"My hometown?"

"You're from Barker Creek, right? Well, according to this, that fund transfer originated in Barker Creek."

Grady's heart was thundering. They were finally getting somewhere.

Twenty-Four.

"I still don't understand why we're driving up there?"

Sophie, sitting in the pa.s.senger seat of Grady's truck, hadn't stopped complaining since they'd hit the highway heading north.

"Because it's easier to sweet talk someone at the bank into giving me what I want in person than it is over the phone," Grady replied. "It's a four-hour drive. It's not like we're going to Texas."

"I know," Sophie said, rubbing her neck where the seatbelt chafed against it. "I'm just not big on road trips."

"I think you just don't like sitting still for this long," Grady countered. "You didn't have to come with me, you know. If you're really this antsy, you could have stayed home."

"You would have missed me too much," Sophie shot back.

The smile on Grady's face was sly. He reached across the console, capturing Sophie's nervous hand with his and bringing it up to his lips. "I think you're the one who would have missed me."

"Oh, please," Sophie scoffed, leaning back in her seat. "You would have cried yourself to sleep."

"While I would have missed some of your finer attributes and sleeping without you wouldn't have been fun seeing my parents probably would have kept me from throwing myself off of a cliff because I was debilitated with sadness without you," Grady said.

Sophie froze. "Your parents?"

"Yeah," Grady said, not missing the terrified look that flitted across her face. "They still live in Barker Creek."

"I didn't think of that."

Grady smirked. "Are you nervous to meet my parents?"

"No."

"Oh, my, the great Sophie Lane is scared to meet the parents," Grady teased. "As I live and breathe, I never would have guessed such a thing."

"You're such a pain," Sophie grumbled, reaching over to turn the radio up.

Grady let her stew, but when the silence hit the half-hour mark, he turned the radio back down. "What are you scared of?"

"Parents don't like me," Sophie said. "I'm not ... likable."

"Why do you think you're unlikable?"

"People think I'm cold," Sophie said. "I was raised by a mobster, after all."

"They're going to love you," Grady said. "You have nothing to worry about. Trust me."

"They probably think I'm like Mandy," Sophie said. "I'm not full of sunshine, and I don't mix in with new people as quickly. She has a gift. Her they like."

"They love her," Grady agreed. "They've also known her since she was a teenager and they found her and Ally putting bright pink streaks in their hair in the upstairs bathroom. Mom never did get that color out of the towels."

Sophie was silent.

"It's going to be okay," Grady said. "I promise they'll like you. Plus, look at it this way, I'm finally going to get some action in my childhood bed. That's been a dream of mine since I was twelve and I got my first erection.

"Of course, to be fair, the poster on my ceiling back then was Katie Holmes," Grady continued. "You'll do in a pinch, though."

Sophie was horrified. "We're staying at your parents' house?"

"Um, yeah," Grady replied. "Barker Creek doesn't have any hotels."

"Oh, no," Sophie said. "This is horrible."

"It's going to be fine."

"I might cry," Sophie warned him.

"You'll be fine. I promise, I won't let my parents terrorize you. They're going to be curious, probably ask you a bunch of questions, but I'll make sure they keep the water-boarding to a minimum."

"Oh, I'm totally going to cry."

THREE HOURS later, Grady pulled his truck into the driveway of a small, two-story house on a corner lot. The house was nothing special, white vinyl siding with yellow trim, but in her mind, Sophie could picture the young Hardy boys playing in the double-lot yard. She could almost imagine smaller versions of Mandy and Ally joining them, ribbons and braids flying through the air.

"It's not like the house you grew up in," Grady said. "But it's home."

"It's great," Sophie said. "This feels like a home. I bet you guys used to play football in the side lot, didn't you?"

"And baseball," Grady agreed. "And soccer. Mandy and Ally taught themselves how to do cartwheels out there."

"It's like a Norman Rockwell painting."

"Come on, sugar," Grady said, tugging on her hand. "Let's go and meet the folks."

Sophie found herself clinging to Grady's hand once they were on the front porch of the house. Grady gave her a quick, steadying kiss, and then he pushed through the front door.

The woman who greeted them in the foyer was short. She had the same dark hair her children boasted, but her eyes were green and kind. Her hair was clipped above her shoulders and shot through with a few streaks of gray, but she was well put together. She was wearing an ap.r.o.n, wiping her hands on it when she caught sight of her middle son.

"Grady Hardy, you are in so much trouble for staying away for so long," she announced, her hands on her hips. Ally looked just like her when she did the same thing, Sophie realized.

"Sorry, Mom," Grady said, lowering his head sheepishly. "It's been a busy couple of months."

The woman's face softened as she pulled her son down so she could give him a hug. "Oh, who am I kidding? You're forgiven."

After suffering through a smothering hug, Grady managed to put some distance between himself and his mother. "Mom, this is Sophie. Sophie, this is my mom."

