Page 70 of Fight for Me
“I think he might ask me to marry him!” Ashlyn went on. “Wouldn’t a Christmas proposal be romantic?”
“Ashlyn, honey, take off your running shoes and give the boy a chance to catch you,” Grandma Ruby said, shuffling to the table. Jake’s mother, who sat mending a pair of her husband’s pants, chuckled softly.
“Oh, Grandma Ruby,” Jake’s sister sighed.
“Don’t ‘Grandma Ruby’ me, young lady! This is not my first trip around the sun,” the older woman said, sinking into a chair beside her great-granddaughter. The family matriarch glanced up and caught Lexie’s eye, shooting her a wink. “Come sit down, Lexie. This is good for you to hear, too.”
Lexie wiped her hands on her borrowed apron, leaving white flour smudges on the patterned fabric. Then she drifted acrossthe kitchen to join the conversation—not that she’d have much to contribute.
“You see, girls, most people seem to think falling in love is like being struck by lightning,” Grandma Ruby continued. “But I’ve lived a long time, and one thing I know for sure is the love that lasts is less like a rainstorm and more like snowfall. It builds quietly, and by the time you look up, it has changed the landscape of your life, and you realize you’ll never see the world quite the same way again.
“Real love isn’t luck or magic or fate. It’s a choice. One you make every day, rain or shine, to give your best to the person you’ve chosen. Love shows up. It trusts and hopes and is patient. And most importantly,” she said, looking pointedly at Ashlyn, “it is not on a schedule.”
“But Tommy—”
“Might be the one, and he might not,” the older woman interrupted. “But don’t push him or yourself to make a decision you can’t undo just because you think it’s time.”
The distant sound of men shouting broke through the large picture window, and all four women looked up in time to see Jake and Drew burst out of the barn and into the weak sunlight, both gesturing wildly. Drew shoved Jake hard and stormed away, pulling a sigh from his great-grandmother’s throat.
“I’m coming for that one next,” she said, her gnarled index finger following Drew as he stormed across the backyard, kicking several empty flowerpots out of his way. “I’m going to teach him to control his temper if it’s the last thing I do.”
“You can’t fix them all, Ruby,” Kathleen said, rising to her feet.
“Maybe not, but I can try,” Grandma Ruby muttered, still watching her great-grandson. “He and Jake used to be thick as thieves. I wish I knew exactly what happened to them.”
Ashlyn started offering her guesses, but Lexie wasn’t listening.
She was thinking about snow.
“I missed youtoday,” Jake said as he lay back against one end of the couch in his father’s study. He shifted sideways, and Lexie settled into the gap between his body and the couch, feeling herself relax as his arm came down around her. He’d showered after coming in from the barn, and she took a deep breath of his clean pine scent, which always made her feel safe and wanted. He’d already pulled off his thick green pullover, and his white T-shirt was warm under her cheek. “Do you feel like I just threw you to the wolves?” he asked, and Lexie shook her head.
“I’ve actually had a lot of fun,” she admitted. “Your family isnothinglike mine. Do your parents ever fight at all?”
Jake chuckled slightly, his arm tightening around her back. “Sure! Just not in front of anybody.”
“I think you could add up all the cookies I’ve made in my entire life, and I still beat that total today. Exactly how many people are coming to dinner tomorrow?” she asked.
Jake paused, thinking.
“I’m not sure, to be honest. Grandma Ruby and Grandpa Jacob had four sons, and then they all had kids. There are a few relatives here and there who have passed away, but most of their descendants are still alive. They’ll come in from all over,” he said. “Grandma Ruby wants to have everyone together at least once a year until she dies. There are so many of us that we’ll have to eat in the barn; we spent most of today cleaning it.”
Lexie nodded, feeling the fabric of his shirt move as she did.
“I get that. I mean, my grandmother likes to have everyone all together, too, but that’s more so she can tell us what we’re doing wrong with our lives than anything else.”
“I’m sorry,” Jake said quietly, and Lexie knew he really meant it.
“It is what it is,” she replied. Truthfully, she’d tried to be sad about her family situation. She’d really tried to miss them. But it was awfully hard to wish you were sitting in a cold, stuffy house having your sins read aloud when the Tanner family was bustling around you with open arms.
“You fit here,” Jake added after a pause. “I’m not going to lie, coming in at lunch to find you baking may be the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Lexie laughed, and a matching rumble moved through Jake’s chest.
“Jacob Tanner, are you telling me a woman’s place is in the kitchen?” she teased, lifting her head to watch his face.
“No! Not at all,” he protested. “I’m just saying any time you want to make cookies with my mom, I can get on board with that.” There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, and Lexie rolled hers good-naturedly. He turned and pressed a kiss to her forehead as she snuggled back against him.
“It was actually more about how happy you looked, and the fact that you were here when I came in,” he admitted. “It felt like you’d always been here. Like you might always be here.”
