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The next weekend, Jack was gone once more so Bethany took a drive to visit her grandmother. The facility was a long, one-story, red-brick building with stately columns in the front. The flower gardens and lawn were meticulously manicured.

Walking through the lobby, she waved at the receptionist and headed to the main room. Gram was sitting at a table with other women as they worked on a puzzle. She looked up as Bethany came in and her smile spread across her face.

“Helen!” Gram called out. She turned to the other women at the table and said, “My sister has come for a chat.”

The other women looked up at Bethany, all with expectant smiles on their faces. She greeted each one as Gram stood and moved over, linking arms with her.

“Come on,” Gram said conspiratorially. “I can work puzzles anytime, but I want to hear the gossip!”

Walking a short distance, they sat on a small, but sturdy, setee. “So,” Gram began. “Are you still seeing Charlie?”

Bethany had no idea if Gram was referring to Jack, or if she was really thinking about Helen and Charlie from sixty years ago. It doesn’t matter. Both makes her happy.

“Yeah, Gram. I’m still seeing Charlie.”

They chatted for a few minutes, more like old friends than in the here and now, but Bethany was learning to accept the changes. A few nurses walked by smiling at the two of them and, occasionally, stopping by to speak.

As Bethany was getting ready to leave, a nursing aide came over. “Oh, Mrs. Bridwell, I see your granddaughter came to see you.”

Bethany saw the confusion pass through Gram’s eyes as she turned and stared at her. Linking her arm with hers, she said, “Come, walk with me, Gram.”

They said nothing as they made their way back toward the front of the beautiful building. As she turned to hug her grandmother, Gram spoke softly, “You’re not Helen, are you?”

Licking her lips nervously, wanting to say whatever would give her grandmother the most peace, she confessed, “No. I’m Bethany. Your granddaughter.”

Gram stood peering into her eyes and then smiled. “You’re so pretty, just like my sister was.”

Bethany hugged her tightly and whispered, “I love you, Gram.”

Tears sprung to her eyes when she heard whispered back, “I love you too, pretty girl.”

The weekend after Labor Day found Mountville almost deserted, so Jack took advantage of the lull. Having made arrangements ahead of time with Sally, who had agreed to stay, he whisked Bethany off early Saturday morning.

“Where are we going?” she asked, as he made his way to Hwy 81 heading south.

“I have a surprise for you, and I think you’ll like it,” he replied, flipping on the radio to a country music station. Pleased to discover that she was a fan, they sat in comfortable silence for a while as the tunes lulled her to sleep.

He glanced over when they were near their destination and saw her head leaning against the window. She works too hard . Turning off the highway and then again off the main road, he noticed her head bump against the glass as he hit a pothole.

“Babe. Babe, wake up,” he cajoled, gently shaking her shoulder.

She blinked several times before rubbing her eyes. “Mmm, are we almost there?” she asked, her voice groggy.

“Yeah, we should be there in about ten minutes. I was afraid the potholes in the road were going to slam your head against the glass too much.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I needed to wake up.” She flipped the visor down to fix her light makeup and smooth her hair back. Looking around, she saw farmlands on either side of the road before he turned down a long gravel drive.

Whipping her head around to him, she said with excitement, “Jack, is this your farm? Your mom’s place?”

“I thought we’d take a trip here so I can check in on my mom and introduce you to her,” he said smoothly, belying the trepidation he felt. This was a big step, and he knew he was ready. But is she?

He need not have worried. One look at her and the smile returned to his face. Her eyes were darting everywhere, excitement pouring off her.

“All of this land was in my family. When my dad died, mom ran the farm for a while, but it was more than she could handle. She and I talked and, since I had no desire to come back and work the farm, we sold most of the acreage, rent the rest and she keeps the house and three acres that surround it.”

Just then, passing the tall corn stalks, they came to a clearing and a white, two-story house came into view. Jack pulled the truck to a stop as a woman walked out onto the front porch. Wearing a simple button-up dress with an apron tied around her waist, she lifted a hand in greeting and offered a smile.

Assisting Bethany out of the truck, he noted her smoothing her hands down her pants nervously. Leaning in, he whispered, “You’re gorgeous. Don’t worry, she’ll love you.”

She only had time to spare him a glance before they walked up the front porch steps. He let go of her long enough to envelope his mom in a huge hug before turning to introduce Bethany .

Jack’s mother was tall and slim, with shoulder-length gray hair pulled back from her face.

“Oh, my dear, welcome. Please call me Jeanette.” The two women hugged and then Jack gently settled Bethany back into his embrace as they walked into the house.

The entrance foyer held an antique coat rack and mirror and then, a few steps in, she could see the living room to the left and the dining room to the right. Ushered into the living room, they sat on a comfortable sofa and Bethany’s gaze tried to take in the whole room. Antique frames held pictures that appeared to be a hundred years old. Some were of couples and others of whole families. The mantle held newer ones, most of Jack and his parents in his early years.

