Grace (The Family Simon 5)

“That may be true, but I need to do this alone.”

“That’s what I figured.” She paused. “Grace has already left for Nashville.”

“Nashville,” he replied. “Guess I ruined her holiday.”

“That’s all you got? Guess I ruined her holiday?” Betty Jo was fired up and he sighed, rubbing his temples.

“Betty, it’s not like we were ever gonna make it.”

“How do you know that? Dammit, Matt. She’s the one. And trust me, I never thought there would be a one for you. I can’t believe you don’t see that.”

“I told her things. Things I’ve never shared with anyone. Trust me. Once she thinks about it. Once she figures out just how screwed up I really am, she’ll be thanking me.”

Betty swore. Said a whole lot of things she was damn lucky her husband couldn’t hear. “You have to stop, Matt.”

“Stop what?” he barked.

“You have to stop making decisions for other people. You have to stop running from love and you need to smash the martyr mantle. It’s getting old, and it’s not looking so good on you anymore.”

His face darkened and he glanced up at the house. He really didn’t want to do this right now.

“I love you. You know that, Matt. I don’t know what fucked up shit went on between you and your father and Delilah. But I can guess. And if you think that’s enough to scare off Grace, your wrong. It doesn’t even come close.”

He had to stop her, partly because he needed to get Justin…but mostly because he didn’t want to hear her truth.

“Betty—“

“I’m talking and you need to listen to me. You need to listen very carefully. I used to think your problem was that you thought you didn’t deserve happiness. But I don’t think that’s it.”

He scowled and considered hanging up. And that damn pain was back, sliding across his temples making him wince.

“I think you’re afraid of it. Happiness, I mean. I think you’re afraid to grab it because you had it once when you were small, when your mom was still around. You had it and then you didn’t.”

Matt’s mouth was clenched together so tightly, now his jaw ached as much as his temple.

“You don’t want Grace in your life because you’re afraid you’ll lose her. I get it, Matt. I really do. But the thing is, if you don’t take that chance. If you don’t accept her love, which, trust me, you’re damn lucky to have, you’ll never know.”

“Never know what?” he asked, forcing his vocal chords to work.

“You’ll never know that all along you were wrong about pretty much everything.”

A few seconds ticked by. “I gotta go and deal with this.”

“You’re running again,” Betty Jo said softly. “Promise me you’ll think about what I said. Promise me you’ll think about being happy.”

“I’ll call you when I’m back in New Waterford.”

Matt slid the phone back into the pocket of his jeans and got out of his truck. His legs moved slowly, and he had to take a moment to get his bearings. He needed to focus.

He pushed aside his conversation with Betty Jo and made a concerted effort not to think about Grace. He could only deal with one thing at a time, and Lord knows the next few days were going to be brutal.

A small dog shot out of nowhere, barking crazily as it ran across the yard and then disappeared around the corner. Matt strode up the walkway and hesitated at the door. Did he knock? Did he just walk in? He decided to do both and was just about to knock when the door slowly opened and he found himself face to face with a much younger version of himself. It was uncanny.

The kid was tall and skinny, with dark hair that hung to his shoulders and a pale complexion that emphasized the bruises under his eyes. That told Matt a lot. The kid was walking the same path that he’d walked nearly twenty years ago.

“You been up all night, Justin? You high?”

“Who the hell are you?” The tone was belligerent, but Matt supposed the kid had ever right.