“So you knew my grandmother?”
She nods. “We drifted apart over the years, unfortunately. I always meant to get in touch with her again, but I guess I’ll just have to wait a few more years for that.”
“Gam, can you please stop making that joke?” Ryder interjects
She laughs, brushing him off. “One day, I will.”
I can’t help laughing along with her, and when I turn to look at him, Ryder is only shaking his head, his hands still stuffed into his pockets.
She squeezes my elbow. “You know, I was there when she met your grandfather.”
I nearly stop in my tracks. “Were you?”
She nods, that grin returning to her face. “We were out to lunch with the girls. A lovely little place called Finnegan’s which is unfortunately a pile of rubble now—you know that abandoned building next to the tea shop?”
I nod. “Tabby’s Teas. She’s one of my best friends."
“So you know the place I’m talking about,” she says. “It was the summer before we all left for college, and in walked a man in a suit. He just wanted a pint, and he sat at the bar by himself. Very obviously having a rough day. I can’t remember why but it had something to do with the family business.” She waves off the lost memory. “Anyway, he heard us laughing and carrying on and decided to buy our lunches. I think your grandmother was having a rough time too—she was the only one of us who wasn’t leaving for college—and she just decided that she was going to go over and thank him on behalf of the rest of us.” Nora laughs. “We ended up leaving without her. The two of them were talking and talking and talking. Non-stop.”
I smile at the thought. I never got to know my grandfather, but that certainly sounds like my grandmother.
“That’s such a nice story. I remember her telling me they met at a restaurant, but I never got the details. I think she took his death pretty hard.”
Nora nods. “I’m sure she did. Theirs was truly a love story. Warring families, secret bribes.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Bribes?”
Nora nods. “Your grandfather came from a rich family.They didn’t want him marrying a farm girl, and her family didn’t trust his kind of money one bit.”
I snort, glancing over my shoulder at Ryder. “The women in my family must have a type.”
It isn’t until a few seconds of silence pass between us that I realize what I said. I had become so invested in Nora’s recounting of my grandparents’ love story that I totally forgot that Ryder and I aren’t athing.
That I’m mad at him, dammit.
My breath leaves my body as I face forward, struggling to remember how to put one foot in front of the other.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“So, um, bribes,” I prompt, because I remember bribery had been mentioned but I’m suddenly wholly incapable of remembering why.
Nora squeezes my elbow again. “Your grandfather’s family tried to bribe her not to marry him. She was so torn up about it. Felt like she was choosing between her legacy and her potential future.” Nora pauses to smile at me. “Want to know how she got out of that?”
I nod.
“She took the money and married him anyway.”
I can’t help the laugh that bursts from my throat and the grin that takes over my face. “I wouldn’t have expected anything less from her.”
Nora nods. “She was a good human. Although I’m sad we lost touch, I’m glad I got the opportunity to chat with you about her. Sometimes I worry memories like that will get lost in this big head of mine and be gone forever.”
“Thanks for telling me about her,” I say.
She smiles. “Anytime, sweetie.”
She pats my arm and then takes a few steps toward anearby bench, settling herself easily before Ryder has a chance to take her arm.
“You okay, Gam?”
