Peggy Howards continued to dice onions while gazing at Josh Batton. “I'm really fond of you, Josh. You have an even more wonderful personality than your appearance suggests. My daughter is very lucky to have found you.

“Annabeth is a kind-hearted person, but she can be a little reckless with her words sometimes. I hope you won’t mind if she says anything to annoy you. Please try to bear with her.

“Of course, you can always come to me if there’s anything you can’t handle with her. I can speak t