'Are you sure he's yours?'
Ruth hated asking the question, but she couldn't help but think back to her original fear that her son would be taken advantage of. By the frown on Jeff's face she knew she'd upset him, but she needed to be sure – needed him to be sure.
'Of course I'm sure, Ma.'
The 'I'm not stupid' wasn't said aloud but Ruth heard it anyway. She pursed her lips and Jeff sniffed to cover the fact that he'd stepped over that invisible line he'd never been able to fathom – the one where you didn't unnecessarily upset your parents.
Jeff sighed. He may have the Tracy temper, inherited from his dad even if his dad didn't possess it himself, but he also had the Farmer temper too…and sometimes it was all too easy when something was said to just allow the irritation that no one understood him and that everyone seemed to underestimate him.
He reached across and laid a hand on top of his Ma's and one on his Pa's.
'I'm sorry, Ma. I didn't mean to speak to you like that. Yes, I am sure he is mine. I made sure before I did anything. You know that I am careful, that I have – had plans.'
The pause didn't escape either of them. Mars was now out of reach, a goal their son had held since he was eight. But both knew that already Jeff would have plans in place for something else.
'I am sorry too, son. I should have known that you would have been sure before you acted. Dinner will be soon; I suggest you wake Lucy and her – your son up. Unless there is something more you have to tell us?'
'We do have a matter to talk over, but I would prefer that we talk when we are all together.'
She nodded and got up to see to the dinner. Grant took his hand out and placed it over Jeff's, nodding. At least Jeff had made a start at telling his Ma the truth. He got up to help his wife and Jeff sat there, observing them for a moment.
He guessed he loved his parents. He'd witnessed how other families interacted, and it had always seemed odd to him, even his parents' relationship seemed strange to him, and he wondered if, now he had a wife of his own, he could finally share in whatever magic having a steady partner bestowed on people.
Jeff scoffed quietly to himself. What utter rubbish! Still, there was something to be said about a warm body to come home to. Hell, if he played this right he could still have his goal. He folded his arms and rested his chin on his chest. He could play the long game. It wasn't what he liked to do, but he could. And maybe, just maybe, having a family would be the best way to do this…
'Jeff – Lucy and Scott?'
'Oh, sorry Ma. Was thinking.'
'Wash up, Jefferson.'
He grinned and left. His Ma was on top form as usual. Sometimes he missed her acid tongue and wicked sense of humour. He knocked on the door to the guest room.
'Come in.'
Lucy and Scott were awake, and both looked much better than before. Scott was exploring the box in the corner that was full of Jeff's old toys. He looked up and flashed a bright smile at him and carried on looking.
Jeff came in and sat down beside Lucy and picked up a hand and held it in both of his, looking deep into her eyes.
'My love, you're looking better.'
She smiled at him, and that smile widened as Scott pulled out a plane from the box and skipped over to sit on Jeff's other side, putting the toy on the bed and, copying his father's stance, laying his hand on top of Jeff's.
Jeff froze for a moment but then put his arm around the boy. He needed to act like a father now that his plans had changed. It went against the grain to almost reward the child for ruining his life, but he had bigger plans in motion now and he had a role to play. Today it was a father.
'Ma's dishing up dinner. She said to wash up and come, eat.'
'Jeff, what have you told her about us?'
'Just that Scott is mine and that you needed a place to stay and heal.'
'But – '
'I thought we should tell my parents that we're married together.'
'Oh, I guess that makes sense.'
'Come, Ma does not like to be kept waiting at the table.'
He stood and held both hands out, and the three of them headed to the kitchen.
Dinner was a simple but filling chicken pot pie. Lucy watched with amusement as Scott's eyes flew open after the first mouthful and he could barely get his food into his mouth fast enough. It caused both his grandparents to smile broadly and went some way to thawing the atmosphere, although no one spoke until they were almost half-way through the meal.
