DMV

"You didn't say exactly that," her mom said, but because it was pretty close, she didn't argue that any further, either. "But okay, I get it. I think."

Grace pulled her legs up on the sofa then looked right at her mom before she spoke.

"I really, really want you to be happy again, Mom. And don't tell me you are because I know better, okay?"

Merritt was definitely going to argue that point, but again, Grace knew her too well.

"And Kade makes you happy. And I'm pretty sure you make him happy. So...."

"So?"

"So if you guys want to, you know, like hang out and stuff or even go on dates...that's cool."

"Would you be embarrassed?" her mom asked even as she realized she was quite possibly asking for herself.

"Why would I be embarrassed if you go out with a guy you really like?"

"Because either he's so much younger or because I'm so much...."

"Mom! You're not old!" Grace told her in no uncertain terms. "Like Kade said, you're actually kind of hot. For my mom, that is."

"Oh. I see," her mom said with hint of pretend attitude.

"No! I just mean it wouldn't make any difference to me."

Grace thought for a moment then said, "Okay. If the guy you liked was, you know, like all gray and wrinkly and stuff, that wouldn't be cool."

Merritt tried not to laugh as she imagined herself with a much, much-older man. She not only didn't laugh, she shivered at the thought, especially when the image of Anna Nicole Smith with her 89-year old 'boyfriend-turned-husband' appeared in her mind's eye.

"So you're really sure that would be okay?" Merritt asked, now feeling even more confident.

"I'm sure. Totally."

"When did you get so grown up?" her mom asked as she ran her fingers through her daughter's long hair.

"Mom!" Grace protested while secretly loving those words.

"And so pretty! You are gonna break some hearts, sweetie."

"Yeah, right. I'll be lucky if I even get asked out."

"Oh, you'll get asked out. Trust me on that, okay?"

Grace put her arms around her mom who, for the first time in quite awhile, was on the verge of crying out of happiness.

"I love you, Gracie-Grace."

"I love you, too, Mom," her daughter told her being sitting back up and saying she should go check on Katie.

After she stood up, Grace looked at her mom then asked, "Does she wet the bed?"

A surprised Merritt told her she didn't know.

"I think maybe I should check, huh?" she replied as she pulled out her phone.

"You miss me, don't you?" she heard Kade say rather than 'hello' when he picked up.

"Maybe," she replied rather coyly while Grace stood there waiting.

Merritt asked her question, and to her relief, Kade told her she hadn't had an accident for six or seven months.

"Whew! Okay. Just wanted to check," she told him.

"Grace is standing there and you can't talk, huh?" he teased.

"I believe that's correct," she replied, trying hard not to smile.

"Well, tell her I said goodnight, okay?"

"I'll do that, Kade."

"And don't forget that I'm crazy about you, Merritt."

"Oh. Um, right. Yes, I'll uh, I'll keep that in mind," she told him. "And you do the same, okay?"

Kade laughed then said, "I wish I could kiss you right now."

"Yes. That would be very nice," Merritt replied, not wanting to give so much as a hint about their conversation to Grace.

"Goodnight, beautiful," Kade told her.

"Goodnight...Kade. And thank you for going with me tonight."

"Sweet dreams," he told her before ending the call.

"So?" Grace asked, a big smile on her pretty face.

"Oh. No, Katie doesn't wet the bed anymore."

"Okay. Good to know," her daughter replied with a smile that made her mom think something was going on.

"What's with the little smirk?"

"Smirk? Me?" Grace asked dramatically. "I have no idea what you're even talking about...beautiful."

Panicked, Merritt's eyes got very big very fast.

"Excuse me?" she said, as a sick feeling welled up inside her.

"You really should turn the volume down, Mom," Grace replied with a victorious smile.

"You...you heard Kade?" she asked, already knowing the truth.

"I didn't say that," her daughter told her with a flip of head and hair. "But if Kade said he wanted to maybe...kiss you...that would be just fine with me."

Merritt had no idea her mouth was wide open until Grace disappeared from sight. When she finally closed her it, she said to herself, "She knows!"

When Kade stopped by the next morning to get Katie, she and Grace had already been up for several hours watching cartoons, eating breakfast, and playing.

Merritt was waiting for him and just as he got ready to knock, she opened the door and stepped outside.

"Grace knows!" she said without so much as a 'hi there'.

"Knows what?" Kade asked.

"She...knows!"

"Oh. Wait. How does she know?"

"She...she heard us talking. Or she just figured it out or...."

Kade smiled then said, "Calm down, okay?"

"Sorry. I was so surprised when she said what she said that I...."

Kade put his hands on her shoulders and waited for her to look up at him.

"Grace is a smart girl. But as long as you want to keep this from her, I'll play along. But if it were up to me, I'd tell her. As in...right now."

Merritt's eyes were moving so fast Kade nearly laughed as they darted back and forth between his.

"Do you think that's wise?" she asked, as though he could answer that for her.

