Page 6 of Long Story Short

FOUR

JOSIE

“So when are you going to tell me what’s got you in such a mood?” my grandfather asks me, his stare pinned on me from across the dinner table.

I try to hide the shock on my face, but by the way his lips turn into a smirk, I know he saw my reaction to his question. “Me? In a mood? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I can’t help but let my own lips break into a smile.

He lets out a small huff and waves his hand through the air. “You’re in a mood, and if you keep making me guess why you’re acting like this instead of just telling me, I’m also going to be in a mood.”

I smile and shake my head at him. Pop is the only family I have left. After my parents suddenly passed away in a car accident when I was five, my grandparents took me in and raised me. While I have some memories of my parents, most of my memories consist of only Nan and Pop. They’re really the only family I’ve ever known. When Nan passed away last year, it hit both Pop and me really hard.

Although I wasn’t planning on telling him about my shitty day, Pop knows me better than anyone. I should’ve known he would see right through me. I’m actually shocked he made it halfway through dinner before calling me out on it.

“We wouldn’t want to put you in a mood, now would we?” I tease, setting my fork down and sitting back in my chair.

I smile at Heather, one of the staff members who has worked for my grandparents at their home for as long as I can remember, as she refills the empty crystal glass in front of me with water.

“No. Now, spill, Josephine. I’m not getting any younger here.”

I frown for a moment because I don’t want to imagine Pop getting older. One day, he’ll leave this world, and I can’t even wrap my head around going on without him when we already lost Nan last year. “I turned my book in,” I begin, letting out a deep breath.

His eyebrows bunch together on his forehead. “I thought that’s a good thing?”

I smile despite the gruffness in his tone. That’s just Pop. “It should’ve been a good thing, but it turns out, my book sucks.”

He scoffs. “Says who? You’re the most talented author I know.”

“Pop, you haven’t even read my books.”

“Because you said I’m not allowed to.”

I can’t help but laugh and shake my head. “Because you aren’t allowed to. They’re romance books with romance things, and I don’t think I’d ever be able to do family dinners with you if I knew you read those scenes.”

“I know what lovemaking is, Josephine,” he tosses out before stabbing a bite of steak and popping it into his mouth.

My entire face feels hot as his words settle in. I close my eyes for a moment, trying to pretend I didn’t just hear my grandfather use the word “lovemaking.”

“Anyway,” I begin, my eyes still squeezed shut as I desperately try to change the subject. “They want me to rewrite the book because they feel like it needs more. I thought I was good to go to edits and the heavy lifting of drafting a manuscript was done, but it turns out, I’m right back in it.”

“So you’re in a mood because you have to redo the book?”

I nod before taking a drink of my water. I stare at the crystal glass, remembering the countless times my grandmother told me about how she received this set as a wedding gift and how much she still treasured it decades later. “Yep. I’ve got just over a month, and I don’t know how I’m going to pull it off, Pop.” My words get quieter toward the end, once the stress catches up with me once again. I’m not a fast writer, and I already feel like I’m spent just by trying to make my first deadline. Now, with another one so close, it’s daunting. I truly don’t know how I’m going to pull it off, but I also realize I don’t have any other choice.

“You’re my granddaughter—my blood—and the one thing about this family is we’re always going to find a way.”

I nod because he’s right. Even though I grew up spoiled by my grandparents, I was still taught that no matter how wealthy our family may be, I still had to work hard for what I wanted. My entire life, I heard stories of the hard work and grit it took for my grandfather to grow a small retail store out of New Jersey into one of the biggest chains in the world. He’s got more money than most people dream of, but even to this day, he remains humble and dedicated to his work.

My heart swells with love for the man across from me. Because of the loss of my mother, I’m the only remaining heir to the retail empire he’s created. Whenever he goes—something I never want to think of—it all goes to me. He could’ve pushed me into the family business or made me feel bad for my dream of becoming an author, but he didn’t do either. He’s always supported me. When I told him I wanted to write romance novels instead of studying business, he told me he had people he trusted to run it but that I’d still get to be as involved as I wanted, and that everything under his estate would still go to me. He and Nan were always my biggest cheerleaders, and I really am grateful for everything they instilled in me—including the stubbornness to keep going, even when things feel like too much.

“I know I’ll figure it out. It’s just stressful,” I confess. “I really wasn’t expecting them to come back and say the entire thing needed to be redone.”

“I believe in you,” he confidently responds right away.

My eyes sting at his words. I didn’t realize how badly I needed to hear that someone believed in me until he said it. The meeting earlier today felt like no one actually believed in me getting it done. Maybe all I needed was for someone to actually say the words out loud.

I give him a smile, hopefully showing how much I love him and how appreciative I am to have him in my corner. He’s my entire life, and I don’t know what I’d do without him. I came to this dinner feeling discouraged but knowing that if someone as incredible as Pop can believe in me…maybe I actually can pull this off. “Thanks, Pop. I needed that.”

He presses his lips together, and they tilt up just slightly. For Pop, it’s a smile, and the sight makes mine get even wider. A smile is hard to earn from Pop, although Nan always used to tell me that it was easier for me to make Pop smile than it was for others to get him to do it.