For Always (book one)

Chapter 13: Love

Malyn

We sat on the deck at the restaurant, eating in silence. I pushed my food from one side of the plate to the other, wondering why I had even ordered it. Thinking about this afternoon and Beau's soon departure left me in no shape to eat.

"Ya need to eat somethin', honey," Grandmama said.

"I know." But I also knew that if I tried to swallow a single bite of food that I'd probably throw up.

She reached over and patted my hand. I knew she didn't want Beau to leave, either; she just didn't want me to fall in love with a dead guy.

"This town is beautiful," Max said as he looked out over the lake toward the mountains. "No wonder ya moved here. If Savannah wasn't so charmin', I'd move here, too."

"I looked around for a long time and new that Dandridge was where I wanted to be," Grandmama said with a big smile.

I couldn't smile and didn't want to sit here anymore, so I put my fork down and sat back, looking for Jace. He was coming to get me in his boat, which I was looking forward to. I was hoping he would help me forget about today. Forget about Beau. Forget how bad it already hurt.

"What are you and Jace gonna do this evenin'?" Grandmama asked.

"Who's this Jace fella?"

"Jace's parents own all of this," Grandmama replied, pointing at the restaurant and marina.

Max was nodding with approval as I looked at Grandmama and sighed. "I don't know. We may ride around or just go back to his house and swim or something."

"Did ya bring your bathin' suit?"

"I don't need one," I tried to joke, but since it seemed impossible to smile, or even smirk, it just came out smart. "I can wear one of Beth's."

Max laughed. "Remember that time we went swimmin' in Lake Mayer and forgot our swim—"

"Max," Grandmama interrupted.

"Forgot your what?" I teased, looking at Grandmama with my eyebrows raised. It didn't surprise me that she may have gone skinny dipping. From some of the stories she had shared, she spent a few years of her life mostly naked.

She smiled at me, then looked at Max and appeared to start flirting. "We did have fun that day, didn't we." The way she smiled at him, it wasn't a question.

Her and Max? I hadn't thought of them that way, but now that I did, I could see it. "So, you two hooked up back in the day, huh?" I was finally capable smiling.

Max blushed when Grandmama smiled back at me and said, "Maybe." Then she took a sip of her tea and winked at me before glancing back at Max. I loved her.

"Hey!"

I heard someone yell and looked up to see Jace coming toward us. When he got close, he climbed up the deck like he had the first time I met him. I was surprised that I actually felt glad to see him, since my emotions were all over the place.

"Hey, I didn't see you pull up. We were busy reminiscing," I told him, smiling at Max and Grandmama.

"'About what?"

"What was it you two were talking about, Max?"

"Oh, we were talkin' about how back in the day me and Nellie—"

"Okay, you two," Grandmama interrupted. "Jace doesn't need to hear our dirty laundry," then she smiled coyly at Max, "and dirty it was."

"Grandmama!" I couldn't keep from laughing now.