Page 116 of One and Only

Why she loved without reservation.

And then I couldn’t help but wonder who I’d want Olive to learn from as she grew up. What kind of lessons she’d learn from me if I kept on this path.

I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but eventually the door opened, and Greer joined me.

Just her presence alone set off a reaction inside me.

When she walked past to take the seat her mom had vacated, I thought about Sheila’s words. Her fierce-hearted daughter who jumped in without thought, eyes blazing.

I glanced over at that woman and wondered how I’d been so blind when she slowly infiltrated herself into every facet of my life.

How was I ever so stupid to think I could resist?

It wasn’t stupidity, I realized, as I cataloged her face. It was arrogance. And now I had to dismantle that, brick by brick by brick.

“Olive named the cat,” she said.

I exhaled a quiet laugh.

“Of course she did.” I sighed. “What’d she pick?”

Greer’s lips curved into an irresistible smile. “Clarence.”

“What? Why?”

She laughed. “No clue. She told my dad he looks like an old man, so she picked an old man’s name.”

I didn’t laugh like she might have expected. All it did was heap another weight onto the pile weighing down my chest.

Greer sighed before she spoke again.

“You and my mom were having a pretty serious discussion out here,” she said.

Slowly, I nodded.

“Want to talk about it?”

I took a deep breath, then locked eyes with Greer. Her smile faded when she caught sight of my face.

“I have to tell Josie.”

Chapter25

Greer

I thought Olive might fall asleep on the drive home, but she was way too busy making plans for Clarence the Cat to do something as boring as sleep.

“Can we get him a cat tower for my room? He needs his exercise to stay strong.”

Beckett nodded. “I’m sure we can, sweet pea. We’ve got a few weeks until he’s big enough to leave his mom, though, so we’ll take our time and find all the best stuff for him.”

“And toys,” she added. “He’ll need toys.”

“Yup,” he said easily, his eyes locked on her in the rearview mirror.

“Can we get a cat bed too?” she asked.

Beckett made a noise of agreement. “You don’t think Clarence will be sleeping in your bed?”

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