Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Grayson
By the next morning, I’d gone over the entire ten-minute interaction with Harper at least a thousand times. Each time I replayed it in my mind, I found at least one new thing I should have done or said differently, until I might as well have rewritten the whole exchange.
Well, almost.
I wouldn’t have changed the way I held her in my arms. The feel of her after so many years was the best kind of memory coming back to life. The way her eyes met mine, unguarded and full of surprise, just for a moment before softening into recognition.
I wouldn’t have changed any of that.
It was what I didn’t say that I wish I could’ve changed.
Like, “It’s good to see you.” Or “You look amazing.” Or “I’ve missed you.” Or…well, a million other things.
I’d replayed all the things I should have said to her. All the things I’d thought about a hundred times over the years. But when the moment arrived, not one of them made it past my lips.
I wanted a do-over.
That wasn’t going to happen. Maybe instead of a do-over, I’d have to settle for inviting Harper for a drink.
No.
Definitely not a drink. That was too much. I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea.
Or any idea.
Coffee.
Coffee was safe.
Simple. Innocent. Just two old friends catching up. There wasn’t any reason we couldn’t be friends after all this time. Besides, if I didn’t do something, the alternative was to keep avoiding her like a coward.
I was restocking drill bits when Ben, my assistant manager, leaned around the end of the aisle with a clipboard. “We’ve got a problem. Carly just called. She’s out sick today, and if we don’t find someone to cover, we’re going to be short-handed.”
I took the clipboard from him and scanned the schedule. “Call Tyler. He wanted some extra hours. If he can’t do it, I’ll watch the front counter for a few hours.”
“Don’t you have inventory paperwork?” Ben shook his head.
“I’ll do it after close if need be.” It wouldn’t be the first time.
Before he could argue, my phone buzzed.
I pulled it from my pocket and handed the clipboard back to Ben. “It’s the boss. I’ve got to take this.” I moved away from the box of drill bits. “Morning, Ollie.”
“Grayson.” The older man’s voice boomed through the line the same way it had since I’d started working for him in high school. “I got those reports you sent over last night. The numbers look good.”
“Glad to hear it. Business has been good and—”
“You’ve done a good job over there, son.”
I beamed and straightened my shoulders. It’s not that I needed the praise; I knew I’d done a good job with the store since taking over as manager.
I’d brought in new products, offered more services, and streamlined ordering and staffing so that Ollie had been able to take bigger and bigger steps into his retirement.
At times, it was hard for me to remember that I didn’t own the store outright already.
Hopefully, that would change soon. It wasn’t something I’d been ready to talk to my brothers about. Not yet. I wanted to be sure I could do it. But after running the reports for Ollie, I’d run some numbers of my own. And to my surprise, they actually looked good. It was doable.
At least I hoped it was.
“Thank you, Ollie,” I said. “I was hoping we could talk about the reports in a bit more detail, as well as the future of the store and where you—”
“Can’t right now,” he interrupted. “I’m just headed out of town. But I’ll be back next week. We’ll talk then.”
“Right. It’s just that I wanted to talk to you about—”
“Gotta run, Grayson.” And just like that, the line went dead.
I stared at the phone for a moment before sliding it back into my pocket with a shake of my head.
That had been my opening, and he’d shut it down before I could even get the words out.
But I knew Ollie well enough to know that he wanted the best for the store.
Once I got the chance to discuss my plan with him, he’d see it was the right thing.
He’d never asked me for the types of detailed reports I’d run the night before. And that could only mean one thing…he was getting ready to sell it. And after seeing the numbers in black and white for myself, I planned to be the buyer.
It was the first time I’d ever let myself believe it could happen. But it finally seemed like the right time.
“Hey, Grayson?” Ben’s voice called from the front of the store. “You off the phone?”
The problems never ended. With a shake of my head, I headed to the front of the store, and when I saw who was waiting for me, immediately wished I hadn’t.
“Morning, Tilley.” I pasted a smile on my face.
She stood just inside the door, bundled as always in her red scarf and matching lipstick, her ever-present clipboard tucked under her arm.
“Well, if it isn’t the busiest person in Trickle Creek.” Her voice carried a mix of cheer and purpose that usually meant she was about to add something else to my already way too long to-do list.
“I don’t know about that,” I told her. “But I do have a few things on the go. What can I help you with today? All the lights are up and ready. The tree is wired and ready to flip the switch. Unless you ordered some last-minute—”
“Oh no.” She cut me off. “It’s nothing urgent. I was just passing by and I thought I’d pop in to say hi.”
I narrowed my eyes and tilted my head, but I didn’t have to wait long for the real reason Tilley had stopped by.
“I heard you were over at Willa’s Whisk yesterday.”
Ben tried and failed to swallow his chuckle from his position behind the desk.
I worked hard to keep my expression neutral. “Harper needed a hand with the decorations.”
“I heard.” Tilley’s smile curved up in that knowing way that made me wish I were buried in inventory at the moment. “Well, I’m sure she appreciated the help. And I must say, Grayson, it’s nice to see the two of you together again.”
“We’re not—”
“People like seeing familiar faces together again this time of year,” Tilley continued, as if I hadn’t spoken at all. “It gives them hope.”
Hope?
“Especially Willa,” Tilley continued. “I’m sure it does her old heart good to see her granddaughter happy again.”
My head spun. Happy? Again?
