Page 25 of Our Now and Forever

Yes. Yes he did. But this still seemed wrong.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked, knowing how closely his mother protected the jewelry that had been handed down through generations of McGraws, dating back to pre–Civil War days. “You don’t even know me.”

“What’s your name?” she asked.

The question took him off balance. “Um ... Caleb,” he said. “Caleb McGraw.”

“Nice to meet you, Caleb,” Miss Hattie said with a hand extended. Manners made him accept the shake without thought. “Now we know each other. And we both care for Snow, am I correct?”

“Of course,” he said without hesitation.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s get that sweet little thing a ring.”

Thirteen thousand dollars. Snow leaned back in her chair, staring open-mouthed at her computer screen. The only painting by William Norton that was close to the size of the one she’d bought had sold at auction the year before for thirteen thousand dollars. Her eyes cut over to the new treasure and all she could do was smile. This lucky find was going to change her life, and she had Caleb to thank for it.

They’d need to find the right auction. And have it checked for authenticity, of course, but Snow believed she was looking at the real thing. The temptation to keep it danced along her brain. She, Snow Cameron, the lowly peasant with the tainted blood who wasn’t good enough for his son, owned a painting more valuable than Jackson McGraw’s. What would the blowhard say to that?

Not that she was bitter or anything. She already had Jackson’s most valuable possession—his son. Too bad the old man couldn’t see past his bank account to recognize that Caleb was the real prize.

That thought straightened her spine. Caleb was a prize. And he deserved a woman of equal value. Snow was smart enough to know she wasn’t worthless, but she wasn’t on her husband’s level either. Since she had every intention of letting him go, Snow opted not to think about her marriage.

For today, she would wallow in her William Norton victory and plot out exactly how she’d use her future profits to improve the store.

Snow opened a new document in her computer and typed SHOP IMPROVEMENTS across the top at the same time the store phone sitting next to her keyboard began to chirp. Without checking the caller ID, she answered, “Snow’s Curiosity Shop, how can I help you?”

“Is my son with you?” demanded the chilly voice on the other end.

“Hello, Vivien,” Snow said, refusing to hop to attention like a trained puppy.

“Answer the question,” the Southern diva snapped. “Is he there?”

“Not at the moment, no. But yes,” Snow confessed, “Caleb is here in Ardent Springs.”

“How could you let this happen?”

“Me?” Snow exclaimed, then glanced around the store and lowered her voice. “You were the one in charge of the smoke signals. Why didn’t you warn me he was coming?”

“Because I didn’t know,” she muttered. “He sent me a text yesterday morning that he’d found a lead and was leaving Nashville, but there were no further details. He refused to answer my messages.”

Maybe Mama McGraw didn’t have her boy on as tight a leash as Snow had thought.

“There wasn’t much I could do,” Snow said. “He walked into the store out of nowhere. Other than feigning amnesia, I was out of options.”

“I should have known this would happen,” Vivien said, more to herself than to Snow. “I’m assuming you both agreed the marriage is over. When is he coming home? I’ll set up a meeting with our lawyer. The divorce papers were drawn up months ago, so the process shouldn’t take long.”

A cold, stabbing pain hit Snow in the gut. The papers were ready to go? Was that Caleb’s doing?

“I don’t know when he’s going home,” she said, ignoring the ribbons of doubt clawing to take hold. “According to my husband, this marriage is salvageable.” Apparently, like a car or an old building. Maybe Snow should hit up Buford at the hardware store for a tub of spackle.

“What are you talking about? You left him. He didn’t hear from you for nearly two years.” Her mother-in-law’s voice dripped with icy incredulity as she reiterated every one of Snow’s sins. “How could he possibly want to stay married to you?” she finished.

Snow asked herself the same thing, but she wasn’t about to share that fact with Vivien McGraw. “Maybe for the same reason he married me in the first place,” Snow said, prepared to lie to save her own pride.

“Oh, please,” Vivien huffed, impatience clear in her tone. “Once he stops thinking with his libido, Caleb will see reason.”

It was a wonder Caleb carried any kindness at all after being raised by this heartless woman. Of course, Vivien was smart enough never to reveal her true self to the men in her life. From their first encounter, Snow had marveled at how tightly Vivien spun her wicked web of fake Southern charm and empty maternal preening. The moment she’d caught Snow sneaking out of the house, the mask had dropped and Vivien had held no compunction about letting her son’s fleeing wife know exactly what she thought of her.

The fact that Caleb’s mother had been willing to pass messages on to Snow’s family with complete anonymity was her only saving grace. But then, the longer Snow’s whereabouts stayed secret, the closer Vivien came to wiping Snow out of her family for good.

---