“Oh! Hey, Mom.” She kissed Evelyn back, before giving her father’s face the same treatment. “We’re getting there.”
“Oh, Joey-Roo, it’s really coming along. It looks wonderful,” Evelyn effused.
Smiling was agonizing but she attempted one anyway. “Thanks. We still have quite a bit of landscaping to do outside, but nothing to prevent us from opening for business. I’m stopping by the bank tonight for cash. The credit card machines are up and running.”
Her parents nodded along with her verbal list of preparations. But when she finished and they simply stared at her without responding, it occurred to her how frazzled she must sound.
“Sorry for the info dump. I’m just excited.”
“Of course you are, Joey,” Jim said, affection shining in his eyes. “And we’re so proud of you for . . . everything. Especially your determination to carry the Doyle torch. To keep it burning.”
“Why do I sense a but coming?” Josephine asked warily.
Evelyn smiled. “When is there not a but coming with us?”
“Facts.”
Her parents traded a look. “Far be it from us to meddle in your romantic life, dear,” Evelyn said. “But we’re wondering if you’re just going to ignore the flowers.”
Josephine squinted. “The flowers . . . ?”
“And the giant teddy bears,” Jim added.
“I’m not following.”
Jim nudged his wife. “Don’t forget about the Bath and Body Works gift baskets.” He winced. “Seventeen of them, to be exact.”
“Ohhhh.” Josephine figured she was abusing her tactic of choice, playing dumb, her gaze reluctantly tracking to the other side of the pro shop, where gifts from Wells were literally piled up to the ceiling. “Those flowers and bears and gift baskets.”
Evelyn nodded encouragingly. “Yes.”
“I haven’t decided what to do about those yet.”
“Dear.”
“I’ll have to clear them out for the grand opening, but—”
“Joey, have you turned on the Masters?” Jim broke in.
“We only got cable this morning!”
Evelyn just looked disappointed in her. “Honestly, Joey. Quit being such a pussy.”
“Mom!”
The woman had the nerve to blush. “Well. Stop!”
Jim was slowly recovering from hearing his wife say the P-word. “Uh . . . I’m just going to turn it on. We can let Wells do the talking.”
What was that supposed to mean?
Josephine didn’t know, but she lowered herself onto a box and hugged her knees, bracing. Maybe part of her had known for the last few days that as soon as she turned on the tournament, the ice layer that had formed on her lungs when Wells said you’re fired would melt. Just melt clean away.
And she was right.
There were a few minutes of footage of another pairing before the camera moved to Wells. But then . . . there he was.
Wearing pink.
That alone was enough to bring a watery, incredulous laugh tumbling out of her mouth, the shock that lingered inside her softening until it stung less. And less. But then he turned around to retrieve a wedge from his bag and she saw it.
Her caddie uniform from Torrey Pines hanging from his back pocket.
Josephine’s heart squeezed so hard she gasped.
“Has he been playing with that the whole time?”
Evelyn answered. “Yes.”
Josephine labored through a breath. A breath that hitched in her throat when the camera zeroed in on Wells’s face and she saw the patchy, whisker growth on his cheeks, the sunken quality of his eyes, the grim lines on either side of his mouth.
In short, he looked God-awful.
And yet . . . he was playing well and holding his own. Knowing the man like she did, however, it was impossible for Josephine to miss the effort it was costing him to maintain his spot on the leaderboard. He looked tired and haunted. Haggard.
A lot like she felt.
“Honey, you’ve done the hard part,” Evelyn said softly. “You’ve cleaned up the shop, restored it better than ever. We can rent clubs and sell merchandise for the first couple of days. Rolling Greens and the Golden Tee will be right here waiting when you get back.”
“Back from where?”
Jim implored the ceiling for patience. “Augusta!”
“Dad, he needs to do this without me. He wants that.”
“And I know you don’t want to hear this, but that decision was fair enough, Joey. Relationships should be built on even ground.” He squinted an eye at her. “Do you think that man wants what’s best for you?”