“It’s so nice to see you, Haley,” Rose said with a cool smile as she jiggled her diamond bracelet.

  “It’s nice to see you too, Rose. How are your children?” Haley asked.

  Rose gave her a rather bland look. “How would I know?”

  Haley opened her mouth to point out that they were in fact her children, but decided not to.

  Martha leaned in trying to look discreet. The fact that she raised her voice kind of wrecked the effect. “You poor thing! I see the diet didn’t work.” She pouted. “Did you get dumped again?” She shook her head as if it was no consequence and pulled out a business card that she probably had ready for this moment. “Here’s the name of a good doctor who does wonders with removing fat and cosmetic surgery.”

  Still smiling, Haley accepted the card. Since she’d lost a few pounds in the last couple of weeks and didn’t consider herself fat, especially since her stomach was flat, she knew her sister was delicately as ever pointing out that Haley was not stick thin like the rest of them. Flat breasts and looking skeletal was in apparently. Since she would never look like them or want to, she simply left the business card on the table.

  She had no problem with how she looked. She was comfortable with her curves. In factm she had the same body type as her grandmother had when she was younger. The same one out cold in her wheelchair and the one that everyone here, but her, feared to piss off. She could be a little hellion to deal with. They all looked down on her for her middleclass ways forgetting that it was her hard work and sacrifices that made the family what it is today.

  “You know they can reduce those things these days,” Rose said distastefully, pulling Haley from her thoughts.

  “What things?” Haley asked, distracted by one of her cousins eying their grandmother like a vulture. She had no doubt he was counting her breaths. Hell, the little prick was mouthing the words. These people were pathetic.

  “Your breasts, dear. They’re….well….they’re so lower class. They make you look like a waitress or something,” her aunt said sympathetically.

  “I think you would look great with less….curves,” Rose added.

  Smile. “I’ll keep it in mind, thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

  “Oh, wait, dear!” her mother said, holding up her hand. “I wanted to ask you how your little hobby was going.”

  Her little hobby meaning her job. Smile. “It’s going great. Thank you for asking. We’ll be breaking for the summer in two months. I’m thinking of traveling, or renting a cabin in New Hampshire for a few weeks.”

  “Honestly, dear, I don’t know why you do it. If you're so determined to work you should go back to school and get a real degree in law or medicine like your father. Is it because you’re trying to meet a man?” her mother asked, sounding hopeful.

  Smile. “No, I’m not looking for a man. I enjoy what I do.”

  Her mother’s answer was a frown; well it looked like she was trying to frown. Actually, everyone at the table was frowning now. They couldn’t understand why she worked since none of them had ever worked a day in their lives. Personally she thought the whole bunch was rather spoiled and she was wondering why she came here in the first place. Then she remembered. She came here for Grandma. She couldn’t leave Grandma to these vultures and it didn’t hurt that Grandma threatened to take her over her knee and spank her if she didn’t show up.

  “Sweetheart!” her father said, smiling hugely. He leaned over and kissed both cheeks. Smile. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart. I’m sorry it’s a couple of weeks late,” he said sheepishly.

  “Thank you, dad,” she said, taking the birthday card. Smile. Her birthday had been five months ago. Yes, her entire family had forgotten, well except Grandma of course. She called at five in the morning, waking Haley up on her birthday, demanding that Haley should knock some sense into her parents. Haley calmed her down and thanked her for the gift she'd sent the day before. The next day she went and saw her. Her old nannies sent her birthday cards and gifts. Her friends made her a dinner and they went out, so it was okay.

  “I can’t believe my little baby is twenty-five already!” he said.

  “I know.” She couldn’t believe it either since she was twenty-nine, but hey if he wanted to make her younger who was she to argue?

  “She’s twenty-nine, you fool!” Grandma said. “She turned twenty-nine in December. How I raised fools is beyond me,” Grandma grumbled.

  Smile. “Thanks, Dad. It’s fine.”

  His smile wavered and for the first time in her life he truly looked embarrassed and ashamed.

  “I’m going to call you later this week,” he said firmly.

  “Dad, it’s okay,” she said, letting him off the hook.

  “No, it’s not,” he said before he forced the fake smile back and turned to respond to someone calling his name.

  “Honestly, Haley. There is no need to create such drama over nonsense,” her mother said, trying to save face. Everyone sent her mother pitying looks and eye rolls at Haley as if it was Haley’s fault for simply living.

  Smile. “Sorry, if you’ll excuse me,” she said, taking her card with her and sticking it in her purse. She walked over to her grandmother and sat down.

  Grandma huffed. “I don’t know why you put up with such nonsense.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “The hell it is!”

  For the first time since she arrived she let out a real smile.

  “Deborah, what are we eating today?” Grandma demanded of Haley’s mother, her least favorite daughter-in-law.

  Her mother smiled, well tried to smile. “We’re having Salmon with broiled spinach leaves, a nonfat mock potato salad and some nonfat sugarless flourless soy French delicacies that are simply to die for.”

  Grandma’s eyes narrowed dangerously as her hand went for the cane. Haley discretely wrestled the cane away from her grandmother.

