Her words hit me right smack dab in the middle of my heart. My birthday card had always been signed “love, Grandmother,” but I couldn’t remember ever hearing the words come out of her mouth. Granted, I hadn’t spent much time with her, but still, we’d never shared any warm and squishy feelings before.
Every glance she’d ever sent my way reeked of disapproval. It made sense though. She’d never approved of my mom. Being unhappy with me was a natural offshoot. Or so I’d always thought. Had I been wrong? The idea of her doing anything because she cared for me was completely novel to me.
“I saw too many of my affluent friends shower their children and grandchildren with whatever their hearts desired,” she said. “It destroyed many of them. Great weight is attached to large sums of money, and I wasn’t about to allow it to crush any of you.”
She paused for a moment and locked her eyes onto mine. “Perhaps seeing this therapist has been good for more things than my health. I was never very good at saying it out loud when you were younger, but I do… care about you, Willow.”
Tears surged into my eyes. She cared about me? That was only a baby-step away from actuallove.
It was easy to say I didn’t need her love when I thought I could never have it. But now that I was so close to it, I didn’t want to jinx it. Life without parents or any extended family connection was lonely.
Worse than lonely.
I groaned inside, beyond angry at the whole scheme I’d concocted to get what I wanted. Everything had seemed so much easier back when I thought she was nothing more than an angry old woman who wanted to keep me down.
Maybe we’d both misjudged each other over the years.
Because of that, today, I’d worn clothes that weren’t mine, tried to hide my curls, and stripped my home of all its personality, and for what? To paste on a layer of phoniness that was starting to make my skin crawl.
Now that I’d seen a glimpse of the softer side of her heart, I couldn’t risk coming clean just yet. It could spoil everything. My dad had been gone for a long time and seeing the warmth in her eyes was almost like having a second chance to look into his. They were so similar a chill ran up my spine. I wasn’t about to confess to my stupidity and chance the warmth in those eyes being replaced by the steely cold I’d seen there as a child.
Not yet.
I decided then and there that I’d finish out this day, living this charade. I’d be a budding real estate mogul with a steady boyfriend and a dog until the clock chimed midnight. Who cared if my life turned back into a pumpkin at the stroke of twelve? Grandmother would be on her way home, and she’d still like me. Hopefully, I’d have the money I needed to make my dream career happen. And Moose would be across the hall with Cash, where he belonged.
I’d make it up to Grandmother in the future. Now that I knew it was possible, I’d take time to grow this budding new relationship with her in the months and years ahead. I’d ease in to letting her see me for who I really was. If I was careful about it, I wouldn’t lose my chance to earn the love that I just realized I needed so badly.
“If all continues to go well while I’m here,” Grandmother said, “I don’t see any reason I couldn’t cut you a check before I go back home. In fact, you might even spend some before I leave.”
Breathe in. Breathe out. Whatever you do, don’t squeal!
“Really?” I crossed my legs like a lady and placed my folded hands in my lap when what I really wanted to do was leap from my chair and perform the most ridiculous happy dance known to man. “That would be amazing.”
“Yes, and since you’re unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the business, I’ll hold your hand throughout the process.”
Every thought in my head came to a screeching halt. “Say what now?” The words popped out of my mouth before I knew what was happening.
“This business is filled with sharks and shysters. I’d never throw you to the wolves and leave town, especially since your father is no longer with us to help you navigate these new waters. No! I’ll tour the properties with you, help you negotiate your contracts, and start building your own trusted team.” A wild excitement danced in her eyes that I didn’t understand. She seemed to get as much of a thrill out of this as I got from writing the last line of a new song.
“All before you leave tonight?”
“Leave?”
“Yeah, you said you’d only be in town for a short time. I was under the impression you were flying home tomorrow morning.”
“That was before my therapist suggested I take the summer off.”
I wheezed in a sharp breath. “The-the summer? Like, you’re going to be here thewholesummer?”
“Yes, the timing couldn’t have worked out more perfectly.”
I think she kept talking, but I’m not sure. All I could think about was Cash. I’d asked him to be my boyfriend fora day,not an entire summer.
This changed everything.
CHAPTERNINE
Cash poked his head into my apartment. “Linner is served. If you ladies will follow me…” He opened the door wide and waved us over.
