The thought of her having dozens of men lining up in front of her had my hands curling up into fists underneath the table. "I know we will."
"I'm fine with your setup, and you two will probably make us a fortune."
I held up my hands. "It was Grace's idea. I wish I could take the credit."
"How's she doing?" Maxine asked, all innocence and wide, guileless eyes. Such utter horseshit.
I slowly raised an eyebrow. If she was trying to bait me, she'd have to try harder than that.
"I hired her to take some photographs at my family reunion a couple of weeks ago." She sipped her coffee. "Girl's got more talent in her pinky than most people do in their entire body."
Pride suffused me in a warm rush. It was the truth. While Grace edited the pictures from Maxine's family party, I had laid stretched out next to her on my couch, watching in awe as she worked. She saw things with that camera that most people didn't, which was probably true of any good photographer.
There were so many good shots, laughter and smiles, nothing posed, nothing fake.
"She got some great ones of my grandsons, even made my kids look like normal, well-adjusted people."
I smiled. I knew exactly which ones she was talking about.
But the one that should be blown up and framed was a shot she snapped of Maxine and her great-niece. The little girl was standing in front of Maxine, who was perched in her walker, a plastic bubble wand held up to her pursed lips. The bubble was perfectly formed, still clinging stubbornly to the circular edge, and the child, no more than four or five, was holding her hands up, grinning happily in anticipation.
"But of everything she sent me, the one with the bubbles was my favorite," Maxine continued.
"Mine too," I answered without thinking. When I froze, her face spread in a triumphant smile.
"I might be old, but I am not slow, young man. When I saw you walk into that library, I knew it."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Miss Barton."
She waved a hand. "What do you think I'm gonna do, take out a billboard?"
Sitting back in my chair, I regarded her steadily. Did I trust her with this? Yeah, I did. But that wasn't the point. If she saw through us that easily, then other people would too.
It wasn't surprising, after just a few weeks with Grace, my feelings for her felt like they were tattooed on my damn forehead as obvious as they seemed. We'd spent two nights apart in the last fourteen days. And those two nights sucked. My bed felt empty. I'd tossed and turned more than usual without her anchoring me in place.
And yet, I couldn’t walk down Main Street with her without feeling like we’d have a target on our backs. The thought of her finding out about J.T. and what he did to my father was something I hadn’t been able to puzzle through in my head.
My brain conjured all the worst possible scenarios, the most horrible being she’d break up with me out of some misplaced sense of guilt. I’d rather carry the weight of what happened until I could tell her at the right time.
Besides, as Maxine was proving, it wasn’t the only issue we had to worry about.
"First of all, she looks at you like she wants to eat you alive," Maxine said, making my face flush hot. "You do a little bit better job keeping your feelings off your face than Grace does, but your eyes … they follow her around when you think no one is paying attention."
I exhaled softly. "Can't seem to stop myself."
"She make you happy?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She nodded decisively. "She's good people. Doesn't quite know her place here yet, that's as clear as day, but she'll get there."
"It's hard jumping headfirst into a place like this." I took the last bite of my almond croissant and wiped my fingers on a white napkin. Donner Bakery was fairly quiet, given that we were there after the morning rush. I recognized most of the people sitting around the tables. I thought about how Grace wouldn't know a single one of them, and how strange that must be.
I'd gone my whole life knowing everything about Green Valley and knowing everyone in it. Knowing what my place was within that world. Even though I knew the truth of what Maxine said, I'd never really stopped to think about what it must be like for Grace. Grady, too.
They were braver than I'd probably ever been in my entire life.
Both of them, in different ways, took a giant leap of faith. There was so much in my life that I couldn’t ignore, couldn’t pretend that it didn’t exist, but there was a lot that I did have control of.
And what I did for a living, how much of my life that took up, was one of them.
"You look like you're thinking awfully hard over there, young man."
"I am," I told her. "What's the bravest thing you've ever done, Miss Barton?"
"Goodness," she harrumphed. "My brain doesn't work that fast, you can't ask me questions like that without a days’ notice to recall the last hundred years."
"If you're a hundred, I'll eat my hat." I smiled. "I know you've got something you can think of."
"Why? You need help manning up for something?"
"Maybe I do," I murmured. My dad was working on the budget, shifting numbers and going through our accounts, trying to get creative for the next couple of months until J.T. could settle down. The biggest thing that could help our budget was not having to pay someone. And I had an idea that could help my parents, and help myself, too.
"Probably having kids," she answered after a beat.
The secret hinge on my jaw unlocked, and my mouth fell open without permission from my brain.
Maxine clucked her
