Page 49 of Paths
I scribble my answer and cover it up, but Grady doesn’t try to hide his. When I see him write out Stephen Covey, I do my best to hide my smile.
“What?” He shrugs his shoulders. “I’ve never heard of The Power of One. It sounds motivational—it’s my best guess.”
I laugh and show him my answer when Bryce Courtenay is announced. All I say is, “You’re going down, Grady Cain. I can’t wait to make you dinner.”
Chapter 14 – You Give Good Dates
Maya –
“Tell me about your sisters.”
I look back and Grady is pushing the cart, looking put out, but following along. He’s just mad he lost at trivia, yet this was his idea. Apparently, I’m cooking for him tomorrow night.
It’s late. We stayed at the brewery until closing, listening to live music, but it was louder than trivia, so I had no opportunity to interrogate him about anything. I’m shopping slow, trying to think out a menu while I bombard him with questions.
“What do you want to know?” he asks, looking bored since we’re in the produce section.
I bag up a zucchini and he doesn’t hide his scowl. “Are they older? Younger?”
He leans down with his forearms on the handle and starts pushing slowly again. “All younger.”
I stop, so he stops in tandem. “Wow, I still can’t believe your parents had five kids. All I have is my brother, and we were pretty quiet because we had to be. My mother wouldn’t have it any other way. That must’ve been interesting for your parents.”
“I don’t know about parents, my mom did all the parenting when we were young, but that’s it. We’re really close in age. Gracie’s the youngest and she’s twenty-four.”
I realize there’s so much to learn about him. “How old are you?”
“Thirty-two.”
I nod, but roll my eyes before moving on. “I suppose you know how old I am.”
This buys me an unapologetic Grady-grin I’m quickly becoming obsessed with. “You’ll be twenty-nine late next month. You can bake me a cake for your birthday.”
Whatever. I move on and grab a small butternut squash.
“Are you close to your sisters?” I keep on.
He shrugs and when we finally move on to the next aisle, he perks up and starts tossing jars of pickles, olives, jellies, and more peanut butter in the cart. “I guess. I try to see them when I can—they’re in Ohio. I’m the only one who left, and I did that right after high school. Joined the Army and never looked back.”
We make it through more aisles, me adding needed ingredients and Grady adding junk food.
“I’m glad you’re close to your sisters. I don’t know what I’d do without Joe. He’s my best friend,” I say, thoughtfully. I stop again to look at him and mean it with all my heart when I say, “You don’t know what it means to me that I get to go see him. I’m worried about him, but I also miss him. My mom’s a pain in the ass, my dad’s tied up in his business, but Joe and I have always had each other. And with the issue of Weston looming over me, I don’t think I’d have the nerve to go back on my own.”
Grady straightens from where he was leaning on the cart and takes a step, closing the small distance separating us.
“So, thank you,” I go on, tipping my head back to look him in the eyes. “It means a lot to me.”
He says nothing, but leans down just far enough to press his lips to my forehead.
When we finally make it through the aisles and head to the front of the store to check out, we come across the holiday department that looks as though Santa’s dropped a Christmas bomb in Walmart.
“Do you spend Christmas with your family?” I ask.
I’ve never spent a Christmas away from mine, but I’ve hardly had time to think about it. Working seven days a week has distracted me from everything.
When I look over, Grady’s gaze is on me.
“Sometimes,” he answers. “It’s been hit or miss for the last ten years. Depended on if I was working and could make it back. You okay?”
