None of this is going to be easy, is it?
“I don’t know if I can extend his contract,” I admit.
My grandfather rears back. “Why not? He’s the best man for the job.”
“I know. I fully agree. It’s just that he and I...”
I pray for that to be enough. That he won’t force me to finish the sentence.
“He and you, what?”
I guess not then.
“What?” he asks again. “You two aren’t getting along still? Reese, you have to move past that. For the good of your team. You need to think about the future of the club—”
“Grandad,” I interrupt. “We are getting along. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. We’re getting alongtoowell.”
His gray bushy brows narrow in confusion.
I love the man, but I hate that he’s not piecing this together.
“Arthur,” my grandmother says from the entryway off the kitchen. She’s behind his recliner, two glasses of iced tea in hand. Adoring eyes locked on me across the room. “She’s trying to tell you that she and Monty are together. Romantically.”
There they are. The words are out there in the open now.
I offer my grandmother a grateful smile. She nods toward the kitchen, silently telling me she’s going to let us have this conversation privately.
I look anywhere else I can. The wall. The carpet. My lap. Finally, my eyes hesitantly track back to my grandfather.
“Reese.” He says my name coolly. “Please tell me that’s not true.”
The dissatisfaction in his voice. The hurt on his face. It’s already burning the backs of my eyes. This is the last thing I wanted, for him to be disappointed in me. But after our trip to Colorado, with the way I feel about Emmett, I had to tell him. It was time.
“I can’t lie to you anymore.”
“Oh, Reese.” He sighs heavily. “I told you not to give them anything to talk about. The press is going to eat you alive for this.” He stays silent for a long while until he eventually asks, “How long?”
“Long enough.”
He closes his eyes and drops his head back as he takes in that statement.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“You didn’t mean to what?”
“I didn’t mean to fall in love with him.”
His expression earns a bit of understanding. “Oh, Reese.”
“I’m sorry,” I choke out. “I tried not to.”
He takes a long moment to collect himself and once he does, he settles me a bit by saying, “You can’t apologize for loving someone, honey.”
“But I’m still sorry. I know you trusted me with this franchise. And after everything that happened with Jeremy, I’m sure you think my decision-making skills are absolute shit. And now here I am with the field manager of the team.”
He sits forward in his recliner. “Let’s get one thing straight. I do not think your decision-making skills are shit, so get that out of your head. I would have never held on to this team for you if I didn’t trust your gut. If I didn’t trust you. And Jeremy tricked all of us, Reese. That wasn’t your fault. Monty, on the otherhand...” He leans back in his chair, shaking his head. “They’re not the same, okay?”
No. No, they’re not.
