Chapter 20
“Come on in,Craig, and have a seat.” Grandma stepped back, allowing Jo’s ex to enter. “I’ve got sweet tea and water. If you want, I can even?—”
“Sweet tea works, Mrs. Stewart.”
He’d ditched his suit once again to appear approachable and relatable. A five-digit piece of clothing was a good way to turn people off, especially people he was trying to persuade. She knew because he’d discussed his tactics ad nauseam when they were dating.
She needed to stop that. He’d apologized, and she’d agreed that the relationship was over. No, they hadn’t outright said as much, but having dinner every other week, if that, wasn’t a relationship. It was dinner with a friend. If she were honest with herself, she was relieved she found out. It’d forced her to confront what she already knew: she wasn’t in love with him any more than he was in love with her.
Their small-town relationship was a casualty of growing up, growing apart, and discovering they no longer had anything in common.
“New York hasn’t changed that, huh?”
“No ma’am.”
She grinned at Jo. “I told you he’d want sweet tea.”
Jo scowled and huffed. “Because he’s just humoring you. He hates sweet tea.” She gave him a pointed look. “If you’re starting this by—” Just because she forgave him didn’t mean she was going to let him get away with being dishonest.
He sighed, already seeming frustrated with her. “I never said I hated it. I said that I didn’t like how syrupy it was and your grandma’s tea could never be used on pancakes.”
“Fine.”
Settling back in the seat, he sipped his tea and then rested the glass on his thigh. “I guess I should just give you the details, and then if you have any questions, I’ll answer them. Does that work?”
“Sure,” her grandma took a seat across from him, sitting on the edge.
Jo would remain standing. First, she didn’t want to put him at ease. Just because she’d sort of changed her mind on the whole selling thing didn’t mean she was completely on board partly because she’d yet to discuss moving to New York with her grandma.
Craig sat up, set his glass on the coffee table, and opened his briefcase, handing her grandma a folder. “That is the deal package. My client remains anonymous. He’s well-known, good at what he does, and likes to keep his possible business deals private until he’s ready to announce them.” He nodded to the folder. “That gives the offer in detail, what the plans are for the property, and other details that are just formalities when it comes to closing costs and transfer of ownership.”
“Okay.” Grandma opened the prepared packet and whistled as she looked up at Jo. “Sweetheart…” The word rushed out.
To say she was in shock was an understatement. Jo expected a lot of zeros. She knew the property was worth a handsome sum, but that many? It was enough that Grandma could live in luxury for the rest of her life, easily.
“I told you it was more than generous.”
Her grandma looked at him. “I’d say so.”
Craig smiled. “I know this property is special, and we plan to honor that.”
As he spoke, she flipped through the pages, stopping after a few and looking up. “Tear it down?”
Jo pulled the dossier from her grandma and quickly scanned the page. “The property will be torn down. A hotel? And strip mall with—” She looked at Craig. “They’re going to tear down our family home?”
He looked at her like she was stupid. “Jo, you had to know they wouldn’t keep the house. It’s in terrible shape. Tourism is going to grow, which means more people will need lodging. It makes more sense to level the land and develop something new.”
She wasn’t sure what she expected. Maybe they would add onto the house, or maybe even keep it the way it was, and build more homes that would keep with the style of the historic home.
Shutting the dossier, she handed it back to her grandma. The information settled over her brain like a fog. They were going to destroy her home. Her mind raced as thoughts bombarded her.
The new deck, gone. Jack had spent so much time on it. Shoot, she’d spent time on it. All that sanding. She’d painted the rooms and had plans to refresh the bathroom once she was finished with the wedding. Now, everything seemed like such a waste of time and effort.
A tug-o-war began in her heart. Sadness at the loss of the home versus the excitement of maybe a new adventure for her and her grandma. That was a lot of money. Plenty of money if they didn’t think her current place was big enough. They could find something bigger, better.
Absent-mindedly, she rubbed the spot over her heart. It ached and throbbed. The memory of her mom tossing her out and speeding away flashed in her mind, but it was quickly replaced with memories of slumber parties, movie nights, and all the great times she’d had with her grandma.
In the middle of all of those were new memories. Memories of Jack. Helping him scrape the siding, paint, and measure wood. The way he smiled. The way he laughed. The way he’d look at her with that sparkle in his eye.
The way her heart skipped a beat and butterflies tickled her stomach when he was near. The way he’d kissed her…
“Craig, this is a very generous offer. I need to think about it.” Her grandma caught Jo’s gaze. “To talk to Jo about it.”
“Do you have any questions?” he asked.
“Not that I can think of at the moment.”
He stood, crossed the small distance, and touched Jo’s arm. “Jo?”
She shook her head but remained quiet.
“Okay,” he said and walked to the door, pausing. “My number is on the front. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call. I should also warn you that there’s a time limit. This offer is good for forty-eight hours, so I’ll need your answer pretty quickly.”
Jo sucked in a sharp breath. “Two days? That’s not a lot of time to think about it.”
“My client doesn’t like loose ends. If a deal will work, it will, and if it won’t, he’s moving on.” He gave her a matter-of-fact shrug. “Sorry.”
“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.
Rehearsal lunch. Wedding.
After that, maybe she’d try to make sense of all her other jumbled thoughts.