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It was lucky for both of them that he was an excellent driver, because her last statement caused him to swerve off the road slightly. Thankfully, he was able to correct his blunder before any damage was done.
He gave himself ten seconds to calm down, both from the adrenaline that was rushing through him from the near accident and also the totally left-field remark that his nana had just made.
Getting upset wouldn’t make the situation any better, but he wanted to be very clear with to her that she had it all wrong. Even if she didn’t. Harper’s Crossing was a small town and gossip spread faster than a freight train on greased tracks.
He hoped she’d listen to him as he set the record straight. “I didn’t let her get away once. She dated Neil, not me. And she’s not in love with me.”
“Yes you did let her get away,” she insisted and pointed out, “you said it yourself, she dated your brother. And you just sat back and let it happen.”
Nate had never told anyone how he felt about Eliza. He’d barely admitted it to himself. So, how was it that Bailey and Nana knew?
“I didn’t let her do anything. She dated who she wanted to date.”
“No. She didn’t.” His grandma crossed her arms, signifying this was serious. She meant business. “She dated who pursued her, there’s a difference.”
“She’s not in love with me, Nana.”
As much as he’d wished that wasn’t true, it was. She’d dated his brother for three years. Then proceeded to marry two other men. That wasn’t exactly the behavior of someone who is in love with someone else.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see her shaking her head. “If you believe that, then you are either blind as a bat or dumb as a bag of rocks.
“Where is this coming from?” he asked defensively.
“This is coming from the fact that I might not be around much longer and I don’t want to leave this earth with both of my grandsons being asshats.”
“Nana?!” In all of his twenty-eight years on this earth, Nate had never heard his grandma curse. Instead of the F-word, she said fudge. Instead of damn, she said darn. Instead of shit, she said shoot. This was a side of her he’d never seen.
“Well, it’s the truth. I’m not going to live forever and you’re just like your grandfather, stubborn as a mule. I had to kick him in the rear and I’ll do the same for you. That girl is the one. She’s your happily ever after. If you want to bury your head in the sand that’s up to you. But let me tell you something, Nathanial Edward Holmes, what you and Eliza have is special. It always has been. That kind of love, the real love, the true love, the forever love, doesn’t come around every day. Some people live their entire lives on this planet and never feel what you feel for that girl and they would do anything to have what you have.”
The cab of his truck grew quiet and for a brief moment he thought she was all lectured out. His shoulders, that he hadn’t even noticed were tensed up, lowered down to resting position. But, his relief was premature.
“And one more thing, if you waste it, if you ignore it and don’t go after her, don’t tell her how you feel, then you don’t deserve that love, and you don’t deserve her.”
I couldn’t agree more.
He kept his silent agreement to himself. His nana had hit the nail on the head. He didn’t deserve love and he didn’t deserve her.