Flowered curtains were pulled back allowing the noon-day sun to stream through, making the room feel light and airy.

After a few minutes of Jeanette explaining some of the pictures that she had seen Bethany peruse, she stood saying, “I’m just finishing lunch. Jack, why don’t you show Bethany where the powder room is, and I’ll have lunch on the table in a bit.”

Coming out of the small bathroom into the laundry room behind the kitchen, she could hear Jack and his mother talking low.

“All these years and you’ve never once brought a woman into this house, Jack. Does this mean what I think it does?”

She could not see, but she could imagine Jack’s grin as he answered, “Yeah, mom. I met her and everything I thought about how my life was going to go just changed. Almost fu—I mean messed up but found my way back to her and she was right there giving me what I needed.”

“Well, good, son. I like her.”

Bethany made a bit of noise closing the bathroom door behind her so that her presence would be noted. As she stepped into the large eat-in kitchen, with its table already loaded with food, she smiled warmly as Jack moved toward her. She walked straight into his arms and felt his lips on the top of her head. Tipping her head back, she gifted him with her smile before turning to Jeannette, offering to help.

“Oh, it’s ready,” Jeannette called out. “I hope you don’t mind if we eat in the kitchen. It’s usually just me so I eat in here and this seems more cozy.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Bethany replied truthfully. The room had strawberry print curtains on the windows next to the table and over the sink. From her seat at the table, she could see out of the window over the farmland that extended as far as she could see.

“All of this was your land?” she asked. “Your father farmed all of this?”

Nodding, Jack answered, “Yeah. Dad had some hired help back then and I would work after school and in the summers.”

As though to answer Bethany’s unasked question, Jeannette said, “It was never Jack’s destiny to be a farmer. His father knew that. He was so proud of Jack joining the military.”

Bethany caught the loving gaze passing between mother and son and, if possible, her heart warmed even more.

After lunch, they sat and looked at photographs of Jack throughout his childhood. When they came to the pictures that he had sent home from his time in Afghanistan, Bethany stared at the group of men, so similar to the men he had working for him now.

“That’s Tony Alvarez, our captain,” Jack pointed out. “He and I do some business together now. And these crazies work for him. That’s Gabe, his twin Vinny, and Jobe,” he said. Shaking his head, he looked down at her quizzical gaze. “Sorry, babe, it’s just that every one of them are settled down and married now. When I knew them back in the wild days, settling was the last thing on their minds.”

“And you?” she asked with a grin. “How wild and crazy were you back then?”

Jack had the good grace to blush slightly, but only said, “Not nearly as much as them, and now it looks as though I’ve found my one as well.”

As the afternoon sun began to descend into the west, they said their goodbyes to Jack’s mom, with promises to visit again soon. Driving away, Bethany settled back into the seat of his truck, a contented expression on her face.

“Happy, beautiful?”

“Absolutely,” she replied. “I love your mom and it was really nice to see the two of you together. Now that she doesn’t run the farm, has she ever considered moving closer to you?”

He shook his head and said, “We’ve talked about it. I know your family did well planning with Ann’s needs, and I hope to be able to take care of mom as well. For now, she’s happy in the old family house, but said that in a few years she’d consent to moving.”

With one more surprise up his sleeve, Jack continued past Mountville toward Richmond. On the outskirts, he turned off the highway and within a few blocks pulled into the parking lot of a large, luxury hotel.

She whipped her head around, looking at him in confusion. “What are we doing here? Dinner?”

“You’ll see,” he said, coming around to assist her down. Opening the back of his truck, he snagged two overnight bags. One, she recognized immediately.

“That’s mine! How did you get mine?” she asked, incredulously. Then it dawned on her. “Oh, that sneak. You got Sally to pack, didn’t you?”

Throwing his arm across her shoulders, he pulled her in tightly. “Babe, you work so hard to take care of your guests. So tonight, you get to be the guest. And let them pamper you.”

Staring from his smiling face upward to the high-rise, she said, “My guests never get this treatment.”

Hours later, after a dinner in the upscale restaurant, drinks in the bar first listening to music and then holding each other closely on the dance floor, a long bath in the oversized whirlpool tub complete with candles and wine, Bethany found out just how pampered she could get.

As Jack toweled her off, taking his time over every inch of her body, he carried her to the king-sized bed, the soft sheets beckoning them.

The sight of her long hair lying across the pillows, her body glistening in the moonlight streaming through their fourteenth-floor window, had him eager and ready.

She lifted her arms, but he planned on taking the night slow. Leaning over, his bare chest brushing against her breasts, he kissed her. Long. Wet. Loving.

Sliding her arms around his neck, she tangled her hands in his dark hair, her fingers running through the almost-needs-a-haircut length, loving the feel of it.

His hands found their way skimming down her body, stopping to pay attention to her breasts before moving across her belly to the prize he was seeking. Then his kiss became longer. Wetter. And a helluva lot more loving.

And for the rest of the night, she discovered just how pampered she could be.