Lucy threw herself into life at NASA as the other half of a serving astronaut.

Jeff would be gone nearly 20 months in total, and she had that long to cement herself into his life.

First stop – his parents. Jeff had called them immediately after she'd accepted his proposal and Lucy had chatted with them briefly. They seemed lovely people and Ruth had promised to spend some time with her once Jeff was up and away.

Training had equipped Lucy for American life, but even in the short amount of time she'd been here Lucy had come to realise that she wasn't as equipped as she thought she was.

She stood in the kitchen and looked at the tablet in her hands. Fried Chicken sounded easy…but there were so many recipes, so many variations and so many sides to go with it that she found herself lost. But not for long.

Wanting to learn to cook the dishes that Jeff loved seemed a normal thing for a wife to do and so Lucy rolled up her sleeves – both physically and figuratively – and got stuck in. Every moment she had spare she cooked and baked and took the results into work.

Her fellow engineers and related staff began to really look forward to when she came in on Mondays to see what delights she'd made. Those gifts resulted in a wider acceptance, and pretty soon Lucy was getting invites all over the place and making some good friends along the way.

Two months after Jeff had left Lucy took the plunge and called his parents. They were thrilled to hear from her, refusing her apologies for not calling sooner. Their son was USAF then NASA – finding time to call difficult was par for the course and they were very used to it.

NASA's new project had consumed her every moment and the respite of a weekend away somewhere she'd never been before was very welcome, and Jeff's parents were just as excited to meet her properly.

When Grant and Ruth met her at the airport the first thing that Lucy realised was that Jeff's parents were as down to earth as it was possible to be. Grant enfolded her into a gentle bear hug before Ruth held her at arm's length, looked her over with a wide smile on her face before also folding her into a hug.

Both then immediately apologised for such a public display of affection, and with a start she realised that her cover – British orphan – was probably the reason for that, and also that Jeff had spoken about her in far more detail than she realised.

But she obviously passed muster. No one called her out on anything, not even the fact that she actually relaxed into the hug. Her surprise at Jeff's parents only increased when Lucy saw the car that they came in.

The battered green pickup had seen better days but it was clean and the front seat was big enough for all three of them. Lucy blinked, hoping that she hadn't given away her surprise, blushing when Grant's chuckle that told her she had failed. He patted the hood affectionately.

'This here is Bessie. She's been in my family for generations…'

'Grant! Don't tell Lucy that rubbish! Ignore him, dear. He has an annoying habit of exaggerating his stories, like all good American men.'

'Don't worry, Mrs Tracy. British men are the same.'

'Call me Ruth or Mom, please.'

'I – I'd like that. Mum.'

The delighted look on Ruth's face told Lucy that she'd picked the right name, and she turned to Grant.

'So, Dad. Are you going to tell me the truth about Bessie?'

'She was my first love.'

'First?'

'Don't worry, Ruthie knows, don't you hun?'

'I do. One thing you need to know if you plan on marrying my son, Lucy, is that to the Tracy men machines come first. With Grant it's Bessie the truck and Clarabelle the combine. With Jeff it will be the latest plane and space. Never doubt he loves you, my dear, but he will leave you often for his twin loves.'

Lucy laughed. She'd already seen Jeff's love of space take over everything. Not many women would accept a marriage proposal the day before their intended left the planet on a mission that could possibly be their last and would take them away for almost two years.

The weekend passed in a blur. The Red Velvet Cake that Lucy had made went down a storm, and in turn Ruth taught Lucy a couple of local dishes that were Jeff's favourites. They talked and Lucy was shown many family pictures and told many stories of the man she had been assigned to marry. She'd been shown around the farm, met Clarabelle and the two old sheepdogs Jet and Jess and the fat ginger cat Hardison, who had claimed her lap for his own and refused to move all Saturday evening.

That Sunday, as she said goodbye and was hugged again, Lucy realised she'd fallen in love with Jeff's family and with his life here in rural Kansas. Even with the farm he'd grown up on.

But most of all Lucy realised she'd fallen in love with Jefferson Grant Tracy.

For real, this time.