Page 55 of Hello Handsome
I put the bible back in the drawer, thinking one of my boys or grandchildren would enjoy her notes.
And then the drawer was empty.
My shoulders sagged, disappointed somehow. Maybe I’d been hoping for a note. Some extra pieces of her after all these years. But the drawer was empty, as empty as my room.
The front door opened, and I picked up my phone, knowing I should have made a decision already.
I held up my finger, letting Jack know I was on the phone. Fletcher answered his office phone after a few rings, and I said, “Hey, I’m rearranging the bedroom, and I wondered if you could use the furniture? Your grandfather built it for Mom and me. Doesn’t feel right to throw it away.”
“Wow,” Fletcher said, seeming caught off guard. “Yeah, I’d love it. Let me text my brothers and make sure none of them want it. Is it packed up already?”
“It is,” I said, feeling wrung out from the experience. “I have it in the back of my truck.”
“Why don’t you put it in my garage?” he suggested. “I won’t unpack it until I know it’s okay with all of them.”
“I will.” I slid off the tailgate and then pushed it up to latch it.
“Need help unloading it? Maybe one of Liv’s brothers can come by?”
“Jack’s with me.”
Fletcher reminded me to lift with my legs and then asked, “Do you have new stuff already?”
I looked at the house, cringing. I hadn’t really thought of that–it had taken all my fortitude to get here. “I’ll figure that part out later.”
“Okay, Dad.”
I lifted my phone to hang up, but then I heard him say, “Dad?”
“Yeah, son?” I asked, my voice feeling raw.
“I’m proud of you.”
My eyes felt hot as I blinked. “Thank you.” I was proud of me too. I hoped Aggie would be too.
35
AGGIE
As I was foldingmy laundry in the living room, watching TV, I realized it had been months since I’d gone horseback riding with Gray. A longing feeling washed over me at how much I missed Gray and our easy conversations on horseback in the prettiest country setting.
But how could we go back to that easy friendship when, deep down, I suspected he would rather be with Maya instead? I couldn’t fault him, just like I couldn’t stifle the sting of coming in second place yet again.
So I called the people who had always been number one in my life. Isa was busy with grad school, but she took a quick walk outside while filling me in on her studies and some annoying undergrads she was teaching. “I don’t know if I was ever that obnoxious, but I hope not,” Isa huffed.
I had to laugh. “I hope you were. Means you were having fun.”
We hung up, and while I put the clothes away, I called Enzo to catch up. He didn’t like his job much, calling it boring, but told me what it was like to live in Hawaii. Even though he was annoyed by the traffic and high prices of certain goods, the wayhe spoke about the scenery made me long to be there. Between the volcanoes and beaches, it all sounded so otherworldly.
“I’ve almost saved enough for my ticket,” I told him. “A couple more months should do it.”
His manly face softened into a boyish smile. “I can’t wait to have you here, Mom.”
My heart swelled, glad that my son wanted to have me around. But soon our call was over, and even though I was full of love for my children and my chores were done, I still missed Gray.
I wanted to tell him about my kids, share that Owen was thinking about promoting me to manager since his son didn’t seem to have any interest in the business and his wife wanted to live closer to her parents in Austin.
But he had been waiting for me. So, I picked up the phone again. And this time, I dialed Gray’s number.
