Page 37 of Over the Verdant Hills
“I’ll let you know.” He paused, draining the last of his tea before he said casually, “I talked to Trevor today.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “I was at the healing garden in town. You know where I mean?”
“I’ve been there once since I moved here. I wanted to explore it a little more. Grandma talks so well about it, but I just haven’t made the time.”
“You should. Vera and her husband did a great job on it. Anyway, I had lunch with my mom, and then I went there for a few minutes. Trevor found me there, and we chatted.”
“Is he engaged to Grace?” Claire asked, seeming to forget all of her other problems in her interest in Trevor and Grace.
“I think so. He said there was going to be a wedding soon. And that his dad and her mom just got married.”
“So you were right.”
He nodded. “My mom has her ways, and I get everything from her.”
“I just found out your secret, right?”
“Sure did.” He grinned at her and was gratified to see her smiling. If teasing him made her happy, she could go at it all she wanted to. “He asked about you. He wanted to know if you were angry. He said Grace was afraid that you were because she’d tried to reach out to you and you hadn’t responded.”
“He’s right. She’s reached out several times, and I just haven’t.”
“I explained that you have a lot on your plate right now. That you were going through a good bit. I didn’t get into a bunch of details, because I didn’t know how much you wanted to share with everyone.”
“I might as well share everything there is, because being that it’s a small town, everyone’s going to figure it all out anyway.”
“I don’t know. If Trevor knew more than what I told him, he didn’t let on. But that’s your call. Just know that Grace really wants to get together, and I know she’d be a help right now.”
She nodded and didn’t seem too upset about the suggestion. He was afraid she was going to get defensive, but he couldn’t go around being scared that she would get upset every time he opened his mouth.
And she really wasn’t that kind of person anyway.
He wasn’t sure why he was so cautious, unless it was all the stories his dad had told about irrational women. He was starting to think that maybe the stories weren’t true.
Or maybe, just maybe, he’d found a gem in Claire.
But only as a friend. She certainly hadn’t indicated that she wanted anything more.
“All right. I still think I’m a little fuzzy in my head about everything I need to do, but kids first, tomorrow. Maybe I can… Did he leave Grace’s number?”
“No. I didn’t think to ask for it. But my mom might have it, or I can get her number. You want me to text it to you later?”
“Yes. If you’re able to get it, please pass it along to me. I shouldn’t have deleted everything from my phone. But I was certain at the time that there would never be a time when I would want to…get back together with her.”
“Friends can be invaluable, and I have a feeling that you’re going toneed a pretty strong support system. You know you can depend on people in the town.”
“Yeah. I’m just new here.”
“It doesn’t matter. People will rally around you anyway. And your grandma is not new. And you know how small towns are. You’re related to her, so they’re gonna love you no matter what.”
“True.” She sighed. “I wish I could have figured out how to make bread as good as hers. I have a feeling I’m never going to learn.”
“I wouldn’t say that. It might not be just like hers, but you’ll figure something out. And plus, maybe the new meds will help her, and you’ll have months and months together, if not years. The doctor doesn’t always have to be right.”
“I like the way you think, but I guess I kind of feel like after watching her the last couple of days, she’s gone downhill so fast. On the one hand, I kind of hope that she just slips away really quickly and easily and doesn’t suffer. It sounded to me like it could end up being really painful.”
“I think that’s probably the thing that I would want to focus on. Making sure that she’s comfortable.”
