Page 20 of Forever Flirting

Oh, there were slight differences, but there was no denying that this boy was the spitting image of himself.

“Thank you for helping me today, Nana…”

“You’ve always been too impulsive for your own good.”

“I know – but I think getting older, I’m starting to realize that.”

“Bahhhh… don’t lie to me, young’un,” his grandmother countered, waving her hand. “You’ve got Kendall blood in you – and we are lovers and fighters. Impulsive is in our nature, and people just don’t understand sometimes.”

“Yeah, except I don’t have your luck…”

“No, you don’t, sweet Alex,” she said softly, patting his cheek, and her eyes looked almost heavy with knowledge. “You’ve had a rough road and don’t deserve some of it, but it’s moments like this where you come to appreciate what you do have – and that is family.”

“Nana…”

“Now, I know your Daddy is a disgrace and I refuse to acknowledge that my son could sink so low – but your sweet mama was a good girl. I really loved her, and Dinah always said you were her ‘unexpected miracle baby’.”

Alex laughed softly, laying his head on his grandmother’s shoulder.

“They never planned on having children, and your mama was so excited that she was pregnant with you – and I think a little scared. It’s a tough thing to start over with your life at forty-three years old… and your daddy was fifty at the time. Can you imagine wrestling a little version of Caleb at fifty years old?”

“No,” he chuckled, admitting it openly.

“Family always takes care of each other – and I’m so glad we can cuddle with Caleb, but you need to act more like your beloved mama… not your Daddy. That is why I was so mad during your last visit. Youknowbetter, Alex.”

“I know I do, Nana…” he whispered, kissing Caleb’s head where he sat in his lap, touching the photo album. “I never intended for any of this.”

“Then what happened… because this isn’t like you. You’ve always had your head on straight, kept things in check, and knew your boundaries. I never expected you to be a saint or a monk… butthis?”

Alex hesitated, feeling the last three years just slam into him with so much force and recognition that it was overwhelming. He looked at her weathered face, swallowed hard, and couldn’t speak… only to see awareness in her eyes.

“From the beginning, Alex,” his Nana said gently. “Talk to me.”

“She was so beautiful, so different…” he whispered hoarsely, closing his eyes and seeing Everly’s smile once more. “You are right – I do know better, but this was the first time I truly felt hurt or wounded, and I wanted to lash out.”

Her hand squeezed his as he kept talking, everything pouring out of him as he relived that night in his mind once more, needing to keep that flame, that spark, alive… just so he could see her mysterious smile.

“I met her at a bar…” he began.

“Oh gracious, I know where this is going…”

“Nawww,” Alex chuckled softly. “She was drinking water - and yeah, I had a few shots of tequila…”

“Dummy! What did I tell you?”

“Tequila makes your clothes fall off, Dummy – Have a beer instead…”he repeated dutifully, laughing nervously, and thinking back to that embarrassing conversation they’d had when he was twenty-one and had gotten drunk for the first time.

He’d called his grandmother, his only remaining family member, and told her about celebrating his birthday weekend with his friends from the Academy.

They hadn’t been very close until that fateful afternoon long ago when his whole life had changed – and now he wished he had been here sooner. His grandmother was good to him, loved him unconditionally like he was her very own child.

“Exactly,” Nana muttered. “Stay away from that stuff.”

“Haven’t touched it since,” Alex admitted, sighed, and continued reliving that moment with so much emotion inside of him. “She was so smart, so lovely, and such a surprise that I couldn’t help myself…”

“So why didn’t you marry the girl if she got pregnant with Caleb?”

“Because she isn’t Caleb’s mother,” Alex whispered painfully, hating the shame in his voice. “I think she realized I wanted to know more about her, was completely attracted to her, and when I kissed her…”

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