Page 64 of Stuck with Me

“Did you know this box was here?”

“If I had, do you think I’d be asking what it is?” I snap.

He sighs before finally relenting and holding a stack of envelopes out to me.

“Just…just keep an open mind,” he says softly.

I accept the stack, and my stomach churns. The envelopes feel heavy in my hands. I scan the addresses and names and try to take in a deep breath, but my chest is tight. These appear to be letters to Gigi from Leo, and some are addressed to Leo from Gigi.

My eyes sting as tears build in the corners. I’m not even sure why. Maybe because besides the carved initials on the porch swing, this is the first concrete evidence that Gigi and Nico’s grandfather had a real relationship.

I shuffle toward the couch and sit down slowly while I admire the envelopes in my lap. Some of them are thinner and yellowing. Some more crinkled.

“I…I’ve never seen these before,” I admit, my voice shaky.

“You said you always play games when you come. And you’ve never seen the box up there on the shelf?”

I shake my head without looking up at Nico. I’m too focused on the envelopes laying on my lap. “I wonder how long they’ve been up there, within reach?”

“To be fair, I doubt it was within your reach,” Nico teases while he strolls over to the couch and sits down, leaving a good foot in between us.

I turn and look at him now, narrowing my eyes at him. “So funny. It’s just like you to make a joke right now.”

It’s not lost on me that I’ve gotten to know Nico enough that I can expect how he’ll react in a situation. I don’t want to know him that well. In a few days Nico and I will decide what to do with the cabin and then he’ll be gone.

He shrugs and pushes his hand through his hair. “Somebody’s gotta do it. Things got too serious too fast.”

I pick up the envelope on top of the stack and ask, “How are you not panicking about this right now?”

“Measured breathing, internal monologues and,” he pauses and tips his chin in my direction, “selfish curiosity.”

I pull my brows together. “What do you mean?”

Nico’s gaze dances away and he runs his palms down the top of his thighs. “I wasn’t completely honest with you.”

My chest squeezes. “About what? When?”

“When we were at the bar…on Christmas Eve. I said my mother sent me to deal with the cabin. But the truth is, I asked if I could do it.” He bends his knee and props it on the couch as he turns to face me. “You know my granddad and I were close. But there was something he never told me that I’ve always had this gut feeling about.”

“My grandma?” I take a guess and we both breathe out a light laugh.

“Uh no. Though it does make sense now, your grandma. But I had this feeling that he never wanted to be on the ranch. Sure, he never complained a lick ‘bout the work. He was the first one in the fields in the morning and he was the last one to lock the gate at night. He lived and breathed for the family ranch. And yet, his heart wasn’t in it.”

As much as my fingers are eager to tear into these envelopes, I gaze at Nico. Taking notice of the way his eyes glaze over while he talks about his grandfather. Because I know what it feels like to be close to someone and know them so well only to discover they were keeping a secret.

“You think his heart was here?” My voice sounds small. Though it’s fitting for the moment. This feels intimate in a different way. It’s personal. It’s heartfelt.

“I think…his heart was with your grandmother.” He holds eye contact with me.

The tears finally break free and roll down my cheeks. It’s a beautiful and devastating thing all at once. I swallow. “I think you’re probably right.”

“Whether that meant he was here, with her in Maple Ridge, or in Texas. Or anywhere else. I think it wouldn’t have mattered.”

I nod.

“Holy crap, Nico.” And I can’t help but laugh. “Did we just agree on something?”

He lets out a lighthearted laugh too, a little crooked smile remaining. “Yeah, Kit-Kat, I think we did.”

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