Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Granddaddy dropped down beside me, leaving a foot of space between us. “I know my grandson, and I know his faults better than anyone in the world, believe me. But he’s not cruel or callous, so why would you keep this information from him?”
“I know he’s not,” I shot back, feeling defensive. “But I also know that his career means everything to him.” It was why he was so good at his craft, so passionate about his every lyric, every melody.
Granddaddy shook his head and leaned back on the sofa. “That’s because Gavin can’t imagine another life where he’s something other than a rock star. The center of the universe.” His smile was bittersweet. “He felt abandoned by his parents even though he was the one who left. They couldn’t get it together, couldn’t get over themselves and their hate for one another to provide a stable, loving home for the boy. He pretends to be over it, but I know he’s not.”
“None of us are over our childhoods.” But I had a hospital to run and a baby to care for, I didn’t have time to babysit a grown man who ran as soon as things got a little too real. “I understand, Granddaddy. Believe me, I do.”
“But you’re still not gonna tell him about the baby you’re carrying?”
“No.” I’d had months to think about it and I had no desire to revisit this mental argument. “I knew what I was getting into when I started my little affair with Gavin. It was temporary. Fleeting. And, yeah, if I thought for a moment or two that there was something more between us, the way he left told me I was wrong.”
“That’s just his way.”
“Granddaddy,” I said, a little firmer than I meant to, “I thought he and I were, at the very least, friends. But we weren’t any of that. I was wrong and I have to live with that, which I’m trying to do. I’m not punishing Gavin, I’m simply preserving my own peace and letting him live the life he obviously wants.”
I never wanted to be one of those women who tried to force a man to change or give up his dreams if he wasn’t ready. It would only lead to tears, heartache, and disaster. Mostly for me.
“The life he thinks he wants,” he qualified. “Just give him a chance.”
“I did that, and he left town without so much as a goodbye to his good buddy Suzie.”
“That damn slick agent with the greasy hair,” Aaron growled, and I laughed at his misplaced anger.
“Hey, that slickster is why your grandson is so famous and rich, well regarded in his field.”
“Yeah, well, that ain’t everything. He won’t always be famous, and then where will he be? What will he have?”
“Not me and my child as a consolation prize,” I whispered. As much as I regretted saying it, I couldn’t deny the truth of my words. “Granddaddy Aaron, Gavin’s career is everything to him. You may think he wants more, or you may want him to want more, but he’s exactly where he wants to be. And I get that. I really do.”
His eyes flashed with acknowledgment, followed by mischief. “You love him.”
“I do not,” I insisted.
“You do. That’s why you won’t tell him, won’t force him to choose.”
“There is no choice,” I shot back because it was the absolute truth. “He made his choice once and I have no doubt he’d make it again.”
Aaron shook his head. “But this is a child we’re talking about. A wee little baby.”
Not something as insignificant as a woman. “I’m aware.”
He grumbled to himself for a long time before he let out a resigned sign. “I don’t agree with your choice, but I will respect it for now. If you need anything, Suzie, I’ll be here for a while longer.”
I blinked at his change in demeanor. “Jackson’s Ridge pulling you under its spell?”
“Something like that. Getting to know Zola and enjoying all the ways a man of a certain age has to keep busy.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and I had no doubt most of those ways involved the single, widowed, and divorced senior women of Jackson’s Ridge.
“Thanks, Granddaddy Aaron. I’m grateful to know you.” I leaned over and wrapped my arms around him, feeling suddenly emotional. “You’re the only grandparent this child will have.”
It was a thought that made me sad, thinking of just how little family there was to love my baby.
I quickly shook it off. It wasn’t true. I had a big family here in Jackson’s Ridge. They weren’t blood, not even Drew, but they loved me like we were related, and that meant they would love my baby the same way.
“You say that now, but I’m a bossy son of a gun when I want to be.” He let out a loud rumbling laugh and I joined in.