“You are part of that group, Wynter.”
“Yeah, well, we were friends. Of course I cared about him.” Her brows furrowed. “Care. Icareabout him.” The twinge in her heart reminded her that the pumping organ in her chest had never fully healed after walking away from Marcus all those years ago. “Even if we weren’t different, too much time has passed for any notions of love. I wouldn’t even know how to be friends with him, let alone something more.” She shook her head. “It’s crazy to even consider.” Then she set her firm gaze on her grandmother. “And you need to accept it. Because I’m not going to be sticking around here past February.”
“You’re wrong.”
Two words. That’s all Grams had in her arsenal, and yet they were more detrimental than Wynter would ever admit. Marcus had been her everything. She’d been content to have his friendship even though she knew there were more feelings hovering beneath the surface.
But then that kiss had ruined everything. It had been the catalyst for those dormant feelings to rise to the surface and demand to be acknowledged. Wynter hadn’t been strong enough to ignore them—or at least she knew she wouldn’t be if she stuck around Copper Creek at all.
She sighed. “I’m really not, Grams.”
Her grandmother huffed and threw up her hands as she left the kitchen.
Placing both hands on the counter, Wynter attempted to push out images of the man who had been larger than life in herliving room. He was a good five inches taller than her. His skin still looked sun-kissed, and his mop of dark hair had grown long enough to curl around his ears. In high school, he’d kept it cut short while he played football. Now, he paired his longer hair with a beard. He looked so good. Something told her his athletic training had done him well over the years.
Suddenly, her grandmother appeared in front of her. She placed a shoebox on the counter, then moved it toward her expectantly.
Wynter glanced up at her grandmother. “What’s this?”
“Open it.”
She sighed. “Grams…”
“Don’tGramsme. Open the box, will you, please?”
Wynter reached for the box and pulled off the lid. Inside were several pictures and some cards. Her brows creased as she pulled out a picture that had to have been taken shortly after they’d moved to Copper Creek.
She sat with Marcus out beneath the maple tree in the front yard. They each leaned against the trunk. She had a book in her hands—most likely one about bugs. Based on the look on her face, she was animatedly talking about something she’d learned. But Marcus was looking at her. There was a grin on his face, one she was all too familiar with.
Grams moved behind her as she pulled out another photograph. Most of the images captured were candid. But there were some where they smiled at the camera. “Whether you want to admit it or not, that boy liked you.”
Wynter rolled her eyes. “I know he liked me, Grams?—”
“It was more than that, dear. He cared for you. And…” Her voice trailed off, then took on a somber quality. “Then you left.”
“I had to, Grams.”
“Why?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
Wynter flinched. “Maybe both.”
“I know you have a box of your own. One that holds the various mementos you’ve collected over the years. Perhaps it’s time you pull it out and remember what it was like. What the two of you had.”
Stifling a groan, Wynter placed the lid on the box and handed it back to her grandmother. “I don’t need to look through old photographs to remember. My memory is a lot sharper than yours.”
“Could have fooled me.”
Wynter shook her head. “Go sit down. I’ll fix us one of these meals and we can put on a movie.”
Grams opened her mouth, but the warning look on Wynter’s face must have been enough to put an end to whatever she was going to say.
Over the next couple of hours, they did exactly what Wynter suggested. Thankfully, Grams didn’t try to push the subject of Marcus and a future that Wynter couldn’t have. She knew her heart better than anyone.
Marriage was not in the cards for her. Honestly, she didn’t even want it. The probability of heartbreak was but one of the reasons. She’d grown out of her childish desire to settle down and have a family. She liked her freedom. People usually let her down. If she didn’t like a job or the people she worked with, she loved that she could pick up and move somewhere else.
