Page 13 of Lost and Found

“That’s my girl. Good riddance.” Grammy places a cookie onto a dessert plate and hands it to me with a napkin.

“I… I met someone, and he’s amazing. But it’ll never work out,” I admit, and my grandmother’s hopeful smile is replaced with a frown.

“Why not?” Her brow wrinkles as she waits out my response.

“His name is Wyatt and he’s strong and rugged and gorgeous.” A lamented sigh escapes my lips.

“Ooh, got yourself a sexy mountain man, huh?”

My gaze is wide as she waggles her thin, graying eyebrows up and down at me. “Grandma Blanche!” I clutch my imaginary pearls before taking a bite of my cookie to buy myself some time.

Damn, that’s a good cookie.

“A new man is fantastic news, isn’t it? So why are you so sure it won’t work out?”

“Because I live here and he lives there.” The excuse sounds flimsy when I say it out loud, but it’s all I’ve got so I’m clinging to it.

“I thought you were only two hours away for vacation. Did you go somewhere else?”

“No, that’s where I was, but it’s too far to commute and it’s a different world up there.”

“He lives on a mountain, honey, not Mars.” She rolls her icy-blue eyes and takes the plate from my hands before eating the rest of my cookie. Guess she thinks I don’t deserve it anymore. “So, this man. What did you say his name was?”

“Wyatt, Grammy. His name is Wyatt.”

“Uh-huh.” She takes another bite. “And he’s gorgeous and wonderful?”

I confirm with a nod, remembering how perfect he is.

“I see. So he’s terrible in bed then. Now it makes sense.” She settles into the cushions and finishes the treat.

“What? No, that’s not what I said!” I’m quick to correct her, because that man is a sex god and I don’t want anyone thinking otherwise. He deserves that much.

“Then I don’t understand. Did he not make you happy, Doodlebug?”

I sigh, missing him terribly as I talk about him. “No one has ever made me feel so safe and happy and beautiful. He’s amazing.”

“Then, I’ll ask you again. What’s the problem?” Grammy looks at me as if I sprouted two heads.

“I told you. He lives on the mountain, and I live here.”

She blinks at me for a long time, saying nothing. “Is that all?”

“It’s enough. Our lives are too different and we’re too far apart.”

“Oh, my silly little Doodlebug.” She pinches my cheek harder than I’d like and gives it a healthy shake. She knows I hate it, but it’s a leftover habit from when I was a chubby kid with chipmunk cheeks, as she called them. “You know, they do this thing called remote work now. All the kids do it. It’s the new rage.”

She’s being facetious, but I ignore her sass. “So, I’m supposed to pack up my business and move to the middle of nowhere?”

“Does he not have internet or something? I’m sure you could?—”

“He has everything, even a satellite phone and solar panels,” I mutter, but I know she heard me. “He works from home. Has some kind of tech job.”

“So let me get this straight.” Her gaze narrows as she stares at me. “His home is already equipped with everything you need. You want to be with him and he wants to be with you. He makes you happy and the sex is spectacular.”

“Those weren’t my exact words, but yes. And can you please stop mentioning sex? I don’t wanna talk about that with my grandma.”

“I know. That’s what makes it so fun.” She shoots me a wink before turning her body to face me, and I mirror her position. “Don’t make excuses to avoid being happy, Doodlebug. I know you’ve had your heart broken, but that doesn’t mean Wyatt will do it too. If he’s everything you say he is, then you should go after him. You deserve all the love the world can offer you, honey.” She opens her arms wide and I snuggle into them, listening to the sounds of her steady heartbeat.

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