I could hear her laughing when she noticed me hanging on to the door, and I moved my hand back to my lap and smiled at her. “Sorry,” I said.
She shrugged. “It’s fine. My mom does the same thing, and she gasps a lot too. At least you do it quietly.”
Ryker’s younger sister had become a beauty. She turned heads everywhere she went. Nahla was the head cheerleader, prom queen, and head of the student governmentat Lawton High School. She was dating a football player, but he hadn’t come around after the first day we were here. Ryker had threatened him if he ever hurt Nahla. Nahla had been humiliated and furious, but the poor boy had gone white as a ghost.
Their mother said it was a good thing Ryker didn’t live here during Nahla’s high school years. I had to agree with that. He was not handling the fact his sister wasn’t a little girl anymore well. In his eyes, Nahla should still be in pigtails, playing with dolls.
When Nahla’s car pulled into my dad’s driveway, I sighed in relief as quietly as I could. I hadn’t lived here since December of what would have been my senior year. I had taken summer school so that I could graduate early. After Christmas, I had my high school diploma, and Ryker had come home for the holidays.
He had moved me to Oklahoma with him, although my dad had been upset about it. Ryker had convinced me he couldn’t stay away from me any longer, and I felt the same. So I went and graduated from the University of Oklahoma. Ryker was drafted to the Cowboys in the first round last year, and we moved to Texas, which was where we were now.
I missed Lawton, but I wanted to be where Ryker was. Visiting here was enough. I made it back to North Carolinato see Gran more than I made it here. Whenever Ryker had to be in California for a game or event, I made sure to visit my mom. Hunter would have wanted me to come back and see Dad, but I did it because I wanted to. After Hunter’s death, I grew much closer to my dad. We had needed each other during that time. Hunter had meant the world to both of us, and we understood the other’s grief.
“I’m going over to Van’s, but I’ll stop by later to see everyone,” Nahla told me.
“Okay,” I replied. I had known she was headed to her boyfriend’s when she’d come out of her room dressed to impress. “Be careful,” I added, suddenly feeling like a parent.
She grinned and nodded. Before I made it to the front door, her car was out of the driveway and headed down the street. If Ryker ever caught her driving that fast, he’d freak out. Turning, I went to the door, knocked once, then stepped inside.
The smell of Gran’s cobbler met my nose, and I smiled. She was here! Dropping my purse on the side table, I hurried to the kitchen. It had been over two months since I had visited her in North Carolina. She turned when she heard my footsteps, and her big wide smile that crinkled her cheeks and made her eyes twinkle warmed me up inside.
“Gran!” I said, then rushed into her open arms.
“There’s my beautiful girl. I’ve made blueberry cobbler with blueberries I brought with me straight from Mo Taylor’s field. Nice and fresh Carolina blueberries,” she told me. “I was hoping you’d get here while it was still warm.”
There was a time my grandmother didn’t care much for my father, and she wouldn’t ever have considered staying at his house or cooking in his kitchen, but death changes things. Hunter’s changed so much in my family. My parents got along now. My stepmother and mom even talked on the phone often. Hunter would have loved to see this.
“Do we have vanilla ice cream?” I asked her hopefully.
“We didn’t, but we do now. I sent your daddy to the store once I got here. And Ryker’s momma called to say she’d made us some casseroles and was bringing them over. That’s a good family.” She patted my arm. “Good man you got too.”
“Yes, they are,” I agreed.
“Now sit. Let me feed you. It’s good for my soul,” she told me as she motioned toward the table. “Denver wanted me to tell you he was sorry they couldn’t make it. Sandy is due to have that baby any day now, you know.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I saw that on Facebook. I sent them tiny Dallas Cowboys jersey as a baby gift,” I told her. Denver, my first boyfriend and longest friend, had gotten married two years ago to a girl from the school I used to attend with them in North Carolina.
Gran laughed. “Sending a Panthers fan a Cowboys jersey. That’s a good one.”
I smiled at her and shrugged. “I told him that he could wear it when I come to visit. I also sent them the high chair they were registered for, if that makes it better.”
Gran placed a slice of cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top in front of me. “Eat. You’re always too thin. You need to eat more,” she scolded. It was something she’d been fussing about for as long as I could remember.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I had just put the first bite in my mouth when my dad came walking into the kitchen. “That smells too good for me to stay in my office,” he said, then he looked at me. “Hello, honey. I see you didn’t waste time getting some.”
“Girl needs to eat. Now you sit and I’ll get you a slice,” Gran told him.
He winked at me and thanked Gran before taking the chair across the table from me. “Where’s Ryker?”
“Still at the field. He’s bringing over casseroles his momma made later.”
“I have a few things I want him to sign. I’ve got some business associates who are Cowboys fans,” he said.
This was nothing new. Dad had Ryker sign things most every visit. Hunter would think that was hilarious. I smiled, imagining him being here watching us now. I often felt likehe was. It was a peaceful feeling that would come over me. When I was alone and it happened, I would talk to him as if he were there.
“Okay,” I replied, then took another bite.
“You still up for the dedication? Talking, that is?” he asked, a concerned frown between his brows.