“Yep.”Grampy smiled.“I have faith in you.”
She sighed as she watched him walk away, but then she turned her attention back to me and waited.
“What?”I demanded.
“You want to tell me something?”she pressed.
“Doyouwant to tellmesomething?”
“You already know the something,” she muttered.“You just saw the something.”
“How long have you and Grampy been sneaking around?”I asked.
“A few months.”She met my gaze head on.“But not because we think it’ll upset the balance of the family.”
“So, you’re sneaking around because ...why?”
“The thrill of getting caught, of course.Makes everything hotter, don’t you agree?”
I laughed.“So, you knew Archer and I were sneaking around?”
“Of course I did.”She shrugged.“He would give Brooks the weakest excuses to borrow his truck every day.No sandwich on the planet isthatgood.”
I rolled my eyes.“The sneaking around didn’t last very long on our end.We weren’t very good at it.”
“Not really the same when there’s a child involved, is it?”she asked with the directness she was known for.“I’d appreciate it if you kept what you saw to yourself.We’ll tell people in our own time.”
“Tell people?You mean you two are?—”
“In a relationship.Yes.”She frowned.“Sounds strange, doesn’t it?Better than saying I’m using him for sex, I guess.”
“Muddy!”I gasped.
“What?You think you won’t want it at my age?Think again.Just remember; hip stretches are life.”
“I hope to be as cool as you one day.”
She beamed.“Good to have goals, right?”
“Right.”
“You sure you didn’t want to talk to me about something?”Her gaze dropped to my belly.
I looked at her, my mouth gaping open.“You know already, don’t you?”
“Do I?”
“Of course you do!You’re Muddy!You knoweverything.”
“Not everything.”She shrugged.“I don’t understand physics or politicians.I don’t understand why people are obsessed with snail mucus as a beauty care product.But life?Yeah, I know a thing or two about that.”
“It’s supposed to boost collagen production and help with skin rejuvenation.Snail mucus, I mean.”
“Huh.”Muddy touched her wrinkled cheek.“So, you’re pregnant.”
“Howdidyou know?”I asked.
“The same way I knew you and Archer would be together.”She shrugged.“I just knew.”
