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“Okay. We’ll be in touch.”
Grandma stood. “Thank you, Craig.”
“Yes, ma’am. You all have a pleasant rest of your day.” With that, he went down the steps and got into his car.
Her grandma set the deal package down on the coffee table. “It’s one thing to sell the property, but the idea that the house could be bulldozed…”
Jo turned to her. “I think you should sell.”
“What?” The word came out in a rush. “But?—”
“I know. I was totally against it. But if you sell it, you can move to New York with me. We can keep the apartment that I have, or if you don’t like it, we can find another one. We can go on trips. I can show?—"
Her grandma laid her hand on her arm. “Jo, sweetheart, I’m not going to move to New York. Wishing Well is my home. I could never leave it.”
“Sure, you could. Think of it as an adventure. With me. I could take care of you, and we could spend time together.”
“You’re going to be traveling for work. When would you have time for an old woman?”
“You’re not old. And you could travel with me. It’ll be great, Grandma. Just you and me and the whole world just waiting to be explored.” Couldn’t her grandma see how great this was? Moving to New York solved all their problems.
Shaking her head, she smiled sweetly. “No, Jo. That’s not how I want to spend the years I have left. I have friends here, people I love. My knitting club. Church.” She took Jo’s hands in hers. “You talk about me moving to New York, but all my good memories are here, Jo.” Her lips turned down, and sadness seemed to settle on her. “What I can’t understand is what happened to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you hated Wishing Well when your mom first dropped you here. I would have felt the same way, but we started making good memories. You were talking about attending college here in Texas, returning to Wishing Well, and helping me turn this place into a bed and breakfast. What did you say?” She looked away momentarily as if trying to recall the exact words. “You were going to use your love of photography and the beauty of this area to bring this place back to life. Then…then one day, you started talking about how much you hated it here. It was too small. Too country. Too stifling. You couldn’t stretch your wings here.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that, and you were getting out of here and never looking back.”
“I…” Her breathing quickened. “That…” She wanted to say it wasn’t true, but she couldn’t.
“You left. You’d visit. One night, maybe two at the max, and then you were gone almost as fast as you got here.” Her grandma’s eyes grew misty. “Maybe if I sell this house and move somewhere else, maybe whatever made you hate this place will be gone, and you’ll visit more, maybe stay longer. Maybe you’ll remember that you didn’t hate it. That you don’t hate me.”
Jo blinked back tears. “Grandma.” The word came out breathlessly. “I don’t hate you. I could never, never hate you. I don’t hate this house either. If I ever made you feel that way, I’m sorry. I never in a million years wanted to make you feel that way. I love you.” She looked around the room. “And I don’t hate this place. It’s just—” She struggled to form a counterargument, so the sentence died on her tongue.
Her head leaned to the left as her shoulders rounded. “I see it in your eyes, you know?”
“See what?”
“You’ve fallen for Jack.”
She went to shake her head. “No?—”
Holding her hand up, she closed her eyes as she turned her head. “Stop.” She returned her gaze to Jo’s. “You can’t fool me, Josephine Stewart. I know what I see. He feels the same way about you.”
This was a subject she didn’t—wouldn’t and couldn’t—have time to talk about. “I really. I just. I—” She stumbled to find the right words. “I have a rehearsal lunch that I’m going to be late for.”
“I know, but before you go, I have one question for you that I want you to really consider.”
Jo stared at her, unsure whether she wanted to hear it. “Okay.”
“Ask yourself if there will be another man like Jack Turner? Are you willing to let your past rob you of a future that could be the things dreams are made of? Take some time and think about that. Be honest with yourself.”
Her grandma turned, walked to the stairs, and took a step up. “I love you, my sweet Jo. I want good things for you, but I’ve kept my mouth shut for far too long. Stop running. Let yourself hurt. Let yourself grieve that relationship with your mom, and then let it all go so you can finally have the happiness that you deserve.”
Jo gaped after her grandma.
A tornado of thoughts ripped through her mind. The house. Jack. Her mom. The town. Craig.
She held her head in her hands and pinched her lips together, shutting it all down.
