Page 88

Graham appeared in the doorway, his expression serious but not panicked. Behind him, I could see Hart, Simon, Brent, and Roan waiting in the parlor.

“What did you decide?” I asked.

“That depends. Are you ready to hear it?”

I straightened my shoulders and met his gaze. “I'm ready.”

The uncertainty in his eyes told me everything I needed to know. Whatever plan they'd come up with, my quiet life was about to completely change.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The ladies didn’t seem to have any problem when I dropped in on their late luncheon. Her great-aunt Pattie even called me sweetie, same as Miss Laverne, so I thought it might not be as bad as I’d been worrying about. But after Joy started telling them about what happened in London, it all fell to shit.

I was sitting down next to Joy at the table, holding her trembling hand under the table. The silence stretched endlessly, thick with the weight of everything she'd just revealed. Her mother's face crumpled, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Oh, honey.” Her mother's voice broke. “Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you call home?”

She let go of my hand and rushed around the table, kneeling at her mother’s chair. I could see the guilt Joy had carried for the last four years crash over her like a wave.

“I couldn't, Mama. It was a lot of things. I was really mixed up when I woke up in the hospital. By the time I was thinking straight, it was over, and there was nothing you could do. And after I hadn’t called you in the beginning, it just snowballed, so I felt like I could never tell you, you know?”

Her Aunt Lettie leaned over from her chair and wrapped an arm around Joy's mother's shoulders, her own eyes wet.

“Shh, Sarah. She's here now. She's safe.”

“Mama, please stop crying,” Joy begged.

I watched as Sarah began to caress Joy’s hair as she tried to stem her tide of tears.

I could see Joy’s shoulders shaking, and it was killing me.

“I’ve got her,” Lettie said. “Go back to Graham.” I shot up off my chair and gently guided Joy back to her seat, settling my hand on Joy's back, trying to offer what comfort I could. My fingers traced gentle circles through her shirt, the same way I'd done when she'd first told me her story.

“I'm sorry.” Joy wiped her nose with the back of her hand. I leaned over the kitchen table, grabbed a paper napkin, and handed it to her. She grabbed it gratefully and wiped her nose.

“Did we do something wrong? Is that it?” Sarah asked.

“No, Mom. Never that. It’s just you couldn't have done anything from Tennessee.” Joy's voice was barely a whisper. “It would have just made all of you worry sick for nothing. And…”

“And?” Little Grandma leaned forward, her small hand reaching out to touch Joy’s, her silver hair catching the light. Even at one hundred and two, her blue eyes sparkled with intelligence that reminded me of Joy.

“And part of me felt like a failure. You know?” Joy whispered.

My chest tightened at the pain in her voice. Christ, she'd been carrying that burden alone all this time.

“Now, now. What's done is done.” Little Grandma's voice carried the authority of someone who'd lived through the Depression and raised five sons. “Our Joy girl is home safe, and that's what matters.”

Great Aunt Pattie nodded emphatically beside her mother.

“Always listen to Mama,” Pattie said with a watery smile. “She's never been wrong yet.”

Little Grandma's gaze shifted to me, and I felt like I was under a microscope. Her eyes lit up with curiosity that made me want to squirm.

“What I’m interested in is how you and Graham met. I’ve known Graham for a little bit now, but seeing as how you two are an item, I want to know more.”

I felt Joy's tension increase under my hand.

“Graham is a good friend of Miss Laverne’s. I met him when he was delivering groceries to her. Lately he’s been taking care of me.”