Author's Note

Thank you guys so much for all the faves and follows as well as the reviews! You have no idea, how much it means to me, so please keep it up!

Hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Ana POV

I arrived at my dad's house and put all my stuff in my old room before going searching for him. He lives near a lake so he could be out fishing, or he could be out in his workshop, working on one his many orders. Ray used to be a marine, but when he married my mother, he decided to get out and started working as a carpenter in a big company. After a few years, he decided to open his own shop specializing in custom-made wood furniture. He built his own workshop on the same land as their house, so he could still spend a lot of time with me when I was younger. I used to love going out there as a little girl and watch him work.

His business really took off the year I went to college. He'd made a piece for a well-known family in Seattle, and word quickly got around that he'd been the one to make it.

I find my dad in the workshop, putting a finishing touch on a beautiful bookcase.

"Hi dad,"

"Annie, you're here! It's so good to see you, sweetheart," he says coming over pulling me in for a bone-crushing hug and a kiss on top of my head. It's something he's always done, and I absolutely love it! It's something that always reminds me of home.

"It's good to see you too dad,"

"I'm almost done out here, and then I'll be in. An hour tops, promise!" he says.

"That's fine, dad. I'll make us some lunch and some tea," I tell him, knowing exactly who I got my tea addiction from.

"Sounds good Annie," he says, giving me a kiss on the forehead sending me on my way.

I go back to my childhood home and head straight into the kitchen. My dad always makes sure to stock the fridge when I come home to visit. He can cook maybe 3 dishes and one those is microwave dinners. Every time I come back for a visit, I always cook lots of meals that I freeze and then my dad can just pop them into the microwave.

I make some subs for lunch and go into the living room to look at some of the pictures from my childhood. My dad always loved taking lots of pictures, saying he didn't want to risk ever forgetting anything. I suddenly see an old photo, that I remember having seen before but never really looked at. It's an old photo of my mother as a teenage girl and another teen girl. One with grey eyes. Grey eyes I was looking at earlier today. I'm holding the photo when my dad comes in.

"God, I'm starving, sweetheart," he says coming into the living room, after realizing I'm in the kitchen.

"What do you have there?" he asks me.

"It's an old picture of mom. Do you know who the girl next to her is?" I ask him, feeling like there is something I'm missing.

"That's your mother's older sister. I think her name was Ellaine or something. Your mother never talked that much about her; apparently, she ran away from home at 15 or 16," he says shrugging his shoulders.

"I have an aunt?" I ask shocked. I always thought I had no family. My mother's family was dead before I was born, and my mother always said my biological father's family didn't approve of her, so they disowned him when he married my mother. Ray's parents were the only grandparents I've ever known, but they died when I was a toddler.

"Technically yes, but like I said no one knows what happened to her after she ran away. Come on, let's have some lunch, those subs look super tasty," Ray says trying to end the conversation on a more positive note.

I put the frame back down and go get our subs, so we can eat out on the terrace, that way we can enjoy the sunny weather which is usually a rarity. While we eat, we talk a little about graduation and my move to Seattle next week. He asks if we need assistance moving all our stuff, but I tell him we have plenty of help.

"I thought it was just going to be you girls along with Jose and Kate's brother Ethan?" he asks suspiciously. I have never had to explain a guy to my dad, so I have no idea how to do this or if I even should. I mean we've only been on two dates. But I also know, I could never lie to Ray. I tried a few times when I was younger, but he always saw right through me.

"Well... Elliot and some of his friends are helping us as well," I blurt out.

"And who is Elliot?" dad asks narrowing his eyes. He's giving me his 'you're-not-getting-out-of-this' face. I'm chewing on my bottom lip like I was a starving woman, a sure-fire sign that I'm nervous.

"He is a guy that I've been on a few dates with. His name is Elliot Grey, and he is actually from Seattle," I tell him nervously, feeling a little like a teenager.

"Elliot Grey? As in Elliot Grey of Grey Construction?" He asks not giving anything away.

"Yes, you have an appointment with him on Monday," I tell him.

"Yes, I know. How did you meet him though?"

