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Chapter 29
After a two-block slog from the subway station through the frozen, dirty slush, Brooke entered the lobby of the Granger Hotel with a sigh of relief. New York was in the middle of both a snowstorm and a sub-zero cold snap, which meant everything was covered in a layer of ice—including the air itself.
She stomped the slush off her boots and hurried toward the elevators. She’d spent the past few days meeting with Jillian Powers and various editors, going on tours of theClarityoffices, and learning the in-house computer system. She’d looked at apartments, met with property experts whom Hunter had recommended, and calculated her expenses.
She’d also been given her firstClaritystory assignment, and she’d been anxious all day to talk to Gramps about it. After returning to her room, she took out her phone to call him.
“Castle.” Her grandfather’s voice elicited a pang of homesickness. Which was silly, since she’d only been gone for a week.
“Hi, Gramps, it’s me.” Brooke took a deep breath and told him about all she’d been doing.
Then she explained herLifelong Flingproposal, which she’d pitched to Jillian with suggestions for how it could evolve into a series or a column. Jillian had loved the idea and planned to discuss its potential placement in upcoming issues with the rest of the staff.
“I want to feature the love story of you and Grandma Ruth first,” Brooke told Charlie. “I think I’m so into romances and romance novels because I grew up with your story always in my mind. It has everything—love, devotion, sacrifice, compromise. Togetherness. I know you don’t talk about it much, but would you let me write your story? Please?”
Charlie was silent for a second before he gruffly said, “Okay. For you.”
She smiled. Her heart filled. “I love you.”
“Yeah, yeah. You want to talk now or what? I got a few minutes before I need to get over to the boardwalk. Someone broke into the funnel cake booth and stole all the powdered sugar.”
Brooke frowned. “Have you checked with Mrs. Gorlick at the elementary school? Her class is doing a life-sized snow scene for their winter weather unit. But she wouldn’tstealthe sugar.”
“I’m guessing there’ll be a trail somewhere.” There was the sound of his keyboard clicking. “So what’d you want to ask me?”
“I’ll be back for the Book Fair, so we can talk in detail then.” She paused. “But how did you and Ruth get through being separated so much? You spent so much time traveling the world on assignment, and she stayed home. That can’t have been easy on either one of you.”
“No, but she was the one who held it all together, raising the kids, making a home. I couldn’t have had the career I did without her.”
“Did you ever think about quitting or starting a different career?” Brooke gazed at the floral patterned wallpaper on the other side of the room. “When it got especially tough?”
“Maybe, but Ruth wouldn’t have let me. She knew I wanted to tell people’s stories. To do what I could to tell the truth. Especially after ’Nam. She knew I was driven.”
“She knew you were brave.”
He huffed out a laugh. “Ruth was the brave one. Running toward the line of fire or going into a warzone…yeah, it takes guts…and recklessness…to head into the unknown. But Ruth…she waited. She was there. She built a life for us without always knowing if I was coming home. She had faith. It takes courage to leave, but it takes more courage to stay. You got more questions? I just got a text that the police found suspicious white fingerprints on the cotton-candy truck.”
“Follow that tip, Gramps. I’ll talk to you later.”
She ended the call and went to take a shower and change into her pajamas.
Courage to stay.
Charlie had no doubt been brave during both the war and his overseas assignments, but he’d been the one to insist he and Ruth move back to Bliss Cove after she’d been diagnosed with cancer. He’d known she’d needed to be close to her family. He’d given up his reporter career, boughtThe Gazette, and taken over the editor-in-chief position so both he and Ruth could stay.
Love in Bliss.
Maybe Brooke’s two-year escape to her hometown hadn’t been an act of cowardice and hiding after all. Maybe it had taken bravery to do what she needed for herself and her well-being.
And maybecouragewas also knowing exactly where and what would make you happy…and finding a way to get them both.
* * *
“What’s going to happen to it?”
“It’ll either go under or get taken over.”
As Brooke waited for the elevator at theClaritybuilding the following day, she caught snippets of the conversation between an executive assistant and an editor who were standing behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to greet them both and let them know she wasn’t pretending to be oblivious.
