Grace (The Family Simon #5)- Juliana Stone Page 0,69

as he liked his bourbon. I didn’t notice it at first. Was too caught up in being in love. My mother warned me off and promised never to tell Daddy if I stopped seeing him. So I lied to my own mother and we carried on in secret. You see, she didn’t know him the way I did. She didn’t see what he was like when we were alone at the swimming hole. Or sneaking out to dance until dawn. She didn’t know…”

“His gambling and drinking got worse and near the end, I was stealing jewels from your grandmother’s collection so we could pawn them for money to pay back his debts. The day that I stole my mother’s emerald ring, one that had been passed down over three generations, I found Ransome in bed with two of my so-called girlfriends. He was drunk and of course filled with shame. He threw the girls out. He begged for forgiveness. But I was hurt and having none of it. I was done forgiving him. I left and he never got the ring. That night I heard he’d been beaten so badly they didn’t think he was going to live.”

“Did he live?”

She nodded. “He did. He came by the house a few months later, but I refused to see him. He wrote letters. He called. But I refused all of it. He broke my heart and killed my pride. Made me question myself. That scenario repeated itself for nearly a year until he hung himself on Christmas Eve.”

“Oh, Mom.” Grace laid her head on her mother’s chest. “I’m so sorry that happened.”

“A few months passed and I pulled out those letters. I read every word of every one and I realized that maybe if I’d gone to him, if I’d helped him, he might not have taken his life. He hurt me, yes, but I still had all those afternoons at the swimming hole. I still had the good part that was him. The part that wasn’t eaten away by his addictions.”

Eden pulled at a loose thread and hugged her daughter. “I’ll never know if I could have saved Ransome, because I wasn’t strong enough to live through the very real possibility of being hurt again.” She kissed the top of Grace’s head. “I think that you’re stronger than me.”

Grace peered up into her mother’s eyes. “You’re crazy. You’re the strongest woman that I know.”

Eden shrugged, a tremulous smile on her face. “Maybe. But you, my darling, are stronger. So go to this man who’s managed to win your heart. Be there for him. And I pray to God that he’s worthy. I hope that he accepts your support and will return it in kind when needed.”

“He is,” Grace answered fiercely.

Another knock sounded and Betty Jo poked her head inside. She looked worried and sad and worn out. “Everything all right?”

Eden got to her feet and held her hand out for her mother. “I’m going to Arizona.”

“Grace, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I don’t really care what you think, Betty. I’m going. I have to.”

A heartbeat passed.

“Okay.” Betty sighed. “I’m coming with you.”

28

Matt was able to book a flight out of Toronto and he touched down in Phoenix at just after nine o’clock, Arizona time. The airport was dead—not surprising considering it was Thanksgiving day, and most people were slumped in lazy boys, knee deep in turkey comas surrounded by their families.

He hadn’t eaten in hours, but with no appetite to speak of, he didn’t much care.

Matt had no baggage to claim and, after securing a rental, was on the road. He’d texted Delilah from Toronto and advised her he’d be at the hospice by ten. He’d asked if there was any news of Justin. She replied with a long rambling message, the gist of it being that, no, as of yet she had no idea where her son was at. But that he’d texted her and appeared to be okay.

The whole thing sounded off, but Matt was too preoccupied to sort it out. He’d do that later.

He pulled into the parking lot of Compassionate Care just shortly after the top of the hour, and checked his phone. But there were no new messages, and nothing from Grace. Not surprising, considering he’d been such a bastard.

He gripped the steering wheel so tightly his fingers cramped, and then slid from the truck, slamming the door so hard that the vehicle shook. Of course it did nothing to alleviate his anger. How could