Page 88 of No Way Home
My hands were on the top of my head, still reeling. But then I realized something. I looked at Holden. “Why are you pushing me to go after Magnolia when Liam’s out there doing his best to make her his next girlfriend?”
“Pshaw.” Holden laughed. “He’s just trying to piss off Griff. Probably hoping Griff’ll hop on a plane and fly home to fight him in person. You know he’s been hurt ever since he left.” I did. They’d been best friends their whole lives. Cash too, until he ‘ditched’ them for Charlie. Liam’s words, not mine. So when Griff left him behind, Liam felt abandoned.
“Well,” I huffed. “Magnolia seems just fine, all cozied up to your boy.”
Ford snorted. “Stop being a ding-dong and think with your head.”
Blue grinned. “She jumped on the Liam train as soon as Nova showed up.”
Ashton pushed to a stand. “She’s trying to wound you, the same way you wounded her when you went onBreaking Curfew.” He pulled a Granny and popped me in the back of the head. “That was a sucker move, noob.”
I rubbed my skull. “Ouch.”
“Ford’s right. Use your head, Bowen.” He glowered. “No breaking her heart again.”
“’Cause she’s not giving you another chance after this,” Holden said. Then he stood too.
“Facts,” Ford added, rising to his feet.
The four of them exited the room, leaving me alone with Gramps, who was now over by the window, watching Granny fly Cate in the air like a plane. I ambled over to join him. Gramps looked exhausted. Like it had sapped all his energy to discuss his estranged brother. What a burden he and Granny had carried for so, so long.
From this angle, we could see all the way down to the lake. Dad was talking to Mom, and from the serious expression on his face, he was probably telling her to be prepared for the possibility that I might pursue Magnolia.
“Was it worth it?” I asked Gramps. “Losing your brother for the woman you love?”
Gramps tapped on the glass. “Look out there. What do you see?”
I looked at Granny. At my mom and Dad. My uncles and Blue, who’d just walked off the back deck and were heading down the hill. By the lake, on the white sand beach, my aunts and Anna sat in camp chairs, talking. James and Sage were in the shade, under a couple of oaks, napping in a hammock. The majority of my cousins were on the water trampoline, having a seat war. The rest were probably in the front yard, playing cornhole or bouncing in the castle.
“I see Duprees,” I said. “Lots and lots of Duprees.”
Gramps glanced at me, love burning in his eyes. “Exactly.”
My breath caught in my lungs, understanding his meaning. We were all descendants of Bo and Jenny Dupree.Iwas a descendant of Bo and Jenny Dupree. This was what their love had made. A big, beautiful family. Why would Gramps regret that?
“I don’t know why I didn’t meet Jen first,” he said. “There are a lot of things in life I don’t understand. But there are a few things I know I got right, and making a life with her is one of them.” I could tell it still hurt though—what he’d had to give up.
I put my arm around his shoulder. “I’m sorry about your brother.”
His smile didn’t reach his eyes like usual. “I’m sorry too. But if I had to make the choice again, I’d choose her. In every dimension, no matter the cost.” He looked me in the eye. “If you choose Maggie, you have to choose her overanyoneelse.” Meaning Griffin. “No floundering. No second-guessing. That’s the only way it will work.”
“I’ve never actually dated Magnolia. What if we try and it’s terrible and I lose Griff and her too?”
“You want to know if she’s the one before you even take the chance to find out,” he said with a grunt. “You can’t be faithless, Bowen.” Ouch. “You have to take chances.” His head tilted, studying me. “Maybe you haven’t dated but you’ve known her a long time. How does Maggie make you feel in here?” He tapped right over my heart.
It was the right question. “Peaceful.” Eventhinkingabout her brought peace. Like it did right then. “And happy. When I’m not self-sabotaging or telling myself I don’t deserve her.”
Gramps nodded. “You have good instincts. You always have. Trust that feeling.”
Then he left to join the others.
Chapter Thirty-Two
BOWEN
A half hour later,I wasn’t still sitting in the library because I was trying to decide if I should pursue Magnolia. I’d made that decision the moment I realized my family would be okay with it. No, I was still there because I was paralyzed by fear. I could hardly get her to look at me. There was no way I would convince her to go out with me. Not after everything I’d put her through.
Well, you'd better do something before Liam charms her into a relationship and she ends up with the last name Dupree anyway.