"Yes, I do, but the decision is yours, Merritt."

After a small moment of silence, Merritt said, "She told me she'd be fine if I was to, you know, date a younger man."

"Oh?"

"Okay. Not just any younger man," she said with a smile. "But she said if it was you, she'd be...cool with it."

"Cool with it. I like the sound of that," Kade told her with a smile.

"I think maybe I do, too," a much-less anxious Merritt agreed, a smile on her very pretty face, as well. "So shall we tell them?"

Kade tilted his head and raised his eyebrows letting her know it was completely up to her.

"Yes," Merritt said. "Yes, let's tell them."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Totally," she replied before quickly giving him a kiss. "Now let's go inside before I lose my nerve."

This time when Katie saw her father, she ran to him.

"Daddy!" she hollered out as she jumped into his arms.

"Hey, you! Did you have fun?"

That question led to the longest run-on sentence of Kade's life as Katie crammed every single thing she and Grace had done into it.

"Wow! That's awesome!" her dad replied when she finally took a breath.

Grace was standing there, too, and just looking at him and then at her mother.

"What?" Merritt asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Grace replied as she bit her lip in order not to smile.

Before her mom could say anything, Grace said, "I just thought you looked like you had something you wanted to say or maybe tell me."

She looked at Katie then changed it to, "Or tell...us."

"Okay, Miss Smarty Pants," her mom said, now the one trying not to smile. "Maybe I do have something to tell you. Both."

Grace reached out for Katie who happily went to her new best friend who said, "Come on. Let's sit down. The grownups have something to tell us."

Katie looked like a human doll sitting next to Grace who'd brushed the little girl's hair and pulled it into a tight ponytail.

Merritt and Kade stood in front of them, but neither of them said anything.

"I think this is where one of you starts talking," Grace told them as she again fought off the laughter that was lurking right below the surface.

"Yes," her mom replied. "That's right. It is time for one of us to talk."

She looked over at Kade who just raised his eyebrows again.

"So...Katie's father has something to tell you. Both," Merritt said, causing Kade's eyes to get wide even though it was all for show.

He smiled then put his arm around Merritt who slid closer then put her arm around his waist.

"What your mom was almost trying to say is...."

Merritt gave him a playful elbow, and Grace started laughing.

"Why did your mom hit my daddy?" Katie asked.

Grace pulled her up on her lap then said, "Just listen, okay?"

"Well, what he wanted to say was that we...."

Kade looked at Merritt who smiled at him.

"That we...really like each other, and that we're, you know...."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Grace said. "You guys are going out. You're...dating. You're...in love!"

"They're in love?" Katie asked with a huge gulp of air as she hopped off Grace's lap then ran to her dad and hugged his legs.

He picked her up and got a big hug before Katie reached out for Merritt who happily took the sweet little girl who hugged her neck and made her tear up.

Grace then got up, too, and went over and hugged them all.

"I'm really happy for you guys," she said.

"Thank you, honey," her mom told her.

"Yeah. At least one of us has a boyfriend," Grace mumbled before everyone laughed.

Kade reminded her to be patient before also telling her it wouldn't be long before her biggest worry would be having to choose between all the guys who'd actually be asking her out.

Grace loved hearing that from someone other than her mom, but still said, "Yeah, right."

As it turned out, Kade had been exactly right. Within the first month after school starting, Grace King was a cheerleader and had been asked out no less than a dozen times by five different boys. She'd thanked all of them and politely declined each invitation until the only boy in school who'd caught her eye asked her to go to Homecoming with him. Unlike her previous school, where only juniors and seniors could go to homecoming, freshmen and sophomores were also permitted to attend.

Kade and Merritt had only been together for about five weeks when Homecoming came around, but it felt like they'd known each other their entire lives. So once Katie was fast asleep in Grace's bed, a very nervous, but very excited Merritt told her handsome, younger boyfriend she was ready.

Grace had a midnight curfew leaving them at least two hours all to themselves, and the happy new couple made the best possible use of their time alone. It was difficult getting out of bed, showering, and getting dressed in order to pretend like nothing had happened, but they managed to pull it off after making love in bed and again in the shower.

As happy as Merritt was, all that mattered to her was that her baby had a nice time, so when Grace got home at 11:55 and was all smiles, her mom couldn't wait to here the details. Grace bubbled on and on as she told her mom and Kade about the best night of her life.

The only close call they had to letting on was when Merritt took Kade's hand at the very moment Grace used that phrase; a phrase that described her mom's feelings about that very night, too. Grace was too excited to even notice, and that was just fine with everyone.

The four of them had almost as good a time on Thanksgiving as they spent their first holiday together as a kind of informal family. By Christmas, Kade and Merritt had told each other 'I love you' and later that evening, as they sat around the present-free tree, Grace told Kade and her mom how happy she was for them.

"We're very happy, too, honey," her mom replied. "And I want you to know how much I love you."

