Hot SEAL, A Forever Dad (SEALs in Paradise #31) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,4

Ben stretched out on the comfortable mattress. Just as his grandfather had reworked the downstairs space, the same had been accomplished upstairs. The two original townhouses each had three small bedrooms upstairs with one bathroom accessible from the hall. He had opened the six bedrooms and created four large bedrooms, modernized the bathrooms, and gave the main bedroom its own large bathroom.

Looking around, Ben was once again glad that his grandmother had not clung to the idea that he would always remain a child. The bedroom of his youth had been redecorated with a queen-sized bed and dark blue sheets with a gray and blue comforter. The sports posters that had graced the walls when he was a teenager had been replaced with several skyline pictures of Hope City, and a few framed photographs of the family perched on top of the wooden chest of drawers that had remained the same. The desk near the window where he used to complete his homework had been replaced by a thick-cushioned chair and ottoman with a reading lamp and end table next to them.

He couldn’t remember how long he’d been in the service when he came home to discover the room had been redecorated from boy-style to man-appropriate, but it had been appreciated then as now. His grandmother was a practical as well as astute woman.

He rolled to the side and looked at the framed photograph of him and his parents in front of the Christmas tree when he was ten years old. It was the last picture he had of them. When they were killed soon after, his father’s parents swooped in. He’d spent many hours with them as a younger child, so their home was as familiar to him as his own. Their love and devotion helped a sad and angry young boy to mature and grow into the kind of man his parents would have wanted him to be. His grandparents had given so much to be surrogate parents that for him to spend time helping his grandmother now would be easy.

He’d spent the rest of the afternoon and evening walking around the house, taking a look at what needed to be done. The structure was sound, and it appeared that only cosmetic changes would need to be made for it to fetch a high price in a robust market. Rooms needed a fresh coat of paint. Wooden floors needed to be polished and buffed. He detected a few cracks in some of the old windows and decided that it was time for them to be replaced.

The plumbing was sound as was the wiring, and while his grandfather had updated the bathrooms and kitchen years ago, they could use another facelift. The yard was in good shape, but the deck was old and small, and the image of a brick patio large enough for a built-in grill had taken shape in Ben’s mind. It would take time and money, both of which he had.

On his back, he stared at the ceiling and smiled. His grandmother, while showing signs of the slight stroke, had been in surprisingly good health. With him here, she’d be able to stay in her beloved home longer while he completed the renovations. Would she still want to sell? If so, he had no idea what he’d do with his life.

Rolling over, he thought of the next day. He’d go over the entire house in-depth, figuring out what needed to be completed, and make a schedule for the work. Finally, with tomorrow’s plans in place, he closed his eyes, welcoming sleep.

3

“Mom!”

Violet Mayfield sighed. The shout from her daughter Lily was not one of fear or need… it was the sound of want. She might love the job of being a mom, but hearing it shouted from one end of the house to another constantly could be a bit tiring. And it all had to be carried on her shoulders.

She walked into the small living room and spied her six-year-old son, Charlie, jumping toward Lily, who was holding the TV remote over his head. Lily, normally an adorable, nine-year-old, wonderful sister, was not above using her slight height advantage to keep something away from Charlie. Violet knew that as soon as Charlie hit a growth spurt in a couple of years he would surpass Lily in height, taking after their father. Then, her ever-resourceful daughter would have to find a new way to stay ahead of her brother.

Lifting a brow, she stepped further into the room and