Been There Done That (Leffersbee #1) - Hope Ellis Page 0,77
dome. “I think about her every day, you know?” She took a sip of her own sweet tea, her dark eyes fathomless and fastened to mine. “But you know what? I know Bethany would have gotten a kick out of you being back.” The side-eye she aimed in my direction somehow made me feel she was looking down at me, tiny as she was. “Took you long enough to come see me after you snuck in town.”
I ducked my head. “I’m sorry. I wanted to see you. It’s just . . . it’s just—”
“It’s hard.” She grabbed my hand. It didn’t come close to covering mine. “I know, baby. I can only imagine what’s going through your head, being back here. But you made the trip. Your mama said you would.”
I looked up at that. “What?”
“Oh yeah.” She said it easily, as if stating a simple fact. “She was sure of it. I told her I’d be here to meet you when you did.”
This little woman was the first person in a long time to make me feel something close to shame.
“I should have stayed in contact.”
She only shrugged. “I understand why you didn’t. You were in an impossible position as a young man trying to make his way in the world, figure out who he is. I’ve kept an eye on you through your mother, then Nan.” She leveled a sly glance at me over her glass of iced tea. “I may even have a scrapbook somewhere where I kept track of your accomplishments.”
I hated myself in that moment. “I owe you so much.”
Her back went straight. “You owe us nothing. And don’t let me find another check in the mail. You’re not too big for me to take a strip out of your hind parts.”
I winced, remembering that night. “You paid for everything, for years. Getting us out of town, resettled in Ann Arbor. Rehab for Mom, not once, but twice. My first year of school until the scholarship kicked in. You’ve got to let me—”
“Excuse me, son.” Her eyebrows went up in that smart-ass way I knew. “A few things for you to remember here. First of all, what I do with my money is my business—”
“I’m just saying—”
“What, they interrupt their elders in Michigan? Or wherever it is you’re laying your head nowadays?” When her eyes went wide with mock shock, I cracked up and she soon followed.
“Dear heart, you can’t pay me back. The only reimbursement I’ve ever wanted was to know that you’d taken care of yourself. You’ve done that. You’ve learned a lot and you’ve done well for yourself. I know Lila was proud as a peacock. But you’ve got to get through your head that love doesn’t carry a balance. We did what we did because we love you, and we always will. All that other stuff? Just money. The love Ezra and I have for you will never change, no matter where you are, no matter how much money you have or don’t have. Whether we’re in frequent contact or not.” She gave me that sneaky side-eye again. “Whether you’re with my daughter or not.”
I let out a sigh at the mention of Zora.
She continued on, but we both knew she’d just pulled the pin on a grenade.
“I love you, Nick.” She gripped my hand again, and I held fast to it, and to her words. “You don’t have a choice. So accept it.”
I nodded, swallowing back the sudden tightness in my throat.
She had pity on me and changed the topic. “So. You’ve seen Zora?”
I coughed. “She didn’t tell you?”
She sat back, arms folded, her face full of a cat that ate the canary grin. “I think she was working herself up to tell me the other day, but she lost her nerve. Me, I already knew. I know mostly everything going on in this town.”
I smirked at her superior smile. “Really, now?”
“Yes. But all I really need to know is you, and I’ve been knowing you since you were practically in diapers. Found Zora the first day you were here, didn’t you?”
Damn.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And the two of you been torturing each other ever since?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She huffed out a laugh. “Some things never change.”
I met her gaze. “No, ma’am. They don’t.”
“What is it you want with my baby, Nick? She’s already turned ‘round and confused and trying to work up the courage to make some hard decisions. Don’t make it worse, you hear?”