“I’ll tell you.”
“What if I’ll be the one that’s bad for Annie? What if I’m like Mom and Dad and the only way to protect Annie is to not let myself have her?”
“Shit, Will. Have you been carrying that thought around this whole time? Is that why you’ve never settled down with anyone?”
My silence answers that question.
“That’s a lie. You are a good person, with a damn good heart. You deserve love and to give love.”
I have to clear my throat against the lump. And I wipe my face because apparently I’m sweating out of my eyes. “Thanks, man.”
“Now, here’s the flip side from a divorce lawyer: I’m still not convinced marriage is for everyone. So if you’re one of those people it’s not for, Will, that’s okay. It doesn’t make you a bad person or less worthy of happiness, or even love, than anyone else out there. It means you had a messier start in life than most people. However”—he says with emphasis—“if you are one of those people who always said he would hate it and then changed his mind—that’s okay too. Just be honest with yourself about what you need, or else you’re going to be miserable in or out of love.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “And you said you’re not good at six A.M.”
“Yeah, well, don’t make it a habit.”
“Ethan?”
“Hmm?”
“I do love her. And I’m scared to death.”
Ethan’s sigh is dramatically long. “I’ll give you the name of my therapist. She does virtual appointments too. Might want to consider twice a week for a while.”
I laugh and wish I were near enough to give my brother a hug. I miss him and suddenly have the distinct feeling that I’ve kept myself too busy. That maybe the safety I thought my constant work was bringing me was actually hurting me.
Ethan and I hang up a minute later after I’ve told him to change the sheets on his guest bed because I’m coming for a visit soon. The second the call ends, I set my phone down and put my face in my hands. I’m not sure I feel much better, but I do feel closer to accepting my feelings.
I’m interrupted by a throat clearing to my left. I lift my head and find Mabel standing on her front porch in her light pink robe with a blue-and-white-checkered flannel gown peeking out the bottom.
“How long have you been standing there, nosy woman?” I ask her with a teasing smirk.
“Long enough to know that you love my Annie and you’re scared and I would really like to pay your mama and daddy a visit,” she says in her blunt fashion, and it makes me laugh. She smiles and doesn’t say anything else, just opens her arms.
I stand and walk over to her before stepping right into her arms and letting her fold me in the most comforting hug of my life. Mabel doesn’t say anything, she just squeezes me tight. I squeeze her back and bury my head in her neck, feeling a lot like the little boy who used to climb that magnolia tree just wishing for a hug like this.
Mabel doesn’t release me, but she pats my back affectionately. “Now…should I be worried that you were lying in my flower bed at six A.M.? I swear the young people in this town are always doing something concerning.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Annie
It’s not my day to visit my grandma, but I’m going anyway. Logically I know that she’s not going to have any of the answers that I need—but I’m going anyway in some misplaced hope that she’ll be having the most amazing day she’s had in months, and she’ll be my grandma again tonight, full of wisdom and grace and can tell me exactly what to do.
I haven’t seen Will in a few days. Not since the night of my date with Brandon, to be exact. I think he might be hiding. That’s okay, though. I’ve been hiding too. We’re good at that.
He walked into the market yesterday, and I ducked behind a shelf and then abandoned my cart and crawled out. （Fine, I hunched over and tripped my way out.） The next day I saw him by The Pie Shop, and when we made eye contact, I blinked, and then he was gone. Ducked in an alley most likely. Just for good measure I texted him later that day.
ANNIE: You’re avoiding me, right?
WILL: Yes. And you’re avoiding me?
ANNIE: Yes. I’m confused and need some time.
WILL: Same. I miss you, though.
ANNIE: I miss you too.
So we got that cleared up, and now I’m just trying to figure out what in the world to do about him. Because I’m now able to fully admit to myself that I have feelings for him. Real ones. Ooey-gooey ones that could double as a butter cake. And that’s very, very bad because Will Griffin wants to remain as single as a prewrapped slice of American cheese.