Page 77 of If It's You

Her shallow compliments meant nothing to him. He used to hang onto every lie, desperate for approval from anyone and everyone. But not anymore.

“I’ve gotta go.”

“Okay . . . I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye,” he said and hung up on that part of his life.

“Who was that?” Grandma’s voice startled him, and he dropped his phone.

Christian’s ears burned. He hadn’t seen Grandma on her chair, but of course she was. She was always there, watching her mystery show, drafting romance novels in her notebook. From what he knew, she’d never published any, but there was an entire shelf in the storage room filled with her notebooks.

“A friend,” he lied.

“That was no friend.” Grandma shook her head. “I know what you need.”

Christian held his stomach. “I don’t think I can eat any more beans.” He still had phantom pains from when Jayce and Hugh made him finish off the rest after the basketball game. That’s when he’d discovered other ways those beans were “magical”.

“Of course not. We are going to town.” Grandma reached for her purse.

“What about Jayce?”

Grandma swatted the air. “He’s out with his girl. You can be my fill-in grandson tonight.”

“Okay. Let me go clean up real quick.” He showered and changed, then met her by the car. “May I drive?” He asked, hoping he didn’t sound inconsiderate. He had driven with Grandma before and frankly, it scared him.

“I thought you’d never ask,” she said with her deep throaty chuckle that Christian had grown to love.

He got in the driver’s seat and headed slowly toward town.

“I might be dead before we make it there if you don’t step on it,” Grandma said.

“Sorry.” He pushed harder on the gas. “Where are we headed?”

“You’ll know when we get there.” Grandma leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes, and Christian kept driving. He passed the spread-out houses along the highway that led to town. There were more cows in this county than people. It smelled terrible, but it was beautiful.

He wouldn’t mind living somewhere like this. If only he knew what he wanted out of his life. His dad had wanted him to be a doctor or a lawyer, a career that would ensure Christian would make enough money to support a family someday. But neither of those occupations interested him. He wanted the security money could bring, but Christian had never resented his dad for their humble means. He’d always been loved, and that had been enough. But love didn’t put a roof over his head.

He shoved a hand through his hair and studied the small town. The high school was the biggest building in the town, and even that was small. This looked like the kind of town where everybody could be found sitting under those Friday night lights, cheering on the home team. What would that be like?

He passed through the one intersection and kept going, waiting for Grandma to say something, but she didn’t. After only ten blocks, the road turned from paved to dirt again. Mountains loomed ahead, and a giant rock “B” forever marked the mountain as the home of Baxter. Then the road ended abruptly at a bright green house.

Christian looked at Grandma. “Are we here?”

“Yes, my dear, we are. Time to introduce you to the best steak in the country.” Grandma said, swiping on some red lipstick. She tied a scarf around her neck, and her signature look was complete.

“Now we’re talking.” Christian rubbed his hands together and followed Grandma into the quaint restaurant.

Grandma was right. The steak was heavenly. He would dream about it forever.

“Don’t look now, but our waitress has been ogling you since the moment you walked in,” Grandma said.

“What?” Christian choked on his water. He turned in time to see the petite blond look away with a blush.

“Her name is Lyla, and she is just the sweetest thing. She’s a year older than you, but she comes from a good family.”

Christian’s eyes widened at Grandma’s details about the girl. “How do you know all that?”

“Oh, honey, this is Baxter. Everybody knows everybody here.”