Page 33 of Unexpectedly Falling
“It’s a gift,” she says with a shrug of one shoulder before her expression turns sly. “Besides, you know I’mmorethan trustworthy when it counts.”
I feel the tips of my ears heat as her words hit their mark. She doesn’t bring it up often, but she never quite lets me forget either.
“Listen, it’s been well over ten years, and I still show up every year for spring cleanin’.”
“It’s one of my favorite traditions.” The Cheshire cat has nothing on the woman sitting across from me. She witnessed me at my absolute worst and, instead of sharing it with the world, protected me fiercely. “I will say that my silence on that topic now comes with an expiration date.”
Blood chilling faster than an ice storm in Tennessee, I lean forward, my chair creaking. “Excuse me?”
“You have a daughter, Jensen. What kind of Grammy would I be if I didn’t share that particular time in your youth with her?”
“The kind that still likes me showin’ up for spring cleaning.”
“There are plenty of strapping young men in this town and the next one over who’d be more than happy to help an old lady like me.”
I snort because she’s right. “You just want everyone tothinkyou’re old. I don’t think you’ve aged in the last ten years.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Jensen, but I won’t be takin’ that particular secret to the grave.”
“And here I thought you liked me.” I drag my hands down my face and she chuckles.
“Listen, you’re one of my favorites, but you know I’m tellin’ your daughter that her always-serious father got absolutely rip-roarin’ drunk on his twenty-first birthday, got separated from his friends, met a pretty girl named Leigh Ann who convinced him to get a ratherinspiredflaming ear of corn tattooed on his rear end, andthen?—”
“Do we have to relive this?”
“I’m old; stop trying to deny me the simple pleasures in the last few years I got left,” she says without missing a beat, and I roll my eyes because she’ll probably outlive all of us. “Thengives Leigh Ann’s sober, driver friendmyaddress, stumbles up the walk and starts peein’ on my hydrangeas, gets so startled when I open the door that he—you—gets tangled up in your britches and falls ass over teakettle into the yard, showing off the newly acquired corn masterpiece on your butt cheek.”
“It never gets less uncomfortable when you saybutt cheek.”
“Why do you think I do it?”
I chuckle and she winks. “Lord knows I don’t need any of the gray hair you’re giving me.”
“You’ll be a handsome silver fox,” Miss Thelma says, reaching forward to pat my hand.
“Why don’t you come by tomorrow and you can meet Nessa and Remi? I’ll be sure to warn Nessa that you’re…”
“Delightful?”
“Trouble.”
Cackling, she stands from her chair and I do the same. “I’ll do my best to keep this under wraps, but you’re gonna need to figure things out right quick before they get figured out for you.”
“I know. I told Mama yesterday.”
“Good boy.”
“I’m not hiding her, I just…
“It’s a lot,” she says softly and I nod. “I don’t know all the details, but what I do know is that you’re a fine man, Jensen, and that little girl is damn lucky to have you as her father.”
Tears well in my eyes, and I have to look up at the ceiling, blinking back the onslaught of emotion as the conviction in her words hits me square in the chest.
“Have another muffin and I’ll see y’all tomorrow. I’ll bring a peach pie.” She winks and then heads out the door with a wave.
A peach pie.
Because it’s my favorite.