'Lucy, after dinner I'm going to drive you and Scott to town so that we can get you checked over. You're both looking better now, but you didn't look so great earlier.'
'Thank you, Ruth. I appreciate that.'
Ruth reached across and patted her hand and carried on eating, but not before casting Jeff a meaningful look. He took the hint and put his fork down, taking a deep breath and standing up. Taking Lucy's other hand in his, Jeff cleared his throat. Both his parents put their cutlery down and waited.
'Ma, Pa, Lucy and I have more news. Before we left San Antonio we – er – we got married.'
Now he'd said it Jeff sat down with a thump, ears burning. There was a moment of stunned silence before Ruth cleared the frown off her face with a broad smile, and both she and Grant came around to hug and congratulate the couple.
They all pretended not to notice Scott help himself to bites from Jeff's plate.
Congratulations over, they all retook their seats and finished their meal, and Ruth had served coffee before talk reverted back to the secret wedding.
'I am glad that you told me, son, but I can't say that I'm not disappointed to have missed it.'
'I know, I'm sorry. It was such a rushed thing. But I do have a proposal.'
'Oh?'
'We would very much like to have a proper ceremony, one that we can invite our friends to, and once Lucy's better we'd like to hold one here on the farm.'
'Oh, your father and I would like that very much. Where on the farm did you have in mind?'
'The old barn. I've taken a week off and I could work on getting it ready. It's a solid structure, will need only some cleaning and minor repairs. With yours and Pa's help I think we can manage. What do you say?'
Ruth and Grant looked at each other. Yes, that sounded very much like a plan, and it would be nice to have Jeff home and working on a project together. And it would give them time to get to know their daughter-in-law better. And grandson.
They couldn't believe they were grandparents.
After dinner Ruth took Lucy and Scott to the clinic while Grant and Jeff went to examine the old barn. It wasn't used much anymore but it was big, certainly large enough for a wedding. There was some work that needed to be done and they made a list, prioritising so that Jeff would be here for the bulk of the work.
Grant enjoyed the time planning works. He was good at using his hands and he liked a challenge. They had been meaning to do something with the barn, and if Jeff wanted to use it and was willing to help renovate it, well it was as good as an idea as any. As they tested woodwork and metalwork, stairs and walls, the two discussed what they could do to make it special.
Lucy would probably be the one to organise the decorating, and it would give her something to do while she recuperated. Although, Jeff reflected, he had no idea that she would actually be that kind of woman. Hell, he had no idea what kind of woman she was at all other than she loved her son more than anything. He had all the time in the world to find out what she was like.
At the clinic Ruth had good news too. Having seen both of her patient's records she could see that the original estimations on how long it would take Lucy to recover had been over calculated. Another seven days before she could consider removing the stitches, but Ruth could guarantee Lucy was already feeling better. Scott's arm showed it was healing nicely, the fall hadn't done any further damage and with rest and a couple of turns with the bone regenerator he'd not have any long-term effects.
The kid reminded her so much of Jeff at that age, same blue eyes and similar energy. Scott had not stopped talking at all, and she'd been hard pressed to get him to sit still long enough to be scanned.
Ruth still wasn't sure about the pair. Who has a child and doesn't tell the father, especially when the father works for the same company? Who falsifies paperwork to give a child a father? Had Jeff really made the decision to marry Lucy or had it been an evitable outcome? Sure, she couldn't have contrived the traffic accident that had brought them back into her son's life, but had she ultimately had something in mind to bring this result about?
She watched the two of them interact. Lucy seemed a really nice girl, but Ruth was a woman of the world and had seen what so-called nice girls were capable of. She guessed only time would tell. Until then she'd reserve judgement.
Seeing Scott carefully patting his Mom near her wound before leaning up and kissing her gently on the cheek melted that resolve almost immediately, and Ruth turned away to hide her grin. If Scott really was anything like Jeff – like his father, she reminded herself – then he wouldn't take kindly to being laughed at. She turned back in time to see him pick up the plane he'd found in that old chest and had brought with him, and begin to run around the small room, making remarkably realistic engine noises similar to the sound of Jeff's jet. His mother laughed gently at her son's antics.
