'd be nice to have someone else do the chores she hated. "And we'll order pizza instead."
“I’ll have you all know that I can cook an edible meal without accidentally killing anyone,” Dean protested with a laugh. “I just proved it the other night, I cooked for -- uh, a lady friend.” He pointedly didn’t look at Jen as he said it, belatedly realizing that it sounded exactly how it was. Maybe Jen was too young to pick up on the implication, but it was doubtful. He might as well commit to it now, even though he couldn’t say who this lady friend was. Grady’s ignorance was bliss anyway, Dean was sure he wouldn’t really want to know. “She even said it wasn’t terrible ... but it didn’t hold a candle to Dino’s, so pizza is probably the safer bet. I’ll mow the lawn or something.”
The lady friend bit threw Grady for a loop and he nearly missed his mouth with his next bite of food. His brother had a lady friend? His brother cooked for a lady friend? He studied Dean with the very obvious non-verbal message that they would be talking about that later. He still wasn’t sure what was appropriate to ask in front of Jen and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. But Dean had a lady friend. Why did that surprise him? There was a lot about his brother he didn’t know, after all. But maybe he should start learning, especially since Dean was in trouble. “Pizza and mowing the lawn. That’s a start,” he said after another brief moment. “If we get the budget to hire another deputy or two, I could be home more often to cook.” Grady said it more for Jen than anyone else and he hoped she knew he was trying really hard to make it happen.
Jen was still processing the fact that Dean had a girlfriend when her father spoke and the only reason he got her attention was because he was so clearly trying hard to be there more and it made her feel guilty again for being needy. "It's cool, I go to Phee's place so often after work," she said and smiled before looking at Dean again. Dean had a girlfriend. Why was that so annoying? She was never pressured to start dating, but sometimes she felt it anyway because everyone and their grandma seemed to be in a relationship. It was dumb, but Dean was her single, fun uncle and the thought of him bringing home some 'lady friend' was annoying as fuck. "Sounds like Dean can cook after all," she added. "So we should make him do that more, right?"
“If you all want the same tired old spaghetti every time, you just say the word and I’ll overcook it anytime you want,” Dean drawled, shooting Jen a teasing grin. He certainly wasn’t thinking of Bailey as anything close to his girlfriend, it just wasn’t appropriate to talk about a fuckbuddy with his teenage niece, so he had to call her something else. Plus they had a guest and all. It probably would’ve been smarter not to mention her at all, but that was hard for Dean to remember when his current life was so limited. It wasn’t like he had a ton of things to talk about, even if this thing with Bailey wasn’t technically a big deal.
Dahlia enjoyed the family banter as it went on from there while they all finished their meals. It was a nice atmosphere to be in -- all of the jokes landed softly, nothing was truly mean-spirited, and she could tell there was a lot of affection between the three of them. It was so very different from the house she grew up in, and it was nice to feel like a part of it while she answered some more questions about herself and told a couple of dinner-appropriate stories. By the time everyone was finishing up their plates, her cheeks were tired from laughing and she felt like this had gone as well as a first time meeting family could go. Dahlia pushed her chair back and reached for her plate and Grady’s as she stood. “Here, let me help clear, at least,” she said before he could get a protest in.
There might've been a few bumpy moments, but for the most part, Grady thought dinner went pretty well. Dahlia and Jen both seemed comfortable and Dean acted as something of a buffer, keeping Jen laughing. Grady had a feeling his "dad" humor would have only prompted her to roll her eyes and he'd been wanting to avoid that tonight. Grady did try to protest, but Dahlia was already taking his plate and he knew she wanted to be helpful. Even so, he still stood to help her. "Dean can load the dishwasher," he said, shooting his brother a grin as he followed Dahlia to the kitchen. "That way we've all contributed to dinner tonight." He and Dahlia could have another beer, or even a cup of coffee... preferably alone, but he wasn't going to rush Jen or Dean out of the room.
