Page 18 of Georgia Guy
I have to hand it to Joe. He’s skilled at fooling all of us. But I’m about to burst his bubble.
Before I can formulate the words to share the awful truth, my grandfather says, “Joe came to see if there is anything he could do to help control the story of the century out there.”
When Grandfather waves his hand in the direction of the front gate, I gape at him and ask, “You already know about the breaking news?”
“Of course, dear. I may be old, but I’m not loopy,” he lightly chastises me.
“Right. I just thought you’d be more upset about it.” Shaking my head, I say, “In any case, you shouldn’t be friendly with Joe.”
“Why ever not, sweetheart?” Grandfather asks, sounding truly perplexed.
“He’s the one that leaked this entire story,” I say, openly glaring at the man who stole my heart, then stomped on it.
Joe’s head whips back at my accusation at the same time as my grandfather begins laughing.
I stare at the older man, whom I’ve looked up to for my entire life. He has always seemed so with-it and on top of everything, but his laughter in this moment makes me wonder if he might be beginning to lose his mind.
Grandfather’s eyes still look sharp when he turns serious and says, “Joe started all of this, but I finished it.”
Unsure what he means, I give him a perplexed look.
Splaying his large, liver-spotted hands, my grandfather says, “Joe didn’t leak the news of my sterility or my brother’s affair with your grandmother. I did.”
13
JOE
Alex’s grandfather explains to her that he was sick of living in fear that his biggest secrets might be revealed, so he decided to grab the bull by the horns and tell the story himself. He apologizes for not warning her––and the rest of their family––in advance, and Alex is quick to forgive him for not giving her a heads up.
In a serious tone, the older man says, “We’ll have a family meeting soon where everything will be fully explained, but the gist of the story is that your grandma’s family forced her to marry me, rather than my younger brother––even though he’s the one she loved.”
Alex blinks several times and sits down. When she holds her hand out for a glass of the cognac, I quickly pour one and hand it to her. After taking a gulp of her drink, she asks, “Why would they do that?”
“As the older brother, I was the heir to our family’s fortune,” he says simply, as if that explains everything.
Alex shakes her head as she struggles to absorb all of this.
Waggling his large index finger in her direction, her grandfather says, “Now, don’t blame your late grandmother for any of this mess. The heart wants what it wants. We can’t control who we love.”
“Don’t I know it,” Alex mumbles under her breath before taking another drink and setting her glass aside.
Mr. Morrow seems lost in his own thoughts and memories when he continues. “Our marriage was a bit of a sham, but even though we weren’t madly in love, your grandmother and I did care very deeply for each other. When we realized that I wasn’t able to have children, we thought all was lost. The idea of the Morrow heir not reproducing is unacceptable, so your grandmother and I met with my brother to present this plan to him. He was able to be with the woman he loved––privately, and I was able to publicly present children to the world. It really did seem like the best outcome for all of us, and we each swore to keep the secret. Now that they’re both gone, I decided I was sick of living in constant fear that the truth was going to come out. There was one quick and easy way to solve that problem.”
“Leak the story yourself,” Alex answers quietly.
“That’s right,” her grandfather responds. Staring out the window, he adds in a pensive tone, “And you know what? Having the truth out there isn’t nearly as bad as I worried it would be. In fact, it’s a huge relief to not have this giant secret weighing me down. The story will probably make the news for a few cycles, then disappear into the archives as soon as the next big scandal hits.”
“Probably,” Alex agrees before moving to stand by her grandfather. She takes one of his large hands within her delicate ones. “It was very brave of you to come forward like this. I didn’t think I could possibly be any prouder to be your granddaughter, but somehow, you managed to become even more brave and amazing.”
Alex’s words are clearly exactly what the older man needed to hear. Tears are shining in his eyes when he pulls her into his arms and says, “I’m so glad you see it that way. My biggest fear was that you wouldn’t consider me to be your ‘real’ grandfather anymore.”
“That could never happen,” she assures him as they hug.
When Alex steps back, a few tears have escaped and blazed trails down her cheeks. She swipes impatiently at them as if they are a giant nuisance.
I must make a noise because her gaze whips in my direction as if she has suddenly remembered that I’m here. Pointing an accusatory finger in my direction, she says, “Just because Joe didn’t leak the story, doesn’t mean that he can be trusted. He’s been planning a vendetta against us, thanks to a long-held family grudge that has to do with you firing his father.”
The older man nods and says, “I know all about that. As soon as Joe reminded me what happened and explained how it hurt his family, I called and offered his father his job back––with a promotion and pay raise, of course. But his father didn’t want it. When he worked for us, he was a workaholic. Initially, he was angry over being fired, but with time, he has realized that it was a blessing in disguise. Now, he spends more time with Joe’s mom and enjoys his life.”
