Twist of Fate (Taking Chances #2) - Tia Louise Page 0,29
bear hug. She immediately starts squawking, like always.
“Bradley Scout! Put me down this minute!” She weighs next to nothing, and I lift her off her feet, swaying her side to side as I hug her.
“I’m going to miss you, Gran. I love you so much.” I’m laughing as I say it, because she’s slapping my arm.
“Put me down before you break my back!”
I kiss her firmly on the cheek before returning her to the earth. “You can’t do that. You’ll break all my old bones.”
“I would never. I love you too much.”
She opens her refrigerator and peers inside. “Did you eat the rest of my pizza? I was saving that for lunch today.”
“I’m sorry. I was hungry last night.”
She presses her lips together and turns to face me, pushing back on her white helmet of hair. She’s tiny and feisty like a shrunken Betty White. “I guess you are a growing boy.”
“Growing round,” my brother quips, and I start at him, which just makes Gran yell more.
“Take that horseplay outside, now!”
But I don’t. I pull my brother into a hug and we slap each other’s backs. A twinge of nostalgia clenches my chest. For so long it was the two of us hanging together as a team, the Dunne brothers with our little gran on the front row in the stadium yelling her head off anytime we made an outstanding play.
I’m surprised she has any voice left.
“Call me when you get there.” J.R. walks out with us to where his black truck is waiting. “I’ve got to head down to the gym.”
“I’ll send you a text, Grandpaw.”
He shakes his head, exhaling some grumpy noise, and I laugh at his curmudgeonly ways. My older brother has not made the leap to modern technology.
“Why don’t you walk over to Ms. Regina’s BnB with me. I think they’re making lunch.” Catching my grandmother’s arm, I give her a gentle tug.
“I don’t want to be a burden.” She shakes her head, frowning. “Who all’s going to be there?”
“I think it’s just Sly and me and Ms. Regina. And Daisy, of course.” Just saying her name has me ready to get walking.
“Joselyn’s in town? I haven’t seen her in weeks.”
“So, come on. If you feel awkward, don’t eat anything. I’ll take you to Taco Bell.”
“That is not food. Bradley Scout, when you get to Los Angeles, you had better not eat that trash.”
I just grin taking her arm and escorting her to the sidewalk. Nothing like my grandmother’s constant fussing. She’s like a little hen. I’m going to miss her.
“You didn’t give me a chance to put on my walking shoes.” Gran’s still going two blocks later. “I’m going to have blisters all over my feet…”
“Hop on my back.”
She only slaps my arm. “Don’t be ridiculous. Do I look like a twelve-year-old child to you?”
“Well, hey, stranger!” Sly comes jogging up, dressed in oversized overalls, her auburn hair in a long ponytail.
She stops and gives me a kiss on the cheek before hugging my grandmother.
My grandmother’s entire demeanor changes on a dime. “Joselyn Winthrop, you just get prettier and prettier. Look at this hair! Scout, why didn’t you ever ask Joselyn out?”
“I asked her out repeatedly, Gran. She always shot me down.”
Sly narrows her navy eyes at me. “Liar.” Sliding her hand in the crook of my and my grandmother’s arms, she walks between us. “I couldn’t date Scout, Gran. That would be like… incest.”
“Nonsense, why I declare…” My grandmother goes off on another speech, but we’re at the house.
My attention is completely diverted to the girl standing on the front porch with Sly’s mom. Daisy’s wearing a short dress that shows off her sexy legs. Her hair is around her cheeks in those cute curls, and when our eyes meet, something has changed. It’s subtle, but instead of the sassy defiance, she’s hesitant. I would say afraid if I didn’t know her better.
She’s not afraid of anything except spiders, and I’ve seen her boldness up close and personal.
Ms. Regina waves to us from the porch. “Come on up. You are not going to believe what Daisy has done with the place.”
“I can’t wait!” Sly leaves us to jog up the steps. “She’s kept me away every time.”
Gran holds my arm, and I take my time with her. When we reach the top, I’m face to face with Daisy. She blinks fast, but she doesn’t meet my gaze. Instead, she holds out a hand and motions the other women into the house.