“Because every loudmouth in town called to tell me to go and look at them.” She harrumphs like she’s annoyed.
“Sorry I’ve caused so much trouble, Grandma,” I say, meaning it.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with that Grady Parker,” she says. I don’t know why she calls him that Grady Parker. He eats dinner at her house at least once a week. She makes special pies for him and cooks all his favorite foods. “Did you give up on hating him?”
“I’m not sure I ever really hated him,” I admit. “I mean, I probably did for a little while, but in all honesty I liked him too. I kind of think I still like him.”
She pulls out her phone to show me the picture of the barn wall I painted at the Jacobson place. “It’s written right there on the wall, Evie,” she says quietly.
“What’s bad is that I can’t even remember why I wrote that,” I confess.
“I’d be willing to bet it was because you wanted the boy to kiss you.” She arches her brows at me.
“Well, yeah,” I admit. “But why was I so bold about it?”
“Maybe he wasn’t picking up all the hints you were laying down,” Grandma ruminates, as she works on her puzzle.
“He was just so nice that night. It was like when we were fifteen again, before he made fun of the cookie I took to school and left on his desk. Before Kerry-Anne Williams told me that he gave it to all the boys to share since it was so ugly.”
“All those years wasted over a cookie.” She clucks her tongue, still working on her puzzle.
“I was really hurt!” I protest.
“Kerry-Anne Williams always did have a crush on Grady. Did you ever stop to think that she was lying to you?”
I shake my head. “Not likely.” But looking back, I’m pretty sure she was lying to me all along. Then when were seventeen, I saw her riding in the front seat of Grady’s truck, and my hatred of him—not to mention her—grew even stronger. Then everything he did, even breathing, aggravated me.
“Well, I’m glad you two have finally worked it out.”
Thing is, I’m not sure we have. We are building a friendship, a camaraderie, but we’re not friends. At least I don’t think we are. Yet. “We are a work in progress.”
“Does he know you’re moving back yet?” she asks.
I shake my head. “I kind of alluded to it last night before I clocked that mean little woman in the nose.” I reach up and touch my lip. It’s split and a little swollen, but it wasn’t too bad when I woke up this morning. “I don’t think he really grasped that I’m moving back permanently.” I guess I’ll have to tell him at some point.
“His daddy came to see me once when you two were kids.” She rocks her head from side to side like she’s trying to remember. “Well, twice actually.”
I turn to face her. “For what?”
“Well, the first time, he wanted me to keep you away from him.”
I suck in a breath. “Why?”
“He wanted Grady to go to college, to join him a
t the car lot, and he felt like you as his girlfriend would hinder his willingness to go.”
I huff. “Grady didn’t even want to go to college.”
“He went,” she informs me. “Got a degree that benefits his business. He paid for it all himself since his daddy refused to pay unless he agreed to go into car sales later.” She blows out a breath, making her lips vibrate. “Could you imagine that boy selling cars?”
“No,” I admit with a tiny smile. “But I can imagine him doing just about anything he wants to do. He’s smart.” I think about what Grandma just said. “So what was the second time he came to see you?”
“He wanted me to get you guys back together.” She snorts out a laugh. “Apparently, Grady was a wreck after he stopped talking to you. To the point where they wanted to do anything they could to cheer him up.”
“Such a nice guy, Grady’s dad,” I mutter.
“But by that point, you two were sniping at one another like two old yard dogs over a bone. There was no way we could put you in the same room without you throwing something at him while he taunted you by calling you names.”