Page 34 of You're the Reason

He seemed to hesitate on his first words before he finally stood and looked at her. “I got into weightlifting at Quinn Ranch.”

He seemed to be waiting for some sort of reaction, but since she’d never heard of the place, she just smiled and waited for him to go on.

Finally, he released a slight sigh and reached for his own water as if he’d passed some sort of test. “I loved working out so much I studied it in college.”

She capped her water bottle and blinked at him. “You studied weightlifting?”

“No, Exercise and Sports Science. Just a minor though. I majored in business.” He tossed his own water bottle to the side and motioned her toward the weights he’d just set up.

“So, you want to open a gym?”

“That’s the hope. But that takes money. So I’m just taking it one day at a time.” He then had lifted one of the weights and handed it to her.

One day at a time. Boy did she ever get that. Even now, staring at her parents who had their own plans for her recovery. She didn’t know what to say to them. Maybe she should follow Seth’s approach and take it one day at a time—one conversation at a time.

“I saw Dr. Medler this morning.” Grace winced at how weak her voice came out. She set the teacup on the side table and cleared her throat. “He’s happy with the progress in how well the ultrasound therapy is working. He believes I could be back dancing on stage as soon as a month.”

Slight exaggeration, but that was her hope. She wouldn’t mention that he wasn’t happy with the strength of her leg. But now that she had Seth, that would change too. She had Seth. The words echoed in her mind. No, just friends—not even that. He was her trainer.

“But why must you live here?” Her mother’s words pulled her back to the moment. “If you lived with us, then we could?—”

“I am helping Ms. Margret.” The words came out forced and a little desperate, but if she let her mother finish that sentence, they’d no doubt twist her answers into such knots that anything but moving home would seem illogical.

“She sure is a sweetie.” Ms. Margret came shuffling into the room with a cane in hand. A touch of a waver in her voice. “Not sure what I’d do without her.”

Grace covered a laugh with a cough. The woman had miraculously aged ten years as soon as her parents had shown up. She sent a look that hopefully said Laying it on a bit thick, are we?

Ms. Margret just smiled at her and settled into the wingback chair. Her parents didn’t really seem to notice anyway. Their only focus was on her.

“What is this your mom tells me about you teaching.” The disdain in her father’s voice wasn’t any better than her mother’s had been. “If you’re going to heal, then you shouldn’t be wasting your time?—”

“I like it. I only had my first class today, and I only had two students, but it was fun.” The memory of the girls giggling and laughing as they learned seemed to lift a weight she hadn’t even known she was carrying. “And the girls like it. Maybe it will help me find my joy in dancing again.”

“This is ridiculous. You need to come home.” Her father stood.

“No.” She stood and met his eyes and prayed he didn’t notice how her lip quivered. “I am an adult, and this is what I’ve chosen.”

After a moment, he motioned to her mom. “Well, you seem to have made up your mind.”

She had done it. She’d put on a brave face and won. Maybe he even respected her decision a bit.

“But this is the wrong choice. You will see that eventually. Don’t come to us for help when it doesn’t get you back to center stage.” He opened the door and waited for her mom to walk through. Then turned back for one final barb. “You need us. You’ll see.”

Then he followed her mom out without even a glance back or a farewell as the door rattled in their wake. Grace sank back into the chair and closed her eyes. “No going back now.”

This had to work, or her parents would never let her live it down.

seven

There were few reasons to interact with the people of Heritage, but Donny’s bacon cheddar melt was probably top of that short list. Seth shoved the last bit in his mouth and reached for another napkin, doing his best to ignore the Friday night dinner rush around him. He’d been craving the burger for days, but with cash in his pocket from his first couple training sessions with Grace and Nate and Olivia out for the evening, he hadn’t been able to resist any longer.

And he’d definitely earned every cent and more if he counted the taxes taken out. Jon had gotten him an office with a nameplate and everything. It all felt a little over-the-top for just a few months, but he suspected Jon was angling for it to be longer. He’d divided the properties between commercial real estate, residential real estate, and possible places for development. That was definitely the smallest. He’d toured more than half, with plans to tour the other half next week. Some would move quickly, others he couldn’t imagine what Dale Kensington had been thinking. But he’d figure out something. It was like a giant puzzle, and he really did enjoy moving the pieces around.

So after he clocked out at Kensington Fruits for the day, he’d wandered in to Donny’s, chosen a seat at the counter, and kept his head down. So far, so good. He popped another fry in his mouth. So very good.

“Want a second burger?” Janie, one of the owners, stopped in front of him and refilled his Dr Pepper.

“I’ll pass.” He needed to save every penny if he had any hopes of opening a gym anytime soon.

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