By the time they arrived home Scott was asleep, good arm hugging the plane close and leaning against Lucy. She wasn't too far behind him, and Ruth smiled again. It would be nice to have some female company here for a while.
Grant carried Scott to bed as Jeff helped Lucy back to the same room. It was easier than trying to settle them in a new room, and they separated, Jeff to his room, Ruth to finish getting the guest room together and Grant to do the evening rounds.
It had been a long and eventful day for all of them.
Over the next week Jeff divided his time between working with his Dad on the barn or being with Lucy and learning more about her. Grant was happy to work with his boy – Jeff had never taken to working on the farm despite growing up here and having daily chores just as he had as a boy. But Ruthie had always said their boy's head was in the sky, and then in space, and Grant had agreed. Neither had been surprised at his career trajectory.
Scott thrived in the open air, spending as much time with Grandpa Grant as possible. He tried so hard to be a help, but with a busted wing he really couldn't do much. Still, Grandpa sat him on Lady and led them around the farm, pointing out the various parts the Tracy Farm covered – the chickens and ducks, the fields of winter wheat, couple of meadows, two fields that lay fallow and cycled to allow the ground to heal every year, the pond in the small wood at the bottom of the first meadow. The small orchard, the small barn at the top of the hill where his father used to gaze at the stars. Scott drank it all in.
But it was the small airfield with Jeff's jet and the old biplane crop duster that excited him the most. Scott had to be told in very specific language that he was not allowed past the perimeter around the farmhouse and garden itself after the first time they lost him only to find him sitting in the hangar staring at the planes.
Lucy quickly found her mother-in-law to be a no-nonsense, practical woman with hidden depths and a quick wit. They spent their time chatting and getting to know each other, and she quickly came to admire a woman who had left her hometown – and their expectations of her – behind for a career that took her all over the world until she settled right back where she started. Lucy loved listening to some of the tales Ruth had.
And she fell completely in love with her father-in-law. Never had the term 'gentle giant' been more applicable than to Grant, and Lucy quickly came to call him Dad. She'd lost her father early in life and Grant was everything she'd thought a father to be. And he treated Scott so kindly, never getting tired of her boy following him around and asking awkward questions.
Ruth began to revise her opinions of Lucy and Scott pretty quickly. Living together for a concentrated time helped her to see that there was not a dishonest side to her daughter-in-law. And her grandson was a delight. When he wasn't following Grant or Jeff around Scott could be found in the kitchen. He tried really hard to be helpful – in fact the boy was always asking if he could do something for her – and secretly she found him endearing.
The week passed quickly.
The last day of Jeff's holiday saw Scott up early, before even his Grandpa. Grant came down to find the kitchen covered in a fine cloud of dust. Coughing, he made his way to the table only to find Scott had somehow managed to get his wife's large bowl out and was busy trying to mix eggs into flour. One-handed. It was everywhere, but Scott's broad grin as he spotted him floored Grant.
Before he realised what he was doing Grant began to help. They cleared the table, dumped the eggshell-laden flour and began again. By the time Ruth got up half an hour later the kitchen was clean and the cake was in the oven and her two boys were washing up the dishes. Well, Grant was. Scott was standing on a chair, oversized apron around him, carefully handing his Grandpa each dish. They were chatting like old friends about how wheat grew and why was it called winter wheat, Grandpa?
That was the moment Ruth knew she loved her Grandson.
Jeff and Lucy came down to a plain sponge cake with lemon icing that Scott and Grant had made for Jeff's leaving. Lucy beamed with pride that Scott would want to do that for his father, and Jeff grinned, demanding that everyone share.
With a promise to visit every weekend Jeff flew off with instructions, the keys to Lucy's flat and a pile of wedding invitations.
