Gram gave her a penetrating look, her blue eyes sharp. “Then why didn’t you eat more than a mouthful?”
“I did,” Jess protested. “It was delicious.”
“You might be able to feed someone else that story, young lady, but I know better. I have eyes in my head, don’t I? Now tell me what had you looking so glum earlier.”
Jess had learned years ago when Gram had taken over the household after Megan had left that there was very little she could hide from her grandmother. At seven, when her mother had first gone, Gram had understood the depth of her sorrow. More important, she had been able to convince Jess that her childish belief that her mother’s going had somehow been her fault was nonsense. Gram had made her accept that Megan hadn’t gone because Jess was too much trouble. During those awful first months without her mom, Abby had tried her best to step in and make things better, but it was Gram who’d offered the comfort and reassurance she’d really needed.
Moreover, Jess knew she could trust Gram not to spill her confidences to the rest of the family.
“I’ve been thinking lately that maybe I’ve made a mistake about Will,” Jess admitted.
“In what way?”
Jess gave her an amused look. “You know exactly what way. You’ve been among the many who’ve believed for a while now that there was something going on between us.”
“Doesn’t matter what I think,” Gram told her. “So, you’re saying that you’ve realized you might have feelings for him?”
Jess nodded. “But I think it’s too late.”
“Has he gone off and married someone else?” Gram asked dryly.
“Of course not.”
“Then it’s not too late. You just have to be willing to put your heart on the line, if you truly want to change things.”
“What if it doesn’t work out?” Jess asked. “I’ve lost so many people over the years. Mom went away. Dad was gone most of my childhood, or that’s how it felt. Abby, Bree, Kevin and Connor, they all left.”
“And they’re all back here now,” Gram reminded her. “You never lost them, sweetheart.”
“It felt as if I did,” Jess said, thinking of how often she’d felt left behind. “If I take this chance with Will and it doesn’t work out…” Her voice trailed off.
Gram smiled. “What if it does work out exactly as you’re hoping?” she asked. “That’s what I think is far more likely.”
“You really think Will and I are right for each other?”
“If you’re looking for guarantees, dear heart, I can’t give them to you. Love comes with risks. So does life.” She squeezed Jess’s hand. “But if I were a betting woman—”
“Which we all know you are,” Jess teased. “Your bingo winnings are family legend.”
Gram gave her a scolding look. “If I were a betting woman, I’d say the two of you have better odds than most.”
“Why?” Jess asked.
“Because I’ve seen the way that man looks at you. He’s been crazy for you since back in high school, maybe even earlier, and he’s never let you push him away for long. He just shores up his battered ego and keeps coming back.”
“Not this time,” Jess said. “It’s because of me that he stayed away from dinner today.”
“Then maybe you should apologize for whatever you did,” Gram said.
“But I didn’t do anything wrong,” Jess protested. “I just told him how I felt.”
“Did you consider his feelings with all that honesty?”
“No,” Jess admitted. “I was just trying to be clear. It was silly, really. We’d raided the fridge at the inn, then gone outside to have dinner and watch the sunset. We hadn’t even taken our first sip of wine, and all I did was tell him that we weren’t on a date.”
“And he immediately saw the pattern that Susie and Mack have fallen into,” Gram guessed at once.
Jess regarded her with amazement. “How did you see that so clearly when it never even occurred to me, at least not as the words were coming out of my mouth?”
“Never mind me. Is that how Will saw it?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Then can you blame him for walking away?” Gram shook her head. “I swear I have no idea what goes on in your cousin Susie’s head or why Mack’s catered to her whims for all this time. But I can certainly see why another man would refuse to get caught up in the same situation, especially a man who’s been in the grandstands watching that foolish standoff play itself out. Sometimes I’d like to shake the two of them myself.”
Jess laughed, unable to deny what her grandmother was saying. “I think we all would.”
“Then, whatever you do, don’t follow their lead,” Gram said. “If you want Will, reach out to him. I think it’s time a move came from you. I’m pretty sure if you take a chance, you’ll find that Will’s open to it.” She held Jess’s gaze. “Remember this, life is short. I may be in my eighties and I may have lived a rich, full life, but there are no such things as guarantees that anyone will be as blessed as I have been. Don’t let love slip away from you just because you’re scared.”
They’d reached Gram’s cottage now, with its climbing roses on the picket fence and a birdbath sitting in the middle of a wildflower garden in the yard. The cozy little house was like something from a storybook. At least that’s how Jess had always thought of it. She’d sometimes wondered how Gram had been able to bear walking away from it when she’d come to take care of them.
“Thanks, Gram,” she said, wrapping her grandmother in a hug and noticing how frail she was. There was such strength of purpose and character in Nell that it was sometimes easy to forget that she was no longer young. “I’ll think about what you said. You always make things so much clearer for me.”
“That’s because I’ve lived
