“Anything,” Maddox answers.
“Everything,” Hazel adds.
I chuckle because I feel the same.
I love my grandma’s cooking, but there’s something about Tilly’s bakery that just does it for me. Maybe it’s because it brings me back to my childhood when she’d take me to the shop and let me try everything as she baked. It was every little kid’s dream.
Gram looks down at her gold wristwatch. “I better run. Tate, will you help me down the stairs, baby?” She lifts her arm and waits for me to move.
As I reach for her, I snag the bag of groceries from near her feet. “Of course, Gram. Want me to walk you home?” I hint, trying to find an easy exit because we had our shopping day together, but I think it’s time for me to go.
She shakes her head as she uses me as leverage to get up. “No, baby. Stay here with your friends.” When she looks at me before placing her foot on the first step, I see the devious gleam in her eyes.
I wait until we’re closer to the sidewalk to say something to her. “I know what you’re up to, Gram.”
She pulls her head back as she looks at me. “I don’t even know what you mean, sweetheart.”
“Gram,” I whisper to avoid the girls from overhearing the conversation. “We’re barely friends. Don’t get your hopes up for something more.”
“Baby,” she whispers back. “The look on that man’s face when he glances your way has nothing to do with friendship. You need to get your head out of your cute little ass and open your eyes. Wylder’s a good man, and he needs a good woman instead of that tramp of an ex-wife he had in the past and that trash biker Rowdy you spent too much time with. You two make a good match. He needs a little fun, and you need stability. It’s a match made in heaven.”
“You’re setting yourself up for disappointment.”
“We’ll see,” she says with a smile and raises her hand to wave to the three onlookers on the porch. “See you tomorrow evening.”
“We’ll be there,” Wylder says.
“He has a lovely voice. I could listen to him for hours,” she says to me as she grabs the bag of groceries from my hand. “Bye, sweetheart. See you tomorrow.”
I stand there, watching her walk away, completely dumb struck at my grandmother’s conniving. She never said much about Rowdy when I was with him, but ever since I was almost killed because of him, she hasn’t held her tongue.
My grandfather never lived his life on the up-and-up, and even did a stint or two in prison, but they refer to it as college when in mixed company. They’ve never gone into details, but I can tell my grandmother’s still pissed at him about it.
When I turn back around, the girls are leaning forward against the railing, watching my grandmother walk away.
“This is the best day ever,” Hazel says as she fingers the end of her braid.
Wylder’s eyes are trained on me as I climb the stairs, finding my seat next to him still open.
“I’m going to go inside to start looking at ideas for the shop,” Maddox announces. “Maybe we can talk about it more tomorrow at dinner?”
“That sounds nice,” I say to her as I take a seat next to Wylder, trying to ignore the fact that he’s still staring at me.
“You’re the best, Tate,” Maddox says before disappearing through the screen door. “Come inside, Hazel.”
“I better go,” Hazel says as she drags her feet across the wooden porch. “Maddy needs me.”
When she disappears, Wylder says, “They’re not obvious or anything.”
“Neither is my gram.”
He smiles at me, looking so much younger when he’s happy and not brooding. “I can cancel tomorrow if you’re uncomfortable. I’ll make a believable excuse that won’t draw any attention. No harm, no foul.”
“You’d do that?”
“I’d do anything to make you happy.”
My heart beats a little faster because no one besides my father has ever said those words to me.
