Page 67 of Tell Me Again
“Are you one of hers, too?” the boy asked as they neared the front door.
She held her breath as she waited for Trevor’s answer.
“I’m working on it,” he said softly, and heat rushed to her face.
Then they were inside and all thoughts except Whitney vanished. The service was a heartbreaking tribute to a girl whose gentle spirit and endless potential had clearly touched an entire community. Like everyone else in the church, Sam didn’t bother to hide her tears. Whitney’s death was a tragedy in the truest sense of the word.
But the revelation was the girl’s grandma, who after the service walked away from the family and friends surrounding her to approach Brandon. Her gait was slow and she relied heavily on a cane, but for all the frailty of her body, it was clear Whitney’s Gran was a force to be reckoned with.
“My granddaughter thought she loved you.” She said the words as an accusation, pointing one bony finger at the teen.
“Yes, ma’am,” he whispered.
“You loved her back?”
“I loved her.” Sam put a hand on Brandon’s shoulder and felt him stand a little taller. “I still do, and I always will.”
Gran stared at him as if taking his measure. Even Sam wanted to fidget under the woman’s hawk-like gaze, so she was proud of Brandon for remaining still. “From what Whitney told me you got lots of trouble in your family.”
“I got trouble around me,” he said quietly. “But it ain’t in me.”
That seemed to be the right answer, because the woman reached out and took his hand. “You and me lost our heart, but we’re gonna hold on to each other now ’cause that’s what Whitney would have wanted. You need to keep her close when trouble tries to worm its way in ’cause that’s how you’re gonna honor her memory. You know where I live?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Come by after school tomorrow. I got some jobs need to be done. You willing to help out an old woman who loved your girl?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, and his voice sounded a little steadier.
The woman turned her steely gaze to Sam. “My grandbaby loved going to your place in the summer. I was never much for nature, but all that fresh air set her soul free.”
“I’m so glad,” Sam managed before her voice broke. “We loved her. We still do.”
Gran gave a shuddery nod and for a moment Sam could see how much it took this woman to remain strong in the face of such a loss. “Y’all come back to the house for a spell. We’ve got enough casseroles to feed half of Houston.”
Someone tapped her on the shoulder then, and with another nod to Brandon, Gran turned away.
“She doesn’t blame me,” Brandon said when they were back on the sidewalk.
“Because you are not to blame.” Sam placed her hand on the boy’s cheek. “You stick close to her, ok? That woman is tough, but she’s also hurting. She needs you right now. Just like Whitney needed you.”
Trevor unlocked the rental car and they got in.
“Hey, Sam?”
She turned toward Brandon in the backseat. “What, honey?”
“Can I still come to camp this summer? I know with everything that happened I’m not the best—”
“It would make me so happy to have you at Bryce Hollow again,” she told him. “Besides, I think the work you do at camp is going to be a cakewalk compared with what Gran has in store for you.”
“Truth,” the boy muttered and sat back to stare out the window.
She caught Trevor’s eye as she turned to face the front again. “To Gran’s house?” he asked, his gaze filled with so much tenderness and understanding she almost melted on the spot.
“To Gran’s,” she whispered and turned her own gaze to the window.
The call came just as they were waiting to board the plane for the flight back to Denver.
