Chapter 6
CHAPTER
SIX
BOBBY
Now
If there was one thing Lucille wouldn’t abide, it was breakfast being late.
When I woke up the next morning to discover Granger Kelley still asleep in my bed beside me, I would have liked nothing more than to stay there and relish it, but I could already hear soft hissing at my bedroom door.
If there was another thing Lucille wouldn’t abide, it was being locked out of my bedroom at night.
And I knew better than to compound that crime I’d already committed with a late breakfast, so I rolled out of bed, pulled on my underwear, and went and began my day.
I headed down the stairs, Lucille complaining behind me all the way, then opened the kitchen door and went out into the yard.
Dawn in Goose Run was a thing of beauty.
I loved the way the light slowly stole across the sky in shades of pink and orange before the colors were swallowed up by the daylight.
The breeze was a little brisk, since I was only wearing underwear, but doing the rounds of the Adventurama, cleaning out the stalls and filling up the food troughs, soon warmed me up.
Lucille followed along behind me, inspecting her empire, and finally we ended up on the porch again.
I dug out a scoop of pellets from the container by the back door and scattered them over the porch rail and onto the grass for her.
Leaving her outside, I went back in and put on a pot of coffee.
I hoped Granger liked it strong and black because that was the only way I knew how to make it.
I was no barista like Chase, and for a moment I wondered if I ought to head to Gobble de Goose to get one of his fancy coffees, but then I thought of Granger, asleep in my bed upstairs, and decided to stick around the house instead.
Some things were better than barista coffee.
I made my way upstairs with two mugs, and when I reached my bedroom doorway, I took a minute to soak up the view. Granger was still asleep, lying on his front with the sheets rucked up around his hips, his silver hair messy and his expression more relaxed than I could ever remember seeing it.
I set the coffee mugs down on the bedside table and slipped back into bed beside him. His eyes fluttered open at the movement, and he blinked a couple of times. I searched his expression for any signs of regret, but he just gave me a lazy grin and said, “Hey.”
Then he propped himself up on his elbows and leaned toward me and kissed me, and I was gone on him so bad that I didn’t even give a damn about his morning breath.
When we parted I said, “Mornin’. I made you coffee.”
Granger’s eyes lit up, and he sat up and reached for his mug. He took a sip, then spluttered around it, laughing. “Jesus, Bobby. What is this, rocket fuel?”
I laughed along with him.
“I forgot you have terrible taste in coffee.”
“That’s some bullshit,” I said. I nudged him with my knee. “Forget anything else about me?”
He scratched his cheek, his morning stubble rasping against his fingers. “Forgot that you’re a fucking early bird.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “Day’s half gone already. Besides, you’ve gotta be back in Richmond, probably.”
“Shit.” He blinked. “It’s Monday.”
“Sure is. And a busy attorney like yourself, I’m sure you’ve got important work to do.” If I sounded sarcastic, it was because I was.
Granger set his mug on the bedside table and reached over to grab his pants. He dug through the pockets and pulled out his phone. “Let me message my assistant and let him know to reschedule everything.” He blinked at his screen for a moment. “Shit. Miranda and Emily probably have classes.”
I snorted and said, “Because you never skipped a class when you were at Lassiter, right?” knowing full well we both had—him more than me, but we’d spent more than one afternoon fooling around instead of studying. That old library building had plenty of nooks and crannies, if you knew where to look.
“It’s not the skipping classes I’m worried about,” Granger said, tapping furiously at his screen. “It’s the fact that if they decided to not skip classes, they’ve headed back to Hopewell in my car.”
I could have said something about him finding out how it felt to be left stranded in Goose Run, but I kept my lips zipped because I hoped we’d moved past all that—or were moving past it, at least. Instead I said, “It’s early. They won’t have left yet. And if they have, I can drive you back.”
He set his phone aside. “You’re probably right.”
“I’m right most of the time,” I said. “Ask anyone.”
“Don’t have to,” he said, giving me a thoughtful look. “I know you are.” He took a sip of his coffee and added, “You always were.”
Well, shit. What the hell was a man supposed to do with a statement like that? Apart from getting a head so big he’d have to buy a new hat.
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” I said.
His gaze locked with mine. “Will it get me a second chance?”
