Page 21 of Unstoppable Love

Oh dear. Ruthie Clapton wasn’t known for her modest living. She lived loud. Proud. And had more energy than a preschool classroom.

“Gram…” I started, but that was all I got out.

She flashed me a knowing, amused, and wide grin. “A man.”

“Mama,” my mom chided her. “You know things only recently ended with Ava and Kip. Give her some time.”

Grams rolled her eyes. “It may be done with Kip, but that only means it’s been even longer since you’ve had a man, and you’re not getting any younger, you know.”

She handed me my phone, somehow making the gesture feel like she was wagging her finger at me. “That’s not nice, Grams.”

To say she’d ever been a fan of Kip would be a lie. My entire family was the same. Sure, he never fit in on the farm, but he’d been a good man. A kind one.

“Life’s too short to be nice,” she huffed and rested her head back in her rocking recliner chair. “Moves too fast. Things come and go. People, too. And the only choice you truly have, if you’re one of the luckiest ones, is who you choose to do that life with. Merle was mine. You deserve that.”

My grandparents had an epic marriage. A lifetime of laughter. Gramps still swung Grams around a dance floor up until he was seventy-two and needed a hip replaced. It was the surgery getting that hip done that he didn’t survive. Even at his funeral, with tears in her eyes, she had everyone laughing. It was her way. She laughed through life’s trials… and bossed everyone around while doing it.

Like me.

“I know, Grams. Which is one of the reasons why Kip and I aren’t together. But the best man for me isn’t going to pop up out of the ground tomorrow, so be patient with me.”

“Patience,” she huffed. “Don’t got time for that, either. I wanna see you settled. Happy. Living the dream you’ve had since you were a little girl before I’m gone.”

“Don’t be morose,” I teased her, although hearing her talk like that always made my eyes sting. “You’ll live forever. You’re too damn ornery to do anything but.”

She laughed and reached for my hand. Hers was warm but frail. Her grip was not as strong as it used to be, and this was a woman who could rope a calf, break a horse, or shoot a bow better than any man I’d ever seen.

“Settle, Ava, and soon. I have a feeling that the perfect man for you is closer than you think. You only need to open your eyes.”

Her words washed over me. Settled me and unsettled me equally. The only man close enough to me right now was Cameron, and that was a path I wasn’t traveling.

“Do me a favor, little one?”

“Of course.” I’d do anything for her. Sell my soul if I had to.

“When the time comes, and it doesn’t make sense or you want to run, for me, take a moment to listen and think before you turn your back on the best thing for you.”

My brows puckered, and I glanced at Mom. She had the same worried look on her face I felt on mine, but she gave me a shrug.

“Promise me, Ava.”

“All right, Grams. I promise to listen and think.”

“Good.” She yawned, and Mom moved the conversation to her garden and how the chickens were all doing, and when it was nearing eight and Grams was having a hard time keeping her eyes open, we kissed her cheek and said our goodbyes.

“I’ll come see you next time I’m in town.” Which was almost every weekend, especially during the summer. I couldn’t help it. I kept trying to connect with people in Denver, but the truth of it was, if it hadn’t been for Kip, I could have bailed on the city a long time ago.

Mom and I walked out to the car, hit with a blast of summer heat as soon as we stepped outside, and looped our arms together. “What do you think all that was about?” I asked her.

“Don’t know, but she’s getting old, Ava. And she’s slowing down.”

I gave her a pointed look. “She led a tango dance lesson last week.”

“Yeah, but she only does it once a month now instead of every day.”

It was impossible to hold in a laugh. Watching someone fade away was horrible. Watching someone as vibrant as Grams slow down was worse. But if she was still leading a tango class and planning other events, that meant she still had life left in her. And I’d cling to that until the moment it was pried from my still-beating fists.

“You’re frumpy.”

---