That meant Jen was off the hook and she excused herself to her room after gauging the mood, more than happy to leave the 'adults' to chat. Even if she was technically one of them now, there was that fun generational gap she didn't have a whole lot of interest in breaching. In order to be amicable she let Dahlia know that if she wanted to come see her strange little pets, she was welcome to stop by her room whenever and with that invitation she felt a little less weird about leaving them. It was funny how she was probably supposed to be more upset about her dad dating than Dean but she'd never been much of conventions and it was nice to see her dad looking happy and making an effort to be something more than just a sheriff and a dad.
Dean had playfully grumbled a bit but he took over dish duty once the table was cleared. Dahlia had told Jen that she would be delighted to meet her pets soon, having to suppress a grin as she felt Grady’s revulsion all over again. Once they both had another drink in their hand, she followed Grady to the living room to sit down on the couch with him for a little while to chat and let dinner settle. She wasn’t going to stay too long, aware that there would be a point when things started feeling awkward with his family in the house, but it was nice to have a few moments alone with Grady. She smiled and bounced her eyebrows at him. “So? Think I passed muster?” she asked lightly.
It was always strange to hear anyone refer to Jen's bugs as "pets", but he supposed that's what they were. It was fine, as long as they stayed in Jen's room. He still dreaded the day he was in bed or the shower and saw an escaped insect roaming nearby. With Dean cleaning up, Grady was happy to be able to relax without his brother's amused glances or Jen's teenager-ness. "You definitely passed," Grady told her with a grin, reaching out to take her hand in his and sliding his fingers through hers. "Jen would have probably been quiet and indifferent the whole time if she didn't like you. Dean wouldn't have been... well, Dean." His brows rose, his grin widening. "They may like you more than me, actually. That might benefit me."
She laughed lightly at Grady’s assessment of his family. “Oh teenagers, so inscrutable sometimes,” Dahlia said with a grin, letting her head fall back against the couch. “Elodie does a lot of that blank, uncaring thing.” Even if Grady had gotten all the signals that Dahlia was unpopular at the table, she was willing to bet he wouldn’t have told her so, to spare her feelings. She was blessed with being able to tell that they’d both liked her well enough, so she wasn’t honestly concerned. It was a relief. Dahlia rubbed her thumb over Grady’s knuckles, happy to get to touch him in any small way. “That last part is definitely not true though,” she told him, a warm smile still on her face. “They both adore you, I can feel it.”
Grady certainly hoped that was true and that Dahlia wasn't just sparing his feelings. He knew he could be a disappointment to Jen sometimes and he was perceptive enough to understand why Dean may resent him. But all Grady could do was his best and he was certainly trying. "Well, the scary part is over," he said, returning her smile. "I've never actually had to introduce anyone to Jen and Hunter before, so I think it was a new experience for all of us. I'm still a little rusty with this stuff." Thankfully Dahlia was patient in more ways than one and his own awkwardness when it came to dating had yet to turn her off.
Dahlia didn’t think there was a parent out there who hadn’t disappointed their kids in some way along the line -- the fact that Grady was concerned about it in the first place made him a better dad than so many others out there. Even though Dahlia had no desire for kids of her own, Grady being such a good dad made him even more ridiculously attractive to her. Emotionally intelligent men were hard to find these days. “It’s all new stuff,” she pointed out, lifting one shoulder slightly. “Dating as a divorced dad is totally different than whatever you did before you got married. Can’t be rusty at something you’ve never done before.” Even if Grady had gone on some dates through the years, she knew he hadn’t been serious with anyone, and things were starting to feel nicely serious between them. Dahlia sipped on her wine. “Compared to trying to be a guardian to Elodie, this feels easy to me,” she chuckled. “I was a little nervous though.”
While Dahlia had a point, Grady still couldn't help but feel those slivers of guilt that he was dating, like he had let his kids down by not being able to reconcile with their mother, even though that had ended a long time ago. His feelings had changed and he knew Alison's had as well. They were civil to each other for Jen and Hunter's sake, but the spark between had long since faded. Grady smiled a bit as well as sympathized. He could tell trying to be something of a parental figure to Elodie was difficult for Dahlia and he understood how easy he had it compared to that. "I think it's natural to be nervous," he said, bringing her hand up to his lips so he could kiss her fingers. "But you did great. We'll have to do this again sometime, now that the ice has been broken."
