Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
I wonder if that was part of Weaver’s plan, too. Did he select Mia with an eye to helping set me free? And if so, is that sweet or…controlling as fuck?
I can’t decide.
And I can’t muster up the energy to do anything about it.
I stay in bed until nearly noon on Saturday, only emerging when Gramps texts me to come over and watch Deadliest Catch. I do, but talking shit about other fishermen isn’t as much fun as usual, and no matter how hard I try to act normal, Gramps notices.
“So, who is it?” he asks, pausing between episodes.
I shake myself from my fog and ask, “What?”
He narrows his eyes at me from his hospital bed, where he’s propped up and covered with a thick, cozy blanket from our winter stash. It’s getting colder with every passing day now, suddenly starting to feel like winter after the mild autumn. “Who is it? The idiot who broke your heart?”
I blink and shake my head. “What? No one. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re love moping.”
“I am not.”
“I know a love mope when I see it. Come on, out with it. Who do I need to kick overboard?” I answer him with a roll of my eyes and he adds, “Was it Mark Tripp? And he left without saying goodbye? Is that it?”
I choke on my next breath and sputter, “What? No!”
“Well, you were sneaking around with him for a while.” He shrugs. “I thought it might have become something more.”
“You knew?” I ask, my stomach tight.
“I knew,” he says with a sniff. “But I liked that you were trying to hide it from me. It felt respectful.”
“I do respect you, Gramps,” I say. “It’s just that there aren’t many single people my age in town. And a lot of them are Tripps.”
“I know. And I don’t blame you. I blame myself. I may have gone overboard a little myself with the Tripp stuff.” Before I can pick my jaw up off the ground, he adds swiftly, “I still don’t like them, not even close. But they’re our neighbors. And now that they’re playing by the rules like the rest of us…”
“Wow.” I sit back in my armchair. “This is…a big deal.”
“It is.”
“The end of an era.”
“It is. So, date a Tripp if you want. As long as you pick a good one. Luke isn’t bad. He’s a hard worker, and I heard he just bought his dad’s boat and plans to stay in town, not cut and run like the rest of his cousins. He’s a good kid, the kind who sticks.”
The kind who sticks…
The implication is clear. Luke is the kind who sticks so therefore, he’d be a good match for me, someone who also sticks. But I don’t know if that’s who I am anymore. Gramps and my family will always be so important to me, but when I think about going back to my old life, I want to crawl in bed and stay there—forever.
But I can’t tell him about Weaver. Tripps may be okay to date now, but not Weaver. He’s still forbidden. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. And it doesn’t matter anyway. Weaver and I are over. There’s no sense in hurting Gramps by confessing to a sin I’m never going to commit again.
Still, I can’t let a chance to be honest with Gramps pass me by. We don’t talk like this often. If I let this moment go, I might not get another opening for a long time.
“I’m not going to date Luke, Gramps,” I say, my pulse picking up as I weigh the chances that he’s going to freak out. They’re decent, I decide, but not high enough to make me worry about damaging his heart. “I was actually thinking about going back to school.”
His bushy brows lift, but he doesn’t look unpleasantly surprised. In fact, he looks…proud. “Aw, that’s great, Gert. I always hoped you’d finish your degree. You starting the online stuff again in the spring?”
“Um, no, I was…” I pick at the loose yarn on the afghan covering my legs. “I was actually thinking of applying to another school. Maybe in Boston or New York, and going for my bachelor’s instead of an associate’s degree. I’d be able to teach if I have a bachelor’s, and I still have some money saved up after I paid for Dad’s rehab. It’s not enough to pay for everything, but I could apply for scholarships and get a part-time job. I think I could make it work.”
I finally look up, surprised to see tears in Gramp’s eyes. “Or I can stay,” I hurry to add, willing to do whatever it takes to banish the pain from his face. I’ve only seen Gramps cry a couple times in my life and both were when someone had died. He doesn’t get upset easily, and I can’t bear to be the thing upsetting him. “I’ll stay, Gramps. Forget I said anything. I’m just crazy right now. It’s been a rough week.”