He shrugged. “Way I see it, I’ve got my family and home, so I came out a-okay. It was about time to remodel anyway.”
“Let me know if I can help. Once Mom and Dad’s insurance money comes in, I’ll be out at the ranch, but until then, I don’t mind lending a hand.”
“All this excitement has stirred up my emotions, and...” As if he was choked up, the man’s voice cracked. He placed his hand on Grady’s shoulder the same way he had when lecturing him on having Jessie home by midnight after prom. “If you don’t mind my saying, Billy Sue and I both thought you would have been a fine match for our baby girl.”
“Ah, thank you, sir.” What else could he say to that? Gee, sir, I thought so, too, but your daughter had other plans? His heart galloped like a runaway horse. Was Jessie here? Was she inside? Lounging by the pool? If so, what would he say? What would she say?
“Grady—” Billy Sue trailed after them “—we’ve got the upstairs guest room all ready for you, and just as soon as your parents get back, we’ll barbecue some nice ribs, okay?”
“Thanks. Sounds great.” The whole town had crumpled around them—including her husband’s livelihood—and all she could think about was hosting a cookout? Where had she even bought the food? Swenson’s Meat Market and the grocery store had been annihilated.
In the den, while Jessie’s dad settled into his recliner to watch a golf tourney on TV, Billy Sue set down the dog, then paused in front of the back staircase, gesturing for him to follow. “Come on, I’ll show you where everything is.”
Even though he remembered the home’s layout, he trailed her up the stairs. Cotton formed the tail end of the parade, yipping the whole way.
“Jessie’s staying with us, too, you know? I’m sure she’s real excited for you to be home. Although I know for a fact, Grady Matthews, that you’ve been back for visits long before now. Why haven’t you stopped by?”
“Mom kept me busy.” Was Billy Sue kidding? Didn’t she have any idea what her daughter had put him through? And what was wrong with him that after the trials he’d faced in becoming a SEAL, Jessie still held the power to get him all tongue-tied and queasy—and she wasn’t even there. He couldn’t imagine how bad he’d feel once she actually showed up.
Billy Sue tsk-tsked. “I’m gonna have to get on to her for that. Shame on her for hogging you all for herself. Poor Jess would’ve loved to catch up.”
Enough. He stopped midway down the hall. “Mrs. Long—Billy Sue—I don’t mean to start trouble, but there’s something I need to get off my chest. Ancient history, really, but I guess it needs to be said.”
She spun her wedding band around on her ring finger. “After the week we’ve had around here, I’m not up for more bad news.”
“It’s more like old news.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “You do know your daughter broke up with me?”
Her eyes narrowed. “No. No, I don’t believe that for a second. Jess still has your prom picture in her wallet. I thought you two naturally cooled down when you joined the Navy?”
“I didn’t even enlist until—” What was the use in explaining? “Ma’am, it’s the truth.”
* * *
AFTER HER LONG DAY, there was nothing Jessie would have loved more than to jump in the pool, but as filthy as she was, she didn’t figure her dad would appreciate her clouding his water. During the storm, her mom reported that debris had rained from the sky. So much had fallen that her dad had scooped the pool floor with an extrawide snow shovel. But that was okay. More than okay, considering how much the rest of the town had suffered. They were beyond blessed to still have their home.
So why did she feel so low?
Maybe because even though her apartment hadn’t been anything special, it’d been hers, and now she had nothing to call her own. Not only was the second-grade classroom she’d been so proud to teach in gone, but the entirety of Rock Bluff Elementary School.
“There you are.” Her mom stepped out the front door.
“Hey.” Jessie pressed the autolock on her rental Ford and nodded to the black sedan parked in front of her. “Who’s here?”
“Actually, there’s a funny story that goes along with that car.”
“Mom...” Jessie wasn’t up for one of her mother’s epic sagas. She loved her dearly, but the woman talked more than she breathed. “I need a shower and a nap, and—”
“You’ll never guess who’s inside our house right at this very second.”
Jessie’s chest tightened. One of her old high school friends had told her Grady was back to help his parents. She sent up a silent prayer that whomever her mom was talking about, it wasn’t him. Anyone but him.
She was still shaky from the storm, being trapped in her building’s basement until volunteer firemen had rescued her and a few neighbors. Thank goodness school had already been done for the day. The only thing worse than what she’d already been through would have been experiencing the tornado’s fury with her students.
To see Grady now, with her looking a mess, she’d die of mortification.
“And, ladybug, you wouldn’t believe what he just told me.”
Jessie gulped. “He?”
No, no, no, this isn’t happening.
“Since Ben and Rose are staying in the guesthouse, it only makes sense that with their Grady in town, he stays here with them. And why didn’t you tell me you broke up with him? You cried for months. We didn’t think you’d be able to leave for college.”
“Please, stop exaggerating.”
“I don’t hear a denial.” Billy Sue opened the back door of Jessie’s car and took out the plastic laundry tub Jessie had filled with clothes. They were caked with drywall dust and mud, and her mom wrinkled her nose at the smell. “These jeans could get up and walk themselves.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you just leave them? We could make a fun weekend out of driving to Fort Worth or Dallas to find you a whole new wardrobe.”
This was all too much. The storm. Grady. Losing her apartment and school. “I don’t want new clothes, I want mine—anything to remind me that four days ago, I woke up in my own bed, ate my own cereal, drove my own car, taught in my classroom. Now I don’t have anything. It’s all just gone. I feel like I’m living in the Twilight Zone, and I need a break.”
“Honey...” Her mother slipped her arm around Jessie’s shoulders. “Don’t you see? Having Grady here will make everything better. You’ll see.”
“Oh, my God, Mom. No, it won’t. If anything, having him around will only make an already awful situation unbearable.”
“Sorry to hear that.” Grady stood on the porch, glaring at her.
“Jess...” It might sound sappy, but Grady had lost count of how many times he’d dreamed of this moment. Only, it was all wrong. For starters, Billy Sue wasn’t supposed to be there. And in his rich fantasy life, Jessie would smile as opposed to staring him down as if he’d sprouted horns.
“Grady.” Her cheeks were tearstained, white T-shirt dirt smudged and ponytail tangled, but even eight years since the last time he’d seen her, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. And judging by her expression, she was also still not interested in anything he had to say.
“You