"Remember Kate was interviewing a big businessman in Seattle for the graduation issue of the paper?" I ask

"Yes,"

"Well, I went with her as moral support and hung out at a coffee shop while she interviewed him, and I ran into Elliot there, and I guess we hit it off," I tell him.

"Hit it off huh? Well, I can't wait to meet him on Monday. I'll have to make sure he is good enough for my little girl," he says with a glint in his eye. Oh God, I hope he lets Elliot live.

We clean up after lunch and dad goes out to do some more work, promising not to work the rest of the weekend. I head outside on the terrace again, armed with my favorite book Tess of the D'Urbervilles. The second I get comfy on the bench, I hear a ping from my phone alerting me to a text.

Elliot: Did you make it to Montesano in one piece? :-)

Ana: Yes I did. My dad and I just finished lunch, and I just settled down with a book outside.

Instead of another text, he calls me.

"Hello," I say a big smile already present on my face from just texting him.

"Hi baby, so why am I not surprised that you've already got a book out?" he laughs.

"Ha - ha - ha, very funny. Did you get back to Seattle or does your brother still have more business in Portland?" I ask.

"We are back in Seattle. Turns out he finished his business early yesterday, so we left for the helipad right after we dropped you off,"

"I still can't believe your brother has a helicopter,"

"He flies it himself too," he tells me, sounding like a proud older brother. I'm completely shocked.

"He can fly it?!" I, practically, screech. Elliot, of course, starts laughing, thoroughly enjoying my shock.

"So I have to tell you something," I say, remembering that I just told Ray about Elliot and that I should probably warn him before he meets my dad on Monday.

"Oh oh, what is it this time?" he chuckles trying to keep the mood light.

"I kind of mentioned you to my dad... He was asking if we needed help with the move next week, but I told him we had plenty of help. And then he said, he thought it was only Ethan and Jose, so I told him you and your friends were helping, and he wanted to know who you were," I babble on and on, nervous about what he is going to say.

"And what did you say about who I was?" he asks, I can practically hear his jokester smile through the phone.

"Uhm... I told him your full name and that we've been on a few dates. He asked if you were the one he had an appointment with on Monday, and I said yes,"

"Ah, so am I getting the 'you're not worthy-of-my-only-daughter' talk?" he asks, sounding a tad more nervous than just seconds before.

"Something like that," I tell him. I have to admit that I'm loving him suddenly being all nervous.

"I guess, I should bring my bulletproof vest for our business meeting on Monday then," he jokes making light of it, but I can still hear a slight edge to his voice.

"Don't worry his bark is usually worse than his bite," I joke feeling much lighter.

"Usually?"

"Well I am his only daughter," I say giggling.

"Very true, and you're pretty damn amazing Ana Banana," he says with such affection, I'm sure he can feel the heat from my blush through the phone.

"You're not so bad yourself E.T.," I say sincerely.

We continue talking and I invite him to come out with all of us on Monday night, which he happily accepts. I also invite him to stay at our apartment so he doesn't have to book a room somewhere.

I've completely lost track of time as I see my dad coming towards the house, I say goodbye to Elliot and that I'll see him on Monday. Then I quickly get back into the house and start on our dinner. I had planned to make Chicken Parmigiana with homemade garlic bread, so I quickly get started.

Dad comes into the kitchen after he's showered and tells me about some of his current and upcoming projects. Apparently, he has been asked if he wanted to donate a custom-made piece of furniture for a charity auction in a few weeks, which he has accepted.

We are mostly quiet as we eat, but it's a comfortable silence, one I recognize from growing up. Dad cleans up after dinner, which has always been our tradition since I started cooking most of our meals. I head into the living room and turn the TV on, flicking through channels while I get comfortable on the couch under a blanket Ray's mother made.

At about 10:30 pm dad goes to bed and I decide to head up to my room as well. Just as I'm about to walk up the stairs, I turn back to the living room and quickly get the old photo of my mother and her older sister.

I still can't get it out my head, especially the common features between Ellaine and Christian. I know that Christian is adopted just like Elliot but that's all I know and I really can't get myself to google him, but I also don't know how to ask Elliot about it.

I'm trying to fall asleep but I just can't get settled. Eventually, I manage to fall asleep, but it's not a peaceful sleep.