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“You’re less than three hours away, so if anything happens, I’ll let you know. And Connie’s on call too, in case she’s needed,” Harlow says.
Connie speaks now. “And Lana and I will help where we can. We’ve already come up with outings we can take your grandpa on to get him out of the house or if Harlow ever needs a break for whatever reason.”
Lana chimes in. “We’re going to run some activities here. I think bingo night will be fun. Robyn said they have it at the clinic and your grandpa enjoys it.”
“He really does,” Robyn agrees.
“And my store is officially a No-Marty zone,” Mae adds. “I won’t serve him a drop, and I’ll be sure to let everyone know the same.”
I can’t look at any of them.
I just…can’t.
I can’t do anything besides rest my elbows on my knees, link myfingers together, and stare down at the ground, try to breathe through whatever the fuck it is I’m feeling right now.
Again, Harlow continues, “Sammy and Jeannie are both working now, and they’re going to move into my house, so that income will still be there…”
“And I can’t wait to hang with Grandpa,” Sammy sings.
Then Jeannie adds, “I have an amazing board game collection.”
And Harlow continues, “And that rental income will go toward the assisted living place I found in Lubbock.”
My head snaps up now, my eyes right on Harlow. She smiles, soft, delicate… just like her.
“It’s only ten miles from campus, and it’s a top-tier facility… and you’ll never guess. The director is a Texas Tech alumnus and big,hugefan of the Red Raiders, and wouldn’t you know it… he’s a fan ofyou. But there’s a waiting list, and he can’t just bump people off it. He said it’s probably nine months minimum, two years maximum, which is absolutely fine with me. With all of us.”
“And you don’t need to worry about financing the difference,” Eric, Jonah’s dad, chimes in. “Your grandpa came to me years ago. I think when he first started to notice that things were becoming…differentfor him.” Eric is a lawyer and specializes in trusts and wills. “He was sure to take care of you, Jace,” he says. “He had me set up a trust where almost every cent of his money went to you when you needed it. Retirement, pension, stocks, interest accrued, all of it.” He pauses a breath. “There’s also money that came in when your parents died, and so you’re all set. I can cut the check as soon as you give me the go-ahead.”
I force air into my lungs, but it’s thick and hard to swallow. I stare at Harlow, watch her chest rise and fall as she stares back. “Can I talk to you a minute?”
“Sure.”
I walk paces ahead of her as I make my way to the office and wait for her to join me before closing the door. I rest against it, ready to speak, but before I can get a word out, she says, standing a few feet away, “Look, I know ambushing you like this may not have been thebest way to go about it, but it was the only way I thought you’d listen.” She hands me the stack of papers. “I have it all planned out. Everything is there.”
I scan the printouts without actually taking in any of it. “He needs a lot of help, Harlow. It’s not just keeping him away from alcohol. There’s medication and exercises and a hell of a lot of testing coming up. A lot of appointments. A lot of…everything. And you don’t reallyknowhim. And he doesn’t know you, and there’s so much I’d have to tell you, and?—”
“And we have the rest of the summer for you to guide me.”
I lower my gaze, unable to comprehend what she’s even saying right now.
“Jace, this is everything you’ve been dreaming about forever. Youcannotgive up on this opportunity. I won’t let you.”
I keep my head down, wipe the dampness from my eyes. “You really got all these people together, made all these phone calls and came up with this plan in what? Twenty-four hours?”
Smiling, she nods proudly.
“Why would you do this for me?”
She’s quiet a beat, and I force myself to look at her. Her eyes are coated with tears, and I fight to keep my hands still, to not hold her the way I want to. “I don’t think you realize how much you mean to me. How much you saved me.” She swallows her emotions while her tears slip free. “I never told you this before, but the only way I used to be able to sleep was on the floor of my closet, hugging Harley’s old letterman jacket. I was a shell of a human when you met me… so weighed down by grief, I could barely come up for air. And somehow, some way, you pulled me out of that darkness, Jace, and you… you became my light.”
“Harlow…” I step forward. Just once. “So, you feel like you owe me?”
“No,” she’s quick to say. “I’m doing this because I care about you. BecauseI love you… and because I don’t want to see anyone else I love have to give up their dreams like my brother did. And I know it’s selfish of me to be thinking this right now, but… there was a fifty-fifty chance with the heart disease that took Harley. It was him or me. And my brother died chasing the same thing that’s in front of you right now,so if anything… I owehimthis, not you.” She sniffs back her heartache, but leaves her tears bare as her chest rises and falls with each struggled breath. “And I know it’s hard to leave your grandpa, especially in the state he’s in, but Iswearto you, Jace, I will do everything right by him. I will love him and care for him the way you would. The way youhave. I won’t let anything happen to him. I promise.”
For seconds, I just stand there, watching the girl I love love me back in ways I could never have imagined, let alone comprehend. I fill my lungs with their life source, then I turn, open the door. Jonah’s just outside, and he rears back, then quickly feigns interest with the wall opposite. “Yeah, Lana!” he calls out. “Definitely needs a new paint job.”
Everyone’s eyes trail me from the office back to the dining area, and the entire time, Jonah and Harlow follow only a few steps behind, whispering loud enough that I can hear them, but not loud enough to make out what they’re saying. I lean against the railing that separates the dining area from the rest of the rink while Jonah retakes his seat and Harlow sits beside her dad. Then I take in each person here, one by one, my heart aching as each of their eyes meets mine, searching for answers. I lower my gaze, unsure what to do. What to say. They’re all here. Forme. And I can’t quite graspwhy, but,God, do I appreciate it. “I don’t even know what to say…”