  “Hey, that’s mine!” Grandma snapped as Haley put the cane next to her chair, away from Grandma while rubbing the back of her hand. Damn, Grandma had a firm grip.

  “Behave,” Haley hissed, making Grandma smile. Out of all the children and grandchildren Haley was the only one who treated Grandma as a human and not an old responsibility they got stuck with.

  Grandma turned her attention back to Deborah. “I want a burger, a hot dog and some real potato salad.”

  “Mother dearest, we simply don’t have that here!” she said as if the very idea of having such basic food items in her house was unheard of.

  Grandma glared at her for a moment longer before turning her attention to Haley. “You?”

  “Me what?”

  “You have those things in your house, don’t you?”

  Haley nodded. “Yes.” In fact her freezer and pantry were filled to the brim with staples for barbeques since she lived for barbeque food in the summer, probably had something to do with Grandma raising her. The woman simply lived for barbeque food.

  “Good,” Grandma said firmly as she gestured to Chris, her helper. The man was just entering his fifties, but he still worked hard to take care of Grandma. “Let’s go, Chris.”

  Chris nodded and walked over obediently and began pushing Grandma around the house. Without looking back Grandma said, “Let’s go, Haley!”

  Haley stood. “Go where?”

  “To your house. Where else? Now come along before the parasites try to crash our party.”

  Haley hid her smile as she obediently followed her grandmother out the door. No wonder she absolutely adored the old woman.

  Chapter 6

  “I’m hungry,” Jason grumbled as he stared at the empty plates on his small coffee table.

  Brad groaned, “You practically ate both plates of cookies. How in the hell are you hungry?”

  Jason shrugged leaning back in his chair to watch the game. “I just am. Leave me the hell alone I’m a growing boy, damn it!”

  “Yeah, a growing thirty-one year old boy,” Brad mumbled.

  “I’m still growing damn it so shut the hell up and feed me!”

  “Order something and stop bitching!” Brad snapped.

  “You order something. I’m too weak to move.”

  Brad rolled his eyes. “I don’t know how Haley put up with you for the last few weeks. I would have killed you by now.”

  “Haley worships me,” he said with a snort.

  “Yeah, okay,” Brad said, laughing. “That’s why she dates other men and screws you over just to laugh at you.”

  “Exactly.”

  Brad looked over at him. “You are a seriously fucked up man, aren’t you?”

  “Probably,” Jason said unconcerned.

  “I thought so.”

  A soft knock at the door drew both their attention. Brad cringed. “This isn’t another one of your girlfriends coming for revenge is it?”

  Jason rolled his eyes as he jumped to his feet. “I think calling any of them my girlfriends is a bit of an exaggeration. I rather you stick with referring to them as ‘the women who agreed to having a good time with no strings attached who got really pissed off at me when I got bored and left them for someone hotter.’”

  “Wow, that’s a mouthful,” Brad murmured. “And surprising none of them has killed you yet.”

  “It is, isn’t it,” Jason agreed.

  He opened the door, knowing no angry ex-lovers would be there. It had been a while since he took a woman to bed and to the best of his knowledge all the previous women already told him off. So, at least for now he was good.

  Standing outside his door was Haley in a cute pair of cut off jean shorts and a tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a messy loose bun and some of the strands escaped and teased her nape. It didn’t hurt that those glasses of hers made her look like a sexy little bookworm.

  She smiled sweetly. “I am so glad you’re here!” He couldn’t bite back the smile from that declaration. Maybe it was time to forgive her. It was pretty funny after all and those cookies were damn good, not to mention that smile she was giving him made him rather happy.

  “Brad, do you think you could give me a hand? I could really use a man’s help for a few minutes.”

  His jaw dropped. He could hear Brad trying to stifle his laughter.

  “If you need a man, I’m right here!” he snapped.

  Haley blinked and then blinked again. “Oh, sorry I didn’t think of you. I need a guy with muscle and you....” Her voice trailed off while she looked him over and then shrugged. “Well, you know,” she said innocently.

  “Know what?” he demanded.

  She ignored him and focused back on Brad. “Do you think you could give me a hand? I’m having company and I can’t get the barbeque out by myself. It’s kind of heavy.”

  Brad chuckled as he came to the door. “Sure. I was on my way home, but I can give you a hand since there’s no one around here strong enough to help you,” he said, sounding amused with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “The hell you will!” Jason said as he grabbed Haley’s arm and practically dragged her towards her house. She threw a wink over her shoulder to Brad, who was still laughing and shaking his head in disbelief.

  Brad strolled to his car while Jason gave Haley a lecture on his manliness and something about her being a bad grasshopper, whatever the hell that meant. He looked back over in time to catch Jason giving Haley’s ass an appreciative look without breaking from his lecture. His buddy might not know it yet, but he met his match in that little lady. If any woman could bring Jason to his knees it was that woman.

  * * *

  “That’s not enough,” Jason scoffed as Haley tried to put away the package of frozen hamburger patties and hot dogs.

  “There are only three of us. How much food do you think we need?” she asked as she tried to sidestep him to put the food away. Jason swiped the packages from her and took out more food.

  “What the hell?”

  He shrugged. “I’m hungry.”

