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That made her think of the night she and Michael sang karaoke and then laughed until dawn in Charleston.
Her chest tightened.
There was a thick feeling in the air as they walked down the steps. Though the sun was beating down, there were dark clouds in the distance, and the thought of a storm coming almost felt like a relief. Everybody was milling about in the lawn in front of the church, talking like they hadn’t just seen each other atChairstwo days ago, or at church the previous week.
It always amazed her how much the townsfolk of Hartson’s Creek had to say.
“Grace.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his voice. She took a deep breath and looked up at him. “Michael.”
“How are you?”
“I’m fine.” She kept her voice icily polite. “And you?”
“I heard about your accident. I tried to call.”
“I saw.” She wasn’t going to lie. Not to him.
“Why didn’t you pick up?”
“Because I didn’t want to talk to you,” she told him. He winced at her words and it felt almost satisfying.
“I just needed to know you were okay.”
Was he being serious right now? Her eyes widened because yes, he looked deadly serious.
“You lost the right to know that,” she told him. “Or anything about me.”
“Don’t be childish,” he said. “I still care about you.”
He was calling her childish? Seriously? She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
Luckily the anger washed over her. “You think I’m behaving like a child?” she asked him, her voice low. She looked over to see Presley watching them, and he inclined his head as though he were asking if she needed help.
She shook her head. She was a big girl, even if Michael called her otherwise. She could eat him for breakfast if she wanted.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Michael told her. “I just wanted to check on you.”
“That’s funny, because that’s how it sounded. And it’s weird, too,” she told him. “Because I’m not the one running away like a scared little boy. Not the one who walked away at the first sign of trouble. If anybody’s acting like a kid around here, Michael, it’s you.”
He winced again.Good. She wasn’t here to make things easy for him. Sure, she cared about him. Okay, she was still stupidly in love with him. But he was the one who caused this devastation, so he had nobody to blame but himself.
“Can’t we be friends?” he asked.
She shook her head. Part of her wanted to say yes. To cling on to anything he offered. To fill the hole he’d created by walking away. But she was too proud for that, even if she wanted to cry right now. “I have a lot of friends. I’m selective about them.” She took a deep breath. “In fact, we’re heading to the diner now.” And I really hope you’re not coming. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
She didn’t wait for an answer. Just turned and walked over to where Presley and Marley were standing with Delilah. And with her back to Michael, she finally let out a breath.
“All right?” Marley murmured, out of Delilah’s earshot.
“No.” Grace tried to stem the tears that were threatening to flow. “Can we get out of here?”
“Sure.” Marley flung his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “Want me to beat him up?”
“No. I just want to forget he exists.”
Marley chuckled. “I can’t help you with that, but I can buy you your body weight in pancakes and syrup.”