It had only been a ten-minute interaction. I was sure I wasn’t responsible for any strong emotions of any kind in such a short time.
Before I could respond, she patted my arms like she’d just passed on a vital community update, turned and headed back out into the cold.
I waited a beat after she left before shaking my head and turning around. A smirk tugged at Ben’s lips.
“Don’t start.” I held up a finger. “If you need me, I’ll be finishing up with those drill bits.” I turned to go. “Oh, and Ben? Don’t need me.”
Harper
“We need to talk, Harper.”
Grandma’s voice was calm, but there was a weight to it that stopped me. We were upstairs above the restaurant, in the little apartment I’d grown up in. It wasn’t much more than two tiny bedrooms, a small kitchen, and an only slightly bigger living room.
When I was young, I longed for an actual house with a yard like my friends had, but coming home after all those years away, the cozy familiarity of our little apartment was perfect.
Grandma sat at the table, her hands crossed in front of her. She stared at me, unblinking, with the kind of look that had me spilling the truth on whatever I’d been trying to hide from her, more times than I could count.
“About what?” I tried for casual.
“About you.” Her gaze softened when I shook my head. “Yes,” she insisted. “We need to talk about you, Harper, and how good it is to see you back home in the kitchen again after all these years.”
“You know I love cooking, Grandma. I got that from you.”
She smiled. “I’ve been hearing good things about the changes you’ve made to the menu. The specials you’re creating are getting people talking. In a good way. And that’s not an easy thing to do in a town like this.”
I laughed, and the warm glow of pride spread in my chest. “I’m just trying out a few of my favorites from years in the charter business.”
“Well, they’re going to turn into favorites here, too,” Grandma said. “It makes me very happy to see you here. Happier than you probably realize.” She reached for her glass of water, but set it back down without drinking. “You know…I’m not going to be around forever, Harper.”
The words landed hard in my chest. Logically, I knew that was true.
Grandma was getting older, and this latest health thing or whatever it was seemed serious.
Even if she was too stubborn to tell me the slightest detail about what was going on.
Still, I’d been doing a good job keeping my head in the sand about the reality of an aging grandparent.
I swallowed hard, but before I could respond, she added, “Word around town is that you and Grayson Lyons looked pretty cozy yesterday in the plaza.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Word around town? Or just what you think you saw, Grandma?”
“Oh, I know what I saw.” She wiggled her eyebrows and lifted the glass to her mouth.
“And what exactly did you see?”
She took her time before placing the glass in front of her once more. “I saw the two of you fitting together just as you always have. Just like no time had passed at all.”
I opened my mouth, but she cut me off before I could explain what had actually happened.
“You know, I think he probably likes having you around, too.”
My pulse sped up. I thought about the text message I’d received earlier.
It was great to see you. How about a coffee to catch up?
I didn’t even know Grayson still had my number. Of course, he was still saved in my phone…
“He…asked me out for a coffee tomorrow.”
Her smile widened, and it felt like the sun coming out after a month of grey days.
“A date?”
I hesitated, the smart answer, the real answer, on the tip of my tongue—that it was just coffee.
Two old friends catching up on time gone by, and that it didn’t mean anything.
Instead, seeing the hope on her face, the joy that the mere idea of me being back together with Grayson had brought her so easily, something entirely different tumbled out.
“Yes,” I lied. “In fact, we’re going to see where things stand between us. ”
The words hung there, surprising me as much as they seemed to delight her.
Grandma’s eyes lit up in a way I hadn’t seen in years. Bright and full of hope. “Oh, Harper. I knew it.”
“You knew it?”
She nodded. “I always knew things weren’t finished between the two of you. A love like the one you two shared…well, it doesn’t just fade away to nothing.”
My breath caught in my chest.
She leaned forward, her fingers curling around mine. “This makes me so happy, sweetheart. You have no idea.”
I tried to smile, ignoring the prick of guilt beneath my ribs. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself. It’s just…”
But she wasn’t letting me hedge. “The two of you…” She blew out a breath and nodded.
“Sometimes these things take time to come back around, but I’m so happy it’s finally happening.
” She squeezed my hand a little. “Because the one thing I know for sure is that time is precious. We don’t have as much of it as we think, Harper. ”
There was more behind her words. My heart squeezed so tight my chest ached.
“Grandma, I…”
“All I’ve ever wanted is to see you happy, Harper,” she said softly, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. “To be loved by someone who sees you for everything you are. I can rest easy knowing that it might finally be happening for you.”
“Grandma,” I tried again, but the words I needed to say caught in my throat. “I—”
She gave my hand one more squeeze and let go. “No need to say anything. That’s all I need.”
Later, alone in the restaurant kitchen, I tried to lose myself in the mixing and measuring of the quiche that would be the dinner special, but I couldn’t focus. My mind kept replaying the whole conversation.
The big, bold lie I’d just told the most important person in my life.
But I knew why I’d done it. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for the woman who’d given up her entire life to raise me. She’d loved me and supported every single decision I’d ever made. She’d given me the space and encouragement I’d needed to truly follow my dreams.
The least I could do was make her dream come true, too.
Especially if she didn’t have long.
She’d yet to tell me the details, but I could see it in the way she moved. The little things she said, and the things she didn’t.
Would this be her last Christmas?
I couldn’t bear the thought.
Yes. I’d do anything for her.
Even if it meant letting her believe something I wasn’t sure could ever be true.