"You have yourself a deal." She placed her wrinkly hand on the table and waited for me to shake it. "Now I would like some cherry pie and a coffee if you don't mind."
How quickly she could turn it off like she hadn't just threatened to upend my entire world.
"I'll be right back with those for you."
I headed straight for the kitchen and nearly ran my grandmother over when I pushed the swinging door a little too hard.
"Jo, what's wrong. You look like you've seen a ghost. What did Ms. Daisy say to you? Do I need to go over there and give her a piece of my mind?"
That was a good way of putting it.
"No, Grams, but I do need to talk to you before I leave today."
I had to tell her before I exposed my secret to the town. She deserved to know what I had been hiding all these years.
The shift slowly dragged on. By the time Grams and I were closing down for the day, I was ready to come out of my skin.
"Dear, whatever's botherin' you, just tell me. You've been wound tight ever since Ms. Daisy asked to speak with you."
That was putting it mildly. I didn't know if it was the fact that I was finally going to tell my grandmother everything or if it was the pregnancy that had me sick to my stomach, but either way, I felt like I was going to hurl.
"You're not going to like what I have to say."
My grandmother's gaze softened. "There's nothin' you could say that's going to change how much I love you."
I sure as hell hoped that was the case.
"You say that now but only because you don't know what I've been keeping from you."
"Then tell me what it is so we can work through it together."
"I'm B. Feather. I've been writing for the newspaper anonymously since I got back from college."
Grams blinked a few times, but she didn't say anything.
"Please say something." I would hate if she was mad at me or, worse, disappointed in me. My grandmother’s opinion was the only one that ever mattered to me.
"Of all the people I suspected, you weren't one of them."
"I know, and that's how I wanted it."
"Why didn't you tell me? You had to know I would keep your secret."
How did I kindly say I didn't know that at all? I went with a different answer instead.
"I didn't want to put that burden on you. It was better if I was the only one that knew so it never got out."
"I'm guessing you're tellin' me now because someone found out?"
"You could say that. Someone was blackmailing Vanessa to find out my identity and hurting her sister in the process. I agreed to give her the information. Somehow it snowballed after that."
"Life has a way of doin' that, my dear."
Yeah, I was beginning to see that.
"So you're not mad?"
Grams smiled at me. "I could never be mad at you. I'm a little upset I didn't figure it out on my own, but I'm not mad at you."
