she froze in place.
He’d sat silently. In shock. Grieving. Mortified.
Then she’d smiled at him, but he could see the question in her eyes.
Because he couldn’t stand for her to know the truth, he told her she was the best friend a guy could ever have.
She’d shown relief, then had chatted about the wedding plans over dinner.
It was the longest night of his life.
The next day he loaded his car to the roof and informed Granny he was going to move to Boston early. He left and never looked back. He couldn’t bear to do otherwise.
He shook his head and himself back to the present. No, Lindsay probably shouldn’t trust him. He’d told her she was important to him then abandoned her. He’d taken the cowardly way out when he’d left town. And he’d felt terrible about not answering her phone call and letter. But he’d gone into self-protect mode. He’d had to.
Now he was back in Magnolia and had already upset her. No wonder she looked at him askance.
Once he’d unpacked, Bill found Granny snoozing in her chair in front of the blaring TV. He turned the volume down, and as he did so, she stirred.
“Wh—what’s wrong?” she asked groggily.
He couldn’t help but laugh. She’d slept through the cacophony of the evening news, but woke when the room got quiet.
“It’s me, Granny.”
“Oh, Bill, honey, I’m so glad you’re still here.” She lurched forward a couple of times trying to stand, but couldn’t get out of her chair. He took her arm and helped pull her up, then hugged her, relishing the familiar fragrance of her hair and her face powder.
He held her away from him to get a good look. “How are your head and arm feeling?”
“Both fine. No pain at all.”
“Good. Lindsay’s making dinner. Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“So, how many days a week does she come?”
“She stays with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the days we’re not working at the community center. Plus, she’s always checked on me on the weekends anyway.”
“I’m glad you’ve had someone to take care of you. But I think we really do need to talk about moving you to Boston.”
She looked around the room and appeared to retreat to her own world. A smile lit her face. “I won’t ever be ready to leave this place, son, even though I do realize sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do. Of course, it’s not time yet. I’ll let you know when it is.”
“I’m sorry, Granny. With the fall and all, and the fact that you’ve already needed Lindsay’s help, I think it may be time now.”
With eyebrows drawn together, she tilted her head back to look him in the eye. “Could you ever see yourself moving here to live?”
He’d like to spare her feelings, but had to be honest. “No. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You have your life, and I wouldn’t try to drag you back here if you didn’t want it.”
“You know it’s not that I wouldn’t want to be with you.”
“I know, dear. But I hate that you never felt at home in Magnolia.”
Granny had tried so hard to make them happy, but neither he nor Drake had ever adjusted very well after they’d come to live with her. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”
“Excuse me,” Lindsay said from the doorway. “Dinner is ready.”
“We’ll be right there, dear. Can you stay?”
“I can’t today.” She looked at Bill. “I usually cook for my dad and brother’s family.”
“Gregory?”
“Yes. He and his two children live across the street from Dad.”
“What about Richard?” Bill suspected Lindsay’s other brother no longer lived in Magnolia.
“He manages a hotel in Atlanta.”
“I’m sorry to hear about Gregory’s divorce.”
She snapped a dish towel and folded it somewhat violently. “It was a bad scene. She deserted them all. For a rich lawyer in Atlanta.”
“That girl was trouble from the start,” Granny said.
“What she did to those babies is criminal,” Lindsay said, her face red in anger. “I’ll go put the bread in the oven.” She left the room quickly.
Granny sighed. “Lindsay suffered terrible migraines through the whole ordeal. But Hunter and Chase have suffered the most. Not to mention poor Gregory.”
“Maybe he’ll find the right woman next time.” But how could he be sure? How could anyone be sure? “Shall we go eat?” he asked Granny, holding out his arm for her.
“I’d love to, kind sir.” She winked at him, and his heart swelled. It would be so nice to have her live with him. He’d missed her.
As Granny Bea and Bill walked into the kitchen, Lindsay flinched, thinking he would hit his head on the door frame. Luckily, the older house had taller ceilings. And it seemed he ducked out of habit even if he didn’t need to.
“How tall are you now, anyway?” she asked before she thought about it.
“Six-foot-six-and-a-half.”
“You weren’t that tall in high school.”
“No. I grew a few inches in college, and put on about fifty pounds over the years.”
She didn’t doubt it. He had been way too skinny in high school. And now he was…well…just right.
Refusing to think about how handsome he was, she set about putting the food on the table. “Y’all have a seat.”
“May I help?” he offered.
“No, it’s all ready.” In her experience, anytime a man tried to help in the kitchen, it ended in disaster.
Once she had everything on the table, Granny Bea reached for her hand. “Stay for a few minutes, dear. Sit and talk with us.”
She never could turn Granny Bea down. “Okay. For a minute.” Before she could sit in the chair next to Granny Bea, Bill jumped up and pulled it out for her.
She hesitated, then laughed. “Sorry. Growing up with two brothers makes me a little nervous when my chair is pulled out for me.”
He nodded. “Ah, the old yank-the-chair-out-from-under-you trick. I had that happen to me in school many times.”
She was sorry she had brought it up when she noticed the haunted look on his face. Kids in Magnolia had been awful to him.
He nicely pushed her chair in for her. “Thank you.” A small, gentlemanly gesture, but very nice for a woman who never had time for dating anymore.
“Can you ladies help me make a list of the repairs that need to be made around here? When I came in, I noticed the roof is in bad shape.”
Lindsay knew his interest wasn’t because he cared about the condition of the house. He was already moving on with his plan to sell it. “Nothing’s urgent. Maybe you can get the roof done on this visit and save the rest for another time.”
“The carpet in the bedrooms is shot,” Granny Bea said. “I’ve even had Lindsay take me to look at some samples, but couldn’t decide what to do.”
Granny Bea didn’t get it. She thought he was interested in helping her. Helping move her out the