She gave a nervous laugh. “A distant aunt, then, with good manners and excellent social skills.”
He continued to stare into the fire, obviously considering it. Was he weighing his desire to know more about her with his need for privacy? Maybe that was wishful thinking. Probably he was weighing boredom against the risk of sharing too much with this child he was stuck with another night.
“All right,” he said finally. “Three questions. And I reserve the right to pass once.”
“You and your ground rules.” She rolled her eyes. “Fine, but I have a pass too. I’ll even let you go first. Ask away, Aunt Wyatt.”
She stared into the fire, a thrill of anticipation passing through her. The questions themselves could be as revealing as the answers.
“Tell me about your extracurricular activities in high school,” he said.
Grace frowned. That really was something an aunt would ask. But it also wasn’t a yes-or-no question. It was actually a request, not a question at all. Open-ended, like he was panning for as much gold as possible with each scoop. And she wasn’t calling him on it since he’d just set precedence.
“High school seems like so long ago,” she said, because it was true and also because she was eager to add another point to the “woman” column. “Well, let’s see, I played several sports early on: volleyball, softball, and I ran track. But after my parents passed I had to devote time to the inn, so I focused on volleyball.”
“Part of that growing-up-quickly thing we talked about.”
“Exactly. Suddenly there were extra chores and no parents to report to. Though Levi inserted himself into that position.”
“I guess somebody had to. So volleyball was your favorite?”
“Definitely. And probably the sport I was best at.” She ached to tell him about her achievements, about how hard it was when her parents weren’t there to celebrate them with her. But she didn’t want him to think she was too big for her britches.
“Is that all?” His voice was a low hum in the night.
“I’m not really the show choir type.”
“I think you left out a few things.”
She looked at him, searching for his meaning. But as usual there was no way to read his expression.
“You had the highest RBI average on your softball team. You set your school’s record for the four-hundred-meter dash. And you were all-state in volleyball your senior year.”
She blinked at him. How . . . ? “Molly.”
“She’s very proud of you.” He sounded amused.
“Good grief.” Grace wanted to slink under the table. What else had her sister shared while trying to pique his interest in Grace? “She’s very nosy, and she doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut.”
“You should be proud of your accomplishments.”
“No one cares what you did in high school. It’s real life that matters.”
“Your history shows perseverance and discipline—traits that’ll serve you well in life also.”
“My turn.” She was ready to shine the spotlight on someone else. Only she hadn’t really thought about what she’d ask first. She most wanted to know if Wyatt had a girlfriend, but she’d save that one. Too obvious. She decided to ask him something equally as dull as he’d asked her. “Tell me about your favorite hobby.”
If he was disappointed in the question it didn’t show. “All right. I play the guitar. Taught myself when I was a teenager. Good way to relax.”
“You didn’t bring a guitar with you.”
“I didn’t come here to relax—at least not entirely.”
She wanted to ask exactly why he had come here but suspected the question would make him retreat. “What genre? Do you write your own songs?”
He looked away. “You had your question; my turn.”
“You do.” She grinned, suddenly knowing it was true, even though his expression gave nothing away. “You write songs.”
“Your question has expired.”
“Are they love songs?”
“It’s my turn, Aunt Grace.”
She wasn’t letting him off that easily. “My request was to ‘tell me about your favorite hobby,’ so songwriting falls under that category.”
He spared her a long look. “Fine. I may have written a song or two. They’re not especially good, and no, I’m not singing them to you.”
She’d bet her right arm they were better than he admitted and couldn’t help but wonder what exactly had inspired those songs. Women? And did he have a good voice as well? She suddenly wished he had a sister who’d spill all the deets to her.
“Favorite genre?”
“Country and classic rock. I know a few hymns too. And now it’s definitely