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Genni
The cloying scent of roses mixed with whatever bleach-based cleaner they used saturated the room as people filed in to give their condolences. I hovered by the door, unable to bring myself to walk past the threshold and down the aisle toward the long gleaming mahogany box. An enlarged portrait sat on an easel next to it, and the lid sat open and waiting. I wanted to remember my gran as the fiery old lady she was and not some plastic-looking motionless doll. Dead bodies creeped me out, and when it was my own family, it was worse. I trusted Kendra had done her best to make Gran look as normal as possible, but a body devoid of life could never look the same as a living, breathing human.
“Genevieve, I am so sorry for your loss. I hate that Jackie’s passing is what it took for you to come home.” Ester, one of my gran’s oldest friends, hugged me. Her little dig didn’t go unnoticed. She never approved of me moving so far from home and always let me know whenever I returned.
“Thank you.” I bit my tongue to keep from letting the rest of my response tumble out.
“Oh, Genni.” Brooke’s chin quivered as she wrapped me in her arms. I hadn’t seen Brooke Todd, now Rowley, or her husband, Matt, since our high school graduation. We had reconnected on Facebook a few years back. They had four kids now; she had been pregnant with their first our senior year, and I was surprised they had stayed together this long. They were the only high school sweethearts who hadn’t divorced by now. “It’s so good to see you, but I hate that it’s under these circumstances. I loved your gran like she was my own.” She wiped the corners of her eyes.
“I know.” I absently patted her hand. She stood waiting for more of a response, and I racked my brain for some type of small talk. “How’s Matt and the kids?” It was cliché, but all I could come up with.
I looked around at the growing crowd as she stood before me, blubbering her answer. Gran was loved in this little community, and it looked like every Tom, Dick, and Harry had come to pay their respects. My skin crawled with the need to escape the room. The walls began to suck in, cloying perfume wafted around me, and I couldn’t take a deep breath. I tried to calm myself, but extreme claustrophobia was setting in.
Brooke’s response was overpowered by the increasing buzz in my ears. I needed to leave; I couldn’t stay here with these people any longer. My breath came in short, shallow spurts. I couldn’t keep the fake smile on my face a second longer. My vision narrowed on my hands, noticing how much they looked like my mom’s right this moment, which made me miss her all of a sudden. She would know what to do, the right words to say.
“I got you, darlin’.” A baritone voice rose above the buzzing as a strong warm arm wrapped around my shoulders and guided me out a hidden side door. “Keep breathing for me.” I followed my savior without question, not glancing up until we were seated on the hard iron bench in the carport outside. I honestly didn’t care who had rescued me at that moment; I was just grateful to be outside and in the open.
Finally, when I was able to take full breaths again, I took the time to peer up and see who, out of all the “friends” in that room, had taken the time to notice my distress. Deep emerald eyes stared down at me beneath the brim of a tan Stetson hat. Those eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at me. A face I didn’t recognize but felt myself falling into.
“Thank you.” My voice came out on a sigh. I shook my head and scooted over a bit so that our bodies were no longer touching. “I’m sorry. I don’t recognize you.”
“I came with a friend. The name’s Brian.” He tipped his head and held out his hand in greeting.
“Genni,” I replied as his calloused fingers enveloped mine. A zing of attraction shot straight to my core, and I jerked back as if burnt. My girlie bits should not be tingling at my grandmother’s funeral.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Genni.” His Texan drawl sounded like honey to my ears.
“Who are you here with? Did you know my gran?” I wanted to keep him talking just to hear that voice again.
“I’m in town visitin’ an old friend. You probably know him since he’s the sheriff now. Jason Whatley.”
“Jason?” My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “How do you know him?”
“We met years ago when he was in college. He came to work on my family’s ranch for a summer, and we hit it off. Stayed in touch ever since. I needed a break from the family, so I decided to visit.”
“Oh, well, that’s nice.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. For the first time in my life, I found myself tongue-tied. “I didn’t know Jason had become sheriff. Last I knew, he was a deputy, or that’s what Gran had told me.” I stared at the hearse sitting in front of us, realizing that Gran’s body would be riding in the back of it tomorrow morning.
“Yeah, he was voted in durin’ the last election. Probably helped that he ran unopposed.” Brian’s laugh was deep and full and touched my innermost places. It felt wrong to have this deep of an attraction to a man while Gran lay cold and unmoving just inside those doors.
The silence between us became awkward. My body was responding to this man in a way that was totally inappropriate at a funeral home. I stood and walked back into the visitation room, leaving him alone and without a goodbye. I knew it was rude and that I should apologize, but I needed to get away before I gave in to my body’s craving to be closer to him. As I came through the door, I ran into Jason, and he caught my arms as I stumbled.
“Hey, you okay, Genni?” He steadied me and quickly dropped his hands. He was in his uniform, complete with a radio mic at his shoulder, gun holster on his hip, and shiny silver star on the breast pocket of his tan shirt.
“Yeah, thanks. I’m fine.” I tried to smile as I took a step around him to move farther inside. Jason and I had gone to school together, and I’d made the mistake of agreeing to date him. I quickly found out he was an overbearing jerk and control freak. When I wouldn’t go out with him again, he got pissed, and things became awkward between us.
“You sure?” He moved a step closer, trying to close the distance I had just created.
I sighed in frustration. Everyone had been asking me that since I had arrived. “You want the truth? No, I’m not fine. My gran is dead. The last living relative who gave two shits about me is now gone. I traveled back to this flea-bitten town to say goodbye to her, only to have everyone judge me the moment I stepped foot onto Main Street. I have stood in this room for the last two hours accepting their fake condolences with a fake smile on my face, and I just want to go back to Gran’s house, cry myself to sleep, and forget that she’s gone, even if it’s just for the night.” I blew out an exasperated breath.
Jason’s eyes rounded in shock for a millisecond before he nodded his head and grabbed my elbow. “Come with me.” He turned me to escort me back out the door I had just come in.
I dug my feet in to stop. “Wait, where are you taking me?” I tried to wrench my arm from his grasp to no avail. Rather than make a bigger scene, I chose to follow him.
“Away from here. You, young lady, need to learn some manners, but given the stress of today, we will let that pass.” He nodded for Brian to follow as we continued past the hearse.
“What? I need to learn manners?!” I couldn’t believe my ears. “Who do you think you are, Jason? We aren’t in high school anymore, and you aren’t my boyfriend.”
“No, I am not, but I am the one who is here and knows what you need.”
