Simple Beginnings by Janelle Stalder

Author:Janelle Stalder [Stalder, Janelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-03-10T04:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Gage

The screen door slammed shut behind me, the sound loud in the quietness of the kitchen. I stopped just inside the doorway, my eyes instantly finding Nan at the table. I was just about to call out a greeting when I stopped. Something about the way she sat there was not sitting right with me. I’d never really seen Nan upset, but there was no mistaking fromthe set of her slumped shoulders, and pinched features, that there was definitely something wrong.

“Hey, Nan,” I said, stepping into the kitchen. “Everything okay?”

Her eyes blinked a couple of times before she smiled, the expression not reaching her eyes. “Of course,” she said, shuffling the papers in front of her into a neat stack.

I eyed the pile, clearly the source of whatever was bothering here. “You sure?” I asked, lifting both brows.

She waved me off, getting up and shoving the stack into a drawer. “Boy, if there was something wrong, I certainly wouldn’t bother you about it. I think you have enough on your shoulders as it is.”

I stepped closer to her, leaning against the counter. “Nothing you tell me is a bother, Nan. I want to help you out whenever I can.”

She smiled over at me, pulling a bowl of something out of the fridge that looked like pudding, but I couldn’t be sure.

“You just focus on saving up money for college, and let me worry about my own business.”

I didn’t like this brush off at all, but what could I really do? Clearly Nan didn’t want to discuss it. While I might give in to her face, there was no way I was actually going to drop the subject. I’d find out what was going on with her. If Nan looked upset, it had to be bad. Nothing touched this woman. She was stronger than any other person I knew.

“Fine,” I said, plastering a smile on my face. Her lips pinched, probably because she wasn’t stupid and knew I was giving in too easily. “Think you could put some lemonade into two bottles for Ella and I? It’s hot out there, and we’re about to collapse.”

“Of course!” she said, instantly fretting around the kitchen. “Want to tell me why you both look like you haven’t slept in days, and my granddaughter came home in the early hours of the morning from the direction of your house?” She didn’t look at me when she asked. Then again, she didn’t have to. I had no doubt she was taking in every reaction of mine.

“It’s not what you think,” I said with a soft chuckle.

“Uh huh, better not be. That girl deserves a good man, someone who is going to take care of her as much as he’s going to step back and give her her independence.”

I shuffled from foot to foot, suddenly feeling like a child again. “I know that,” I muttered.

“You just keep on knowing that. I don’t need any broken hearts around here.”

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