Page 76 of Catch
After dinner, as everyone started to say their goodbyes, I lingered with my grandparents.
“Should we go catch a few fish Wednesday? Isn’t that your next day off?” Gramps asked casually.
“Sounds good, old man.” I hated fishing now, but being with Gramps always seemed like a good idea.
He cleared his throat and I knew what was coming before he even asked. “Can I ask you something really quick?”
I nodded. I could never deny him, even when I knew it was about Loxley.
“Did you fall in love with her?”
“You know I did,” I admitted without hesitation.
“Did she fall in love with you?”
I froze. I didn’t answer. Because the truth was, if she had, I wanted her to tell me herself. I didn’t want to assume, even though I felt it in my bones that she had.
When I didn’t respond, Gramps sighed and left to help Grams with the dishes. I stayed at the table a while longer, staring at the empty plate in front of me before finally heading out.
The drive home was quiet. The kind of quiet that made my thoughts seem louder. So I finally flicked the radio on for the first time in days, hoping for a distraction, and just as I pulled into my driveway, the first notes of one of her songs came through the speakers.
It was the one that had been playing the day I pulled her over. The one about hating men and wanting revenge. It made me smile, despite everything, because I knew the truth now. She hadn’t written that song. She told me that she only wrote what she felt, but the label made her sing what would trend.
And just like that, it hit me. She wrote what she felt.
Leaving those lyrics behind wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t an accident. She wanted me to read them. She wanted me to know how she felt. And there was no way in hell I was going to tell West that he was right all along.
My hands gripped the steering wheel as my mind raced. Only after the song ended did I jump out of my Jeep and make my way inside to the stack of music and I started reading.
West had handed me a front-row seat, and she'd left me a whole doorway.
I just had to decide if I was ready to walk through it.
Chapter Forty-Four
LOXLEY
It had been nearlya month since I had last called my mom. But when Sunday night rolled around, I thought about Miles and his family, and about them sitting around the table, sharing stories and laughter. The image tugged at something deep inside me, and before I knew it, I was picking up my phone.
“Well, hey there,” Mama answered softly. I could hear the warmth in her voice, but there seemed to be some confusion as well.
“Hey, Mama.” For the first time in a week, I felt my lips curve into a real smile. “Tell me what’s been going on, Mama.”
Without needing to be asked twice, she launched into a story about her neighbor’s latest antics, then about a potluck at church where someone brought the driest meatloaf she’d ever tasted. There was a bit of good news, though. The butter beans were on sale this week so she planned to make a big pot for her book club.
Mama was proud of the star I’d become, I knew that. But what I loved most was how my success never changed her. She stayed the same simple, steady presence in a world that often felt too complicated.
“Now,” she said, her tone shifting to something more serious, “what’s been going on with you?”
“What do you mean?” I hedged, even though I knew exactly what she meant.
“I mean the news saying you were sick. I waited to hear from you, but you never called. I started to call you, but… well, it’s never worked that way.” Her voice softened. “So I just prayed for you, even though in my heart, I didn’t think you were sick.”
Her words hit me hard, twisting something inside me. She was right. It usually didn’t work out well when she called me. I rarely answered because I was never alone. I only called her when my leash wasn’t so tight around Sam’s hands.
“Do you want to tell me what’s been going on?” she asked gently. “You know you can talk to me.”
I hesitated because the truth felt too tangled. But my silence was loud. .