I’d always told myself I was over Granger Kelley, so why was my first impulse to say that he could have anything he wanted, if it meant I could have him?
But the scars on my heart made me cautious. “Well now, that depends if anything’s changed,” I said, “because this is who I am, and I don’t intend to hide it. Or hide who I’m with.”
Granger’s gaze held mine unflinchingly. “I see that. And, if you’ll have me, I’ll be proud to tell the world that you’re my…
” He hesitated, and then his serious expression cracked with a self-deprecating smile.
“I feel way too old to say I have a boyfriend. Partner, though? I’d love to have one of those, so long as he’s you. ”
I reckoned that hat was going to have to be two sizes larger, actually.
“Course you’d be proud,” I said. “You’re dating the mayor of an entire town. Not bad for a man of your advanced years.”
“Fuck off,” Granger said, laughing. “I’m six months younger than you!” When his laughter faded, the smile remained, soft and hopeful. “So, that’s a yes?”
There was a lot of water under the bridge after twenty-five years.
Lot of bullshit still floating down from upstream too, probably.
Granger’s father might be dead, and good luck dealing with him, Satan, but the rest of his family wasn’t exactly a cakewalk either, from what I remembered.
At least it seemed like Miranda was the exception.
And there were logistics as well. He lived a couple hours away, and with a job like his, were even his weekends ever really free?
And I didn’t trust that one single visit to Goose Run, however amazing the town and its fantastic and humble mayor were, could make everything right between us.
But the thing about Granger Kelley, the thing that had always gotten me, was that he was worth a few headaches, and maybe even some heartache.
And if he was willing to try, then why the hell shouldn’t I be willing to do the same?
Not because I owed it to him, but because maybe I owed it to me too.
A chance at happiness didn’t come along every day. I’d be a fool not to reach for it.
“I reckon we can make it work,” I said, “just so long as we’re in it together this time.”
It wasn’t the biggest romantic declaration in the world, but it was honest, and Granger knew it. His eyes shone with tears a Kelley would never let fall, and his smile grew.
“Holy shit, Bobby,” he said. “Holy shit.”
Which also wasn’t the biggest romantic declaration in the world, but I knew exactly how he felt.
It was like winning the lottery all over again.
“Bad news, Granger,” I said when he gave me the look as I lifted Lucille into the cab of the truck. “You’re sitting in her seat.”
“Do you have to bring the goose everywhere?” he asked, shuffling along the bench seat as far as he could.
I slammed the door then jogged around to my side, hauling myself into the driver’s seat. Granger was practically sitting in my lap, which I didn’t hate. “Sure do. She gets cranky otherwise.”
“She’s cranky now,” he muttered, and she hissed at him.
“Don’t be silly. She’s a peach, ain’t you, Lucille?”
Lucille bit him.
“That was just a love tap,” I let him know.
He tucked his hands protectively under his armpits and pressed even closer to me. Which I also didn’t hate.
“I hope you have someone who can take care of all your animals when you come see me in Richmond,” he said, “because there’s no way in hell you’re bringing that goose.”
I laughed. “That’s your deal-breaker?”
“My building has a strict no animals policy,” he said with a wry smile.
“And you call yourself a lawyer,” I said. “Have you even taken them to court about it?”
“It might be a policy I agree with,” he said, wincing as Lucille hissed. “For geese, at least.”
“Well, maybe you’ll just have to come visit me most times then.” I glanced at him as we headed for Main Street. “If you wanted.”
“You really love it here, huh?” He looked out the window as we turned onto Main Street.
There wasn’t much left of Goose Pride. The vendors had all packed up last night, and this morning the storefronts were slowly being transformed back into their regular selves.
Except Gobble de Goose, which still had rainbow bunting in the windows and probably would until it disintegrated.
Not because Chase was making a political statement, probably, but more likely because he was engaged in a vicious power struggle with Lee over whose job it was to remove it.
Damned if some people could figure out how those boys worked as a couple, but you only had to look at them to see they did.
Those same people would probably look at Granger and me sideways too.
“I really do,” I said. I waved at Joe and Mike, the two guys sweeping the sidewalk clean after the festivities, and we turned onto the road that headed out of town. “Come and visit often enough and you’ll fall for it too.”
“It does have some unique attractions,” he agreed, nudging me gently. I smiled, knowing he wasn’t talking about the Adventurama.