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Grandma Anne must be a mind reader, because as soon as I walk in the house she calls out, “Livie, what’s wrong? Get your butt in here.” How could she tell?
I plop down on the seat beside her and rest my head against her shoulder.
“There there, Livie. Tell me what happened.” She pats my arm lovingly.
“Oh, it’s nothing grandma. Just boy trouble.”
“That’s not nothing, honey. If you don’t want to talk about it right now, that’s fine.” She pulls the blanket off her lap and stands. “Look, my arm feels so much better. Why don’t I go into the kitchen and put the kettle on? Let’s have some tea and then maybe you’ll feel like talking.” She walks off before I can respond.
Just then there’s a knock at the door. I take a deep sigh, but don’t move.
“Livie, I think I heard the door!” Grandma calls.
“You did, but I’m not answering!” I call back.
There’s another knock, this time louder. “Livie, please get the door!”
I huff, but stand. “Fine, Grandma Anne!”
Opening the door, I’m not surprised to see Archer standing there.
“Livie, I’m so sorry. Elise told us what happened. But that wasn’t all of it.” I raise my hand and stop him before he can continue.
“Archer, we’ve had a nice time. But I don’t think I’m up for the kind of fun you think I am. Please leave.”
“No! Livie, you don’t understand. I’m trying to tell you that-”
“NO, Archer. I don’t want to hear it. Please leave me alone.” I start to shut the door, just as I hear a crashing sound in the kitchen. “Grandma Anne!”
I spin and run to the kitchen, not caring that Archer is right behind me. I freeze at the sight of my grandma on the floor, a broken teacup beside her. She’s not moving and her eyes are closed.
“Granda Anne, no! Please be okay!”
Archer gets to her first. “She has a pulse and she’s breathing. We shouldn’t move her.” I fall to my knees beside her and take her hand. “Grandma Anne, please be okay. Please don’t leave me!”
Her eyes flutter and open. Then she looks at Archer and WINKS at him before smiling at me.
“Grandma Anne! What did you do?”
She laughs. My grandmother LAUGHS at me before sitting up. “Just helped get the young man in the door, honey. Hear him out.” She takes Archer’s hand as he helps her up. “You owe me one, cowboy.”
“Yes ma’am.” He starts to laugh as she steps OVER me and heads down the hallway. “Livie, be a dear and clean that up please.”
I’ve never been so relieved and so mad at the same time. How could my own grandmother scare me like that?! Before I move to get up, Archer has grabbed some paper towels and is cleaning up the water my grandmother must have purposefully spilled on the floor to make it look like she slipped and fell.
He’s laughing so hard I can’t stay mad. “I mean, how did she even get down on the floor that fast?”
I want to stay mad. I want to stay mad at both of them. But I just can’t. I look up at him and start to cackle. It feels so good to laugh. Archer sits down beside me, and takes my hand.
“Livie, please let me explain. If you had kept listening, you would have heard Rhett make fun of me for not knowing what I wanted, and then hear him laugh at me when I came to the realization that YOU are what I want. You are the only woman I’ve ever considered having a future with. And I can’t imagine my life without you in it. You’re it for me, Livie. Please believe me. And please forgive me for needing him to make me see it.”
Chapter 8
Archer
Please let her believe. Please let her forgive me and understand how I feel. And please let her feel the same way.
Livie looks up at me with those beautiful eyes of hers, eyes that are red because of something I said. It breaks my heart to see how much I hurt her. But then she reaches out and touches my face, cradling it with her hand. I lean into her touch, pressing her cold fingers against my cheek before turning and kissing her palm.
