Chapter 18
Nash
“I’m sorry,” I murmur in Magnolia’s ear as we step into the great entryway of Grandpa’s house a couple of hours later. After Magnolia and Grandpa got into an argument over the chess game because Magnolia won, I decided that Grandpa needed rest and Magnolia needed fresh air.
Magnolia and I went for a walk along the riverfront and talked.
For three hours. I’ve never been around someone so easy to talk to.
I’m not usually a great conversationalist, but for some reason Magnolia brings it out in me.
I was genuinely upset when my phone's alarm went off, reminding me it was time to head back to the house.
“I’ve started to dread evenings where the whole family is together. It’s a little bit like facing the wolves.”
“It can’t be that be that bad,” Magnolia says with a laugh.
“Trust me, it can,” I mutter. “My Great Aunt Catherine and her family have arrived in town. Catherine has three daughters who are older than me, and all of them are married with children. I honestly don’t remember any of their names. There’s just too many of them.”
Magnolia presses her lips together to fight a smile.
Magnolia looks beautiful tonight. Charming. How she can go from red-faced runner to gorgeous socialite boggles my mind.
“Who are they?” she whispers out the side of her mouth as she smiles at the woman who just walked into the hall, a man trailing behind her.
“More family,” is all I can get out before I’m forced to greet Mallory, my second cousin.
“It’s fantastic to see you again, coz,” Mallory says as she stops in front of me. She doesn’t seem too bad as far as the family goes.
I fight off a laugh when I see Magnolia’s skeptical look as Mallory presses herself against me and kisses my cheek. I wonder what she’s thinking. She’s not jealous of a second cousin, is she?
“Mallory. Good to see you.” I give her a quick hug and pull back, blindly reaching for Magnolia. She grasps my hand immediately. “May I introduce you to Magnolia?”
“I thought her name was Jane.”
“She goes by her middle name. I just felt like I should use her legal name when I was talking about her.”
That’s the worst lie I’ve ever come up with.
But Mallory just shrugs and shakes Magnolia’s hand. “Good luck. Everyone around here is way too uptight about everything.” She sighs heavily. “I always leave here in a bad mood.”
Then she walks away.
Magnolia turns to me. “You told me something…”
I glance at her, not sure what she’s going to bring up. “I’ve said a lot of things. You might have to be more specific than that…”
“You said that you weren’t raised like the other grandkids. What did you mean by that?”
We walk down the hall, toward the formal dining room. She doesn’t repeat the question, but she gives me a strange look.
When I pause at the door, I say, “My parents wanted a simple life. One where they worked hard and loved each other. My dad said how obsession with money was ruining his own brother and sister, and he didn’t want that for me.
We lived in a small town, and I went to public school instead of private schools and elite colleges. And you know what?”
Magnolia smiles softly at that. “What?”
“I was happy. And so were my parents. Now, Grandpa was not happy. He was upset that his son didn’t want to take over his business.
He wanted my dad to follow in his footsteps.
Instead, he met a girl from a small town, fell in love with her, and moved to the middle of nowhere.
Grandpa was furious with him. He thought he could buy them back.
He offered my mom a lot of money to convince Dad to come back to the family business. ”
Magnolia gasps, “What did she say?”
I grin at that. “She told him to shove it. She still doesn’t really like my grandpa; she tolerates him for my sake.”
Magnolia smiles slowly. “I’ve never met her, but I like her.”
“You’ll have to meet her someday.”
“I’m assuming she doesn’t come around here…”
“No, you’ll probably have to head out to her ranch. A ranch that she’s talked about letting her brother manage. I think she wants to be closer to me. And she knows I’ll end up in Pine Ridge. She says she’ll be there.”
“When are we going to tell your grandpa the truth?”
The question is jarring. And I don’t like that it makes me uncomfortable. “I guess when he’s strong enough to handle it.”
“Tonight?”
No, I want to blurt out. But instead, I say, “Let’s see how he’s doing before we say anything.”
A loud shout comes from the other side of the dining room door. “You ready to face the lion’s den?”
Magnolia holds out a hand to me. “Come on, lion tamer.”
I grasp her hand in mine and swing the door open. For the first time, I’m not dreading interacting with the family. Not with Magnolia at my side.