Grace said 'I love you back' before her mom said those words to Katie, too. She got another immediate hug and heard the sweetest words ever from the almost-five year old girl she loved like her own.

"I love you, too, Merritt!"

"Thank you, honey! And did you know I love your daddy, too?"

"Uh-uh. And my daddy loves you. And me!"

"Yes, he does," her father said. "I love you both very...."

Kade smiled at Grace then motioned for her to come sit between him and her mother.

Once she was seated, he said, "I love all three of you girls very much."

It was no surprise that Merritt's eyes were filled with tears. What really surprised Kade was when Grace looked up at him and said, "I love you, too," with tears in her eyes. Her father hadn't even called, and this was exactly what Grace needed and wanted to hear.

She quickly dabbed them then said, "You know what? This is the best Christmas ever!"

Katie held her arms out for Grace who took her from her mom then got a huge hug.

Grace looked at her mom then said, "Mom? I am SO happy you moved us here."

Merritt had been trying not to cry, but when she heard her daughter say that, she lost the battle and just leaned over and hugged her.

When she could finally speak she said, "And I'm just so...happy!"

"Here, here!" Kade said as he reached over and hugged all three of his girls.

By the time Spring had sprung, Kade had been made a deputy team leader, much to the chagrin of the one person who still hadn't warmed up to him. The problem was solved by letting the sourpuss go and replacing him with someone who not only wanted to be there but who also wanted to be a part of the team.

Merritt insisted on taking them all out for a celebrity dinner that weekend. After agreeing to go, Kade waited for a moment to talk to Grace alone then told her he wanted to discuss something with her.

"Could we maybe get together sometime and talk? Just the two of us?" he suggested.

"Kade? You're either getting ready to tell me you're breaking up with my mom or that you want to marry her. I know you love her too much to break her heart—and mine—so the answer is 'yes'!"

A stunned Kade Radliffe just shook his head then smiled.

"Your mom often tells me how perceptive you are, but dang, gurl! You are amazing!"

Grace threw her head back, then haughtily said, "I know!" before both of them laughed then hugged each other.

"Grace?" Kade said as they let go of one another.

"Uh-huh?"

"Look. I know I'll never be your father, but I just want you to know that I...well, that I love you just like I do Katie."

Again, he was surprised but for very a different reason. Grace was tearing up again, but he wasn't sure why.

"I feel like I don't really even have a dad, anymore," she began as she tried not to cry. "He doesn't even call me, and it's like I don't even exist."

Hurting badly for her, Kade took her in his arms again and told her how sorry he was.

"No. It's okay," she said as she took a couple of long, slow breaths. "The good news is I feel like I...do...have a dad again."

The way she looked up at him told Kade that was him, and he pulled her back close and said, "Thank you for saying that."

She pulled away again then looked up at him and said, "You're welcome, and thank you for loving my mom."

She smiled a happy smile then said, "And me."

The following day, Kade took time off of work and went to meet Grace at a jewelry store in town after school where she helped him pick out the perfect ring for her mother. But almost as important to them both was the way doing this cemented the bond they'd created over the last eight months or so.

Grace managed not to give her mom so much as a hint until Kade asked her to marry him at the end of their dinner. But it soon came out that she'd been in on the selection of the ring, and a very teary-eyed Merritt once again told each member of her new family how much she loved them.

She was doing just fine on their way home until Katie, who was now five, asked her, "Merritt? Will you be my mommy now?"

Her emotions were still nearly raw, and the moment she heard that, she lost it. Kade pulled the car over, and his fiancé got out of the car, opened the back door, and hugged her daughter-to-be and said, "Yes! Of course I'll be your mommy, sweetheart!"

She got back in, tried to collect herself, then Katie said to Grace, "So if your mommy is my mommy, are we sisters?"

Grace leaned over and said, "You better believe it, kiddo!"

Kade couldn't stop smiling as he realized that even after such a huge tragedy in his life that he now finally had a family of his own. He would always love and miss Karen, but he knew she would approve of Merritt and Grace, so he silently looked upward and told her 'thank you' for looking out for them both before reaching over and taking Merritt's hand.

"Nice rock," he told her.

"I have an amazing fiancé with amazing taste," she replied with a smile.

She turned around then said, "And two beautiful daughters."

"You're beautiful too, Mommy!" Katie told her, causing her new mother to cry again.

"Hey, Dad," Kade heard Grace say.

He looked at her in the mirror and smiled as she said, "I just wanted to see how that sounded."

"And?" he asked with a smile.

"I think I kind of like it."

"You know what? So do I," her new dad told her before riding the rest of the way home in silence as everyone soaked up all the love that was filling and overflowing their car.

As Kade held her hand, Merritt continued blinking back tears as she looked over at the man she loved and would marry that summer. And that's when it hit her that had they not both gone to the DMV at the same time on the same day she would have never found the love of her life.