Page 25 of Fight for Me
“I’ll find her, Mama. And I’ll let you know the moment I do,” he promised, trying not to think about Lexie.
His mother ran her thumb across his cheek the way she had when he was little.
“See that you do. Now,” she said, changing the subject as she turned away, “take your food and go see your great-grandmother. She knows you’re here, and your presence is expected in the throne room.”
Jake chuckled at this mention of Grandma Ruby’s add-on suite, where she’d been holding court since moving in with his parents almost five years before. Picking up his heaping breakfast plate, he leaned in to kiss his mother on the side of her head.
“I love you, Mama.”
“I love you, too, pesky boy,” she said, returning to her jam jars.
Jake smirked and stole a handful of freshly picked blackberries from a basket on the counter, quickly darting out of reach of the wooden spoon his mother still held in her hand. Heading down the hall, he popped the berries into his mouthone at a time, letting the late-summer sweetness burst against his tongue. The last closed door muffled the familiar whistle of the theme song fromThe Andy Griffith Showas Jake stopped to knock.
“Grandma Ruby, it’s me!” he called loudly, opening the door a crack. Grandma Ruby was ninety-four years old and seemed to be very hard of hearing, except at times when it suited her to be otherwise.
“Come in, dear,” came the reply, and Jake entered the softly lit room to find his great-grandmother’s tiny frame half-absorbed by a reclining chair in front of the television. Despite her currently prone position, her suite sparkled in the morning light and smelled like a whole bottle of lemon furniture polish. Grandma Ruby, as usual, had been hard at work.
She smiled when he appeared, her wrinkled face taking on new light. Jake set his plate on her coffee table and stooped to kiss her forehead, soaking in the cool feel of her papery hand against the side of his face. Grandma Ruby had nearly thirty great-grandchildren from her four boys and their offspring, but she and Jake had always been particularly close. The first Tanner boy of his generation, he was named for her late husband and, truth be told, looked a lot like him, too.
“Let me see you,” she said, taking his chin in her small hand and turning his face from side to side. “You’ve forgotten how to shave, I see.”
Jake rubbed one hand over the week-old scruff that darkened his jaw.
“You’ll look like a bear soon, if you aren’t careful,” Grandma Ruby said, though her eyes were playful.
Jake laughed, sinking onto the sofa while she used a remote control to bring her chair back to a sitting position.
“Tell me what you’re up to these days,” she ordered. “And don’t leave anything out! You know how I love all the nitty, gritty details.”
Jake grinned and reached for his breakfast plate. He settled it on his knees and began to eat, pausing between bites to tell Grandma Ruby about classes and his senior portfolio, about shooting from the sidelines at football games and coaching bumblebee soccer. He talked about his favorite new photographs and the magazine he hoped to work for after graduation, and the whole time, Grandma Ruby studied his face with the intense concentration of someone searching for the truth.
“And there’s a girl,” she said as he finished. It was not a question but a statement of fact.
Jake rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, setting his now-empty plate on the coffee table and flopping back against the couch.
“Why does everyone think there’s a girl?”
“You’ve got that look,” Grandma Ruby said confidently, her thin mouth curving into a smile. “I raised four boys; I know that look. Don’t lie to your grandmama.”
Jake crossed his legs at the ankle and frowned down at his boots for so long that Grandma Ruby reached for her walking stick and used it to rap him lightly across the shins.
“Ouch! Alright, yes, there’s a girl,” he admitted as he sat up.
“And?” Grandma Ruby prompted.
“And she’s dating a guy who thinks he’s entitled to whatever he wants, including her—some rich jerk who will inherit his daddy’s multimillion-dollar company,” he said bitterly, scuffing his boot across the floor. He may or may not have Googled Derricks Pharmaceuticals in a fit of insecurity, though it had done nothing but remind him he could work his whole life and never measure up.
Grandma Ruby pursed her lips. “I don’t see the problem.”
Jake stared at his great-grandmother, open-mouthed. “She’s with somebody. He owns an entire company,” he repeated uselessly. “What would she ever want with me?”
“So, you’re telling me this girl of yours is so shallow that the size of a man’s wallet is more important to her than his character?”
“Well, no, but...” Jake trailed off, surprised by the sharp question. Lexie wasn’t that kind of girl; he was sure of it. “Okay, so what am I supposed to do?” he asked.
“That’s easy, Jacob,” Grandma Ruby replied with a soft smile. “You show up.”
5
