Page 101 of Make it Real
Made no sense whatsoever, but both things were absolutely true.
She sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard to find a man. I just hate the idea of you being alone. We’ve only had each other for so long…and…I thought if you had someone, I wouldn’t feel as guilty as I do for going off to Florida without you.”
Huh. So we’d both been trying different versions of the same thing. Easing our own guilt and making the other happy in our own convoluted ways.
“You don’t need to feel guilty, I’m glad you’re with your friends. But I’m sorry I lied to you.”
“I’m sorry I made you feel like you had to. I just didn’t want you to be alone.”
“I’m not alone. I have my friends, and work I love, and a good life.” I really did. I didn’t want to move out of Magnolia Ridge in any scenario.
“What about Jed? You’re trying to tell me everything between you two was a sham?”
I stopped my pacing and lowered onto a dining chair. The same one I’d commandeered while Jed was still in it. So basically, my favorite chair.
“After a while, it wasn’t fake on my side. But I don’t know if he feels the same way.”
Hopeandknowfelt worlds apart right now. I’d promised myself I’d tell him my feelings, but that didn’t mean I’d totally convinced myself he shared them.
“Well, I don’t buy it for a minute. I refuse to believe that man isn’t head over heels for you. If that was all an act, he sure put everything he had into it.”
Especially the way he kissed me, but I wouldn’t add that.
“He’s a really good guy. He was just trying to do me a favor.” I didn’t completely believe that anymore, but at this point, I wasn’t sure just how much was real and how much was fake.
“That’s not the kind of favor most men agree to if they’re not interested. The way he looked at you, Callie Louise…there’s no faking that.”
“I think he feels something, but this isn’t really the best time to confront him about it.” I explained about Clint’s heart attack and how the whole family had been turned upside down. “I need to give him some time.”
“And then?”
“Then…I’m going to tell that man I love him.”
A little earthquake rocked through me at the image, but I could face my fears. I needed to try, however things turned out. Whatever he said, at least I’d know I’d been honest with him and asked for what I wanted. And the only thing I really wanted was him.
“I promise you he feels the same. And he’s going to come to you first, you mark my words.”
I had to laugh. “I love your optimism, Gran.”
* * *
Another drawback to being fun-sized? I had to climb all the way up the ladder every time I needed to roll the top parts of the walls when I painted. We didn’t have high ceilings, either. I’d slowly made my way across the main dining room wall, painting from the top down in small sections, and still only had half of it done. It was already worth it, even if my legs burned from the workout. Painting over the mustard yellow with this soft green made the whole place feel lighter.
I was loading the roller with paint for another run when a knock sounded at the door. A quick glance out the front window showed me Jed’s hulking truck out front. My heart did this jumpy kind of flutter as I set the roller back down and went to the door. I scolded my heart to be patient, but it never had paid all that much attention to me when it came to Jed.
He stood in the doorway with a pizza box and the sweetest grin. “Hey, Callie Lou. Did I miss the painting party?”
“I’m right in the middle.” I waved him on in. “How’s your dad doing today?”
“Better. He sends you his love.”
“Aw. You send him mine right back.” We picked our way across the living room, still out of order from Gran’s packing spree. “It’s a mess in here.”
“I’m all about that Callie chaos.”
I snorted a laugh that made his eyes light up. That, in turn, set my insides on fire, a never-ending chain reaction when I was around him.
I’d covered the dining table and chairs with a drop cloth and tucked plastic sheeting up against the baseboards to protect the hardwoods, but we could make it work. He set the pizza on the table, and a bunch of slick brochures slid off the top.