  “You’re not invited.”

  “Since when do I need an invitation?” he asked as he doubled the amount of hot dogs on the plate.

  “Three weeks and we already have a set history? For five years I contemplated manslaughter.”

  He merely shrugged.

  She growled.

  He smiled, making her knees tremble. Damn him.

  “Tell me who's coming? It can’t be any of your friends because you wouldn’t care if I was here since they all think I’m a prick and you get a kick out of watching them bitch me out.”

  She sighed. “It entertains me so.”

  “As it should. I am a very entertaining guy,” he said with a smile as he snuck a forkful of the potato salad she made yesterday. She considered bringing it with her today, but she knew how well it would have been received and decided to leave it here.

  “Damn, that’s good, woman,” he practically growled.

  “I’m glad you like it,” she said casually, but in truth it was really nice to have someone to cook for occasionally. Her friends were constantly on diets and glared at her when she offered them cookies or other baked goods. It seemed Jason hadn't found a food he didn’t like. She really was surprised that he wasn’t fat.

  “So?”

  “So what?”

  “So, tell me why you stayed less than an hour at one barbeque only to come home to have one of your own? Food suck or something?” he asked while sneaking another bite of the salad before she returned it to the fridge. “Or was there a family smack down?”

  “It’s complicated,” she finally said.

  “What’s so complicated about a family barbeque?”

  “Just drop it. My grandmother is coming here with her helper. Actually, she should be here by now, but knowing her she stopped at store to get all her favorites.”

  His brows flew up. “Your grandmother’s coming here? I didn’t think any of your family ever came to visit you.”

  She gave him a sly smile. “Been spying on me have you?”

  “Not really. I just picked up on things. I’m an observant guy after all.”

  “Well, my grandmother comes here several times a year. I usually invite her when I know you’ll be out of town.”

  “Afraid I’ll embarrass you?” he asked teasingly.

  “Nope. Afraid she might kill you.”

  “Puhlease, she’ll love me. Every woman loves and wants me,” he said sincerely.

  She chuckled softly. “I’m glad to see you’re so humble.”

  “That I am,” he said as Haley began to load his arms up with plates of food to take out to the grill. “So, you mentioned inviting her down. I’m guessing you’re close to her.”

  “I am. She raised me off and on until I was ten and then took over full time,” she said, opening the screen door for him. "Anyway, I decided to cut my visit to my parent's home short today."

  “Why?”

  “Because I told her to. That’s why,” a woman’s crisp voice said.

  Jason looked up to see an old woman in a wheel chair being pushed towards them by a wiry man with thinning gray hair. By the look of the man he was Haley’s grandmother helper or caregiver.

  “Are you my Haley’s boyfriend?” her grandmother demanded. Wow, she was a no nonsense woman. Just like Haley, once she was out of her shell of course.

  * * *

  Haley felt her face burn as she waited for the earth to open beneath her and drag her under. Prayed for it was more like it.

  “No, Grandma, he’s not my boyfriend. He’s my friend from next door.”

  Grandma’s eyes narrowed on Jason. Haley was about to tell her Grandmother to cut it out. That look had sent many friends and boyfriends running scared, but to her complete surprise Jason didn’t cower.

  He reached over and shook her hand. “My name is Jason Bradford. I’m the neighbor from hell.”

  Grandma’s lips twitched. She looked over at her companion. “Chris, be a dear and go get the items we picked up.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, leaving Grandma with them. He sent Haley a smile before he hurried away. No doubt he was expecting Grandma to tear into Jason. Hell, that’s exactly what she was waiting for.

  “You also work with my granddaughter, Mr. Bradford. Isn’t that correct?”

  Without asking Jason pushed Grandma carefully to the table and locked the chair. “Yup, I make her life a living hell there as well.”

  “You sound proud,” Grandma noted.

  Jason walked over to the grill and started placing the meat on the grill. “I am,” he said, smiling.

  Grandma did something she’d only heard when it was just the two of them. She laughed. It was soft and musical and immediately brought memories of a happy childhood to her mind making her smile in return. Jason caught her eye and winked.

  “I like you,” Grandma announced.

  “Thank you, Mrs.-”

  “You may call me Grandma,” she said in a tone that let him know she would not tolerate him calling her anything else.

  Haley sat there stunned. She was the only one allowed to call her Grandma. The rest of the grandchildren called her grandmother when they started to take after their parents.

  “Okay, Grandma it is,” Jason said with an easy smile. Wow the man really did have a way with women.

  Chris stepped out from the house, no doubt where he just put away an enormous amount of groceries that had nothing to do with a barbeque. It was one of Grandma’s sneaky ways of helping her out since she refused to accept financial help from her family. Grandma had her ways.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, ma’am, but it seems some of the guests from the last barbeque have followed us here,” Chris said softly.

  “Who is it?” Haley asked.

  “Your cousins and a few aunts. I believe one or both of your sisters as well, Miss. Haley,” Chris said.

  Grandma waved a dismissive hand towards the front of the house. “Well, they can leave because there isn’t enough food,” she said even though she hadn’t looked at the grill.

  “I can put some more on if you want,” Jason offered.