Page 1 of Loving Words
Prologue
Betty
Ishoved the mixingspoon into the bowl and stirred the vat of my special cookie dough, its recipe passed down by my Great-Granny Mary. Nat King Cole crooned in the background, and the scent of apples and spices permeated the air thanks to my homemade potpourri simmering in the Crock-Pot.
My family would soon pour into my vacation cabin, located high in the Georgia mountains a few hours from our small beach town of Norina. The mere idea of seeing them all made my old heart swell with joy.
It didn’t matter that I’d seen some of them only weeks ago. I adored being around them, even my workaholic son who—
The cabin phone trilled, breaking into my thoughts and had me looking up at the visible wooden beams. “That good-for-nothing man better not be canceling on me!”
I glared at the shrilling phone hanging on the kitchen wall not ten feet from me. Wiping my hands on the apron at my waist, I let out an unladylike sigh. I rolled my head back and forth, sucking in fortifying breaths, and donned a chipper facade. “Hello?”
“Ma? Hey, Ma...” Clayton said, his tone taking on its own fake persona.
“Hi, darlin’, are y’all almost here?” I asked, knowing very well he was not.
Sigh. “No, Ma, we’re not. We were about to head out for our flight when—”
I set the phone on the countertop and walked away. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the bottle of wine I’d almost finished by my lonesome the night before.Have kids, they said. They’ll fulfill your life, they said, I thought at the same time I mouthed the words. I didn’t bother with a glass and brought the bottle to my lips.
Peering back over my shoulder, I figured he’d be coming back down from his excuse. I tipped back my head and silently growled into the air.
I loved him. I did. There was no way I’d ever regret having him. After all, he’d given me grandbabies who I loved more than the air I breathed.
“Kennedy said she’d be there in about an hour,” Clayton said as I pressed the cold receiver to my ear.
Kennedy had called earlier with her ETA, so my gaze flicked toward the digital clock on the microwave.More like ten minutes, which means you waited forty-five minutes to call me to cancel.
“I really am sorry, Ma. I’ll make it up to you when we return to town,” Clayton said.
“Okay, sugar. I’ll talk to you soon.” After setting the receiver back on its cradle, I drained the last of the wine, raised the bottle into the air, and sighed. “Until later, my love.”
I lifted the lid to the trash can and tossed in the empty bottle while barely looking. At the sink, I scrubbed my hands clean before returning to my cookies.
The front door opened ten minutes later, right as I closed the oven door.
“Granny?”
My stomach fluttered with happiness as my face split into two with the force of my grin. “Kennedy!”
The raven-haired beauty met me at the kitchen entrance. Our arms wrapped around each other in a tight embrace. I’d not seen my granddaughter in a couple of weeks, but I missed her like I’d miss my right arm. The girl was everything to me. She had a gooey center that melted my heart, even if her outer shell could be as bitter as coffee.
“Oh, sweetheart! I’ve missed you!” I cooed and pulled back to take her in.
Kennedy’s eyes spoke volumes. The child was tired, and new sadness seemed to shine through.
“I’ve missed you too! I can’t believe you came up by yourself so early!” Kennedy said.
“Quiet before the storm,” Kennedy and I said in unison before bursting into a fit of giggles.
“Well, the cookies will be ready soon. Why don’t you go on up and drop off your things in the red room so you can freshen up?”
“Red room?” Kennedy asked, her brows pinching together.
I pressed two fingers to her forehead and smoothed the lines marring her young skin. “Don’t do that. You’ll give yourself wrinkles!”
Kennedy waved my hand away. “Why am I in the red room and not the pink room like normal?”