It hadn’t felt all that icy to Dahlia, but that spoke well of how warm their family usually was, if Grady thought it had been. She had the unfortunate gift of sensing how everyone really felt, and there were some truly awful people out there. The Barretts were obviously good people at heart. The kisses to her fingers gave her some warm tingles in her stomach and Dahlia smiled serenely at him. “We’ll definitely do that,” she murmured. Dahlia leaned in to smooch his cheek, unable to resist kissing him back in some form. “Maybe next time we can play cards or something. Have you taught Jen how to gamble yet? She’s so smart, I bet she would be good at poker.” She grinned to show she was mostly kidding, at least. Dahlia loved a rousing game of hearts or five card stud, with just chips, of course.
Everyone had their problems but Grady felt like he came from a pretty good family and he was trying hard to make sure he continued that trend for his kids. It could be difficult in a town like Point Pleasant. Laughing at the thought of teaching Jen how to gamble, Grady shook his head. "She would be great at poker," he admitted, "but I'm trying to avoid encouraging certain vices at her age. That's not to say Dean hasn't been teaching her things while I've been at work. Gambling is more his thing than mine. But yeah, we can do something like that next time." He eyed her playfully. "Though is that really fair? Wouldn't you be able to cheat, being able to sparse out emotions?"
It sounded like Dean was the card shark in the family, which Dahlia found interesting in light of that sense she’d gotten from him that he was holding things back. She wasn’t a mind-reader in the telepathic sense, so she couldn’t tell exactly what things, just that there was a caution there that people with secrets tended to have. She laughed at Grady calling her out, wrinkling her nose a little. “I mean, I can ... you’d just have to trust me. Not for money, of course. Unless you want to go to Vegas with me sometime. We could clean up.” Dahlia didn’t make a habit of using her powers in such a way, but a fun long weekend with her boyfriend where they walked away with some cash from casinos that could afford it sounded pretty fucking nice. “Cheating takes the fun out of it for me though, so ... don’t think I do it all the time,” she added.
A trip anywhere away from Point Pleasant sounded pretty amazing. Grady just wasn't sure when he could actually do it. Maybe if they got one more deputy on the payroll he'd feel better about taking time for himself. Until then, it felt like he was chained to this place. "That's something to think about," Grady told her with a small smile. "Getting out of here, even if we don't cheat and lose all of our money. But yeah, I think Jen might like... uh, should I call it game night? She might roll her eyes if I bring it up. Maybe I'll ask Dean to suggest it. He's got the cool uncle thing going on." Grady didn't mind it, as long as his brother remained a good influence on Jen. "I'd like to try and be home more for her."
“Mmhmm, most people call those vacations,” Dahlia teased him lightly. “You deserve one soon. A game night sounds fantastic to me. And even if she rolls her eyes at you, I bet she’d be happy to show up. As long as we’re not trying to make her play Candyland or something. Make it adult and she’ll love it.” Jen seemed like a smart, cool kid, but almost all teenagers wanted to feel more grown up. Dahlia already looked forward to being a part of that, as much as Grady wanted her to be. Maybe she could learn some things to help her with Elodie, too. It seemed they were all off on a good foot though, and she was relieved to have the first step out of the way. Dahlia leaned forward to give him another soft kiss, then smiled. “Want to put a show on or something? I won’t stay too late but I don’t want to rush off either while I have you.”
When was the last time Grady had a vacation that went beyond a day off of work? He couldn't remember. It had to have been when he and Alison were still married, before his dad died. "I don't even think I own Candyland," he said with a smile. "Maybe we'll let her pick. That'll make her more agreeable." He and Dahlia hadn't been dating very long but he found he did want her to be involved in every aspect of his life... except work, of course. The more rational side of his brain told him he was moving way too fast, but it felt good to be around her and it had been a long time since Grady had anything good in his life beyond his children. "You can stay as long as you want to stay," Grady said, leaning over to press a kiss to her lips. "We can watch a show, or a movie, whatever you want."