Now that he was older, and hopefully wiser, he saw his father’s actions for what they truly were.

Kindness.

He hugged his mother and gently kissed her cheek, then stood still so she could fuss over him as she liked to do. After several exclamations over how thin he was and how he needed to take better care of himself, he was finally able to get a word in edgewise.

“Mom and Dad, I’d like you to meet Ridley Wells. Ridley is my neighbor and lives on the next street over. Ridley, these are my parents, Mark and Julia Alexander.”

Ridley glanced up at him and smiled softly, looking relieved when he didn’t mention anything about the accident. He hated that she still seemed ashamed about it. His parents wouldn’t fault her for her circumstances. If anything, his mother would probably bundle her up and coo over her just like she did her own children.

“Hello, Ridley. I’m so glad you decided to join us today.” His mother hugged her briefly and she shook hands with his father.

“Jackson was really nice to invite me. I just wish I’d had time to prepare something.”

His mother’s eyes lit up. “That’s all right, honey. Do you like potato salad? Mine is on the end of the buffet in the red and white bowl.”

“I’ll be sure to try it. My potato salad was never anything special but I make really good seafood salad. It’s one of my sister’s favorites.”

Jackson was amazed. The one time he’d introduced Alana to his parents, they’d spent the entire evening making awkward conversation. Ridley, however, seemed to have no problem chatting with them. When he tuned back into the conversation, his father was trying to convince her to make him a shrimp salad.

“Dad! She’s not here to work. You’re going to scare her away.”

His father winked at him and nodded in Ridley’s direction. Jackson shook his head slowly, hoping his father understood that they were just friends. The idea of being just friends with a beautiful woman was foreign to his dad, well, to pretty much every guy he knew. But after the way they’d connected last night, they definitely weren’t strangers, yet they weren’t going to be lovers, either. He owed her better than that.

“Oh, honey. What happened to you?”

When Ridley went rigid at his side, he knew his mother had caught sight of the bruises she’d tried to cover with her long sleeved shirt.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was in an a-accident,” she stammered.

“That looks really bad, honey!” Julia held Ridley’s wrist and pulled her sleeve back up to examine the marks on her wrist.

“Mom, don’t—” He shook his head at her.

Julia’s eyes went wide and then she looked back at Ridley, who pulled the sleeves of her shirt all the way down. Then she gave him a short nod, as if to say, “We’ll talk about this later.” Jackson had no doubt his mother would want the whole story as soon as she could get him alone.

“Well, I hope we’ll be seeing more of you. Such a pretty girl!” She pulled Ridley into a tight hug, rocking her back and forth. When she finally released her, she smoothed a gentle hand over her hair.

Ridley blushed. “Thank you.”

“Well, excuse us kids but it’s time for me to say hello to the rest of the family.” Julia turned to Jackson. “Oh, and I found a nanny for you, Jackson. Remember, Miss Bessie from church?”

“Miss Bessie? She used to babysit me. And I’m pretty sure she was really old even then.”

His mother narrowed her eyes.

“Not that it matters,” he added quickly. “Thank you for the recommendation, Mom.”

“Of course. I want my babies to be well taken care of. Speaking of which, I got new bunk beds for the boys. Why don’t you drop them off on Sunday so they can spend a few days with me? I’m due for some grandma time with my little rascals.” She glanced at Ridley with a sly smile. “You can bring Ridley with you. We’d love to see you for Sunday dinner.”

Jackson smiled knowingly. “Right. Thanks, mom. I’ll take you up on that.” He bent over so his mother could kiss his cheek again before his parents crossed to the table where Elliott stood, bobbing his head to the music.

“Your mom is something else. Was I imagining that or is she matchmaking?” Ridley asked.

“It means she liked you. She’s probably hoping I use the kid-free time to wine and dine you.” He winked at her.

When Elliott saw their mother, he immediately cut the music and handed her a microphone.

“When she said she needed to say hi to the rest of the family I didn’t think she meant a speech.” Ridley turned to him with wide eyes.

“Welcome to life with the Alexanders.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“HELLO, FAMILY! THANK you for coming to the annual Alexander Memorial Day barbecue!”

Ridley felt like she was in a sitcom as she watched Mrs. Alexander tap her microphone a few times before beaming her bright smile at the guests assembled.

Her blood pressure was still high from almost kissing Jackson. As embarrassing as it had been, she was glad Matt had come to warn them. They’d been right outside where anyone could see them. What if his parents had walked up while they were tonguing each other down?

“We used to meet at the family home, the Alexander-Bennett Co-op, affectionately known around our parts as the ‘ABC Farm’. A few years ago I asked Jackson to start hosting, mainly so he couldn’t avoid us.”