"Mrs. Hardy, it's so good to meet you," Sophie said, extending her hand.

"Call me Rose, dear," the woman said, ignoring her hand and pulling Sophie in for a hard hug. "You're so pretty. The pictures Ally emailed me don't do you justice."

Sophie's eyes widened. "Ally emailed you pictures?"

"Ally is gossipy, dear," Rose said, patting Sophie on the arm. "She sends me new pictures every week. I know what you and Emma both look like. In fact, I feel like I know you already. Ally tells me everything."

"Oh. That's ... ."

"Invasive," Grady supplied.

"That's a little sister's duty," Rose replied. "Besides, Mandy is the one who emailed me pictures of that boy, Jake, who Ally has her eye on. So Ally is getting a little taste of her own medicine. She probably won't think it's so funny anymore."

Grady snorted. "Does Ally know about that?"

"I don't think so," Rose said, leading them into the kitchen so she could watch over the pasta sauce she was making. "I hope you like Italian, dear," Rose said. "I'm making Grady's favorite, homemade spaghetti and meatb.a.l.l.s."

"Yum," Grady said, rubbing his stomach. "I've missed your cooking."

"Sophie doesn't cook?"

Sophie's face reddened. "I ... ."

"She doesn't cook," Grady said. "She's a whiz with a takeout menu."

Rose smacked the back of Grady's head lightly. "You like Italian, dear, don't you?"

"I love Italian," Sophie said. "It sounds great."

"Oh, that's right, you were raised by a mobster," Rose said. "You probably ate Italian a lot when you were a kid."

Sophie raised an eyebrow, glancing at Grady worriedly.

"Ally told you that, too?" Grady asked, pulling out a chair so Sophie could sit at the small table in the center of the room. "I'm going to kill her."

"Ally is just a chatty girl," Rose said. "You can't blame her for that."

"Oh, I can blame her for ... ."

"Oh, look, your father is home," Rose interrupted him. "He'll be so happy to see you. Although, he's not very happy about the circ.u.mstances of your visit, if I'm being truthful. I'll tell you what, we're just lucky that our poor Mandy wasn't hurt too seriously."

"She was hurt pretty bad, Mom," Grady said. "If you'd seen her right after, well, it would have made you cry. It's a miracle she survived in the first place."

Rose nodded, her eyes glazing over with tears at the mere thought. "We got very lucky. That girl is a part of our family, and we don't just let people leave this family. You better keep that in mind, Sophie."

Sophie blushed. "I ... um ... ."

"She's nervous, Mom," Grady chided. "Give her a break."

"Oh, mind your business, worrywart," Rose said. "She's fine."

When Grady's father entered the room, Sophie found the familiar brown eyes she'd come to a.s.sociate with the Hardy family staring out from his handsome face. That's where the similarities ended, though. Louis Hardy was tall, like his sons, but he was also blonde and fair.

"You must be Sophie," he said, clapping his son on the back and extending his hand. "I can't tell you how nice it is to finally meet you."

"Mom has been giving her an earful," Grady said. "I think she's making Sophie nervous."

"Don't let her get to you," Louis said. "She likes to give all her children and their significant others a hard time. That's what a mother does."

"I think she pa.s.sed on that trait to Ally," Sophie said, not realizing how it sounded until the words escaped her mouth.

Louis chuckled, sliding into the open chair next to Sophie. "Ally is definitely her mother's daughter."

"That's probably why Ally is your favorite," Grady teased.

"Probably," Louis agreed. "How is my girl?"

"She's fine," Grady said. "I think she's almost done with her cla.s.ses."

"That's good," Louis said. "I worry that she's so ... scattered when it comes to work."

"We can always give her a job at the office," Grady said. "James has been talking about adding a secretary, and maybe even another body to do the investigative work."

"That doesn't sound like James," Louis said. "He's too much of a control freak."

"Yeah, but he needs his time with Mandy," Grady said, thanking his mom when she pushed a beer onto the table in front of him. "You know they're looking for a house, right?"

Rose smiled. "Ally might have mentioned it."

"I bet," Grady said, smirking.

"Ah, how is my Mandy?" Louis asked. "I have always had a soft spot for that girl. She was always such a sweet thing, until you got her hackles up, of course. Then she was a total fireball. Knowing she's the one who finally tamed James makes my old heart happy."

"She's better now," Grady said. "It was rough there for about a week."

"And how was James during that time?" Rose asked.

"He was a mess at the hospital," Grady said. "He was in shock, and when she didn't wake up right away, he was worried she never would. Then, she was kind of hopped up on medication and in a lot of pain for the next week. It was ... ugly."

"You can't keep that girl down," Louis said. "She's tough. They survived the week, and they'll continue to push forward. She's strong."

"She'd have to be to put up with James," Grady said. "She's actually really good for him. You should see them together."