“I think that’s wise.” Nanna paused, clearing her throat. “Unless the right guy happens to come along. Then, you should make an exception.”
Jess sipped her cocoa, contemplating her response, in light of her grandmother’s suspicious behavior. “Nick said I shouldn’t get in a rebound relationship.”
“Since when are any of your brothers experts on romance?” Nanna grinned behind her mug and took another swallow.
“Zander and Cohen always keep their mouths shut. It’s only Nick who has to put in his two cents on every decision I make. I told him to mind his own business. But in this case, I think he’s right.”
“I don’t know.” Nanna tilted her head, as if the matter were of utmost importance. “You and Parker broke up four months ago.”
The problem was she didn’t trust herself anymore. “I don’t need a guy, to be happy.”
“Darn tootin’ you don’t!” Nanna’s mug slammed onto the wood table. Luckily it was almost empty. “You’re strong, like all the Clark women,” she declared, using her mother’s maiden name.
“So you agree I don’t need a man?”
“Of course, you don’t need one.” She paused until she had Jessica’s full attention. “But if you find the right man, you’ll want one. And we Clark women always get what we want.”
Despite Nanna’s playful wink, Jess knew she meant what she said.
“I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m not in a hurry.”
“You don’t have to hurry. But you also shouldn’t throw away a perfect opportunity.”
“What are you talking about?” Jess shot Nanna a narrow-eyed glare.
“All I’m saying is you deserve someone who’ll treat you like a queen. Someone like my Bucky.” Nanna reached across the table to pat Jessica’s hand, her expression the picture of innocence. “Have you considered dating someone from home? A nice country boy? Maybe someone you went to school with?”
“Sage Valley High is a small school.” Jess tried to guess where her grandma’s conversation was headed. “There was no one I liked.”
“No one?” Nanna carefully smoothed and folded her paper napkin, her eyes averted. “What about Cord Dennison?”
Jessica’s heart sped up at the mention of her closest brother’s best friend, but she kept her expression carefully neutral. She’d been secretly in love with the hunky boy for as long as she could remember, writing page after page of “Mrs. Cord Dennison” and “Jessica Dennison” in the private notebook she’d kept hidden under her mattress. But he’d left for college before she started high school. “What about Cord?”
“Didn’t you have a thing for him?”
How does she know? I don’t remember telling her.
“I might’ve had a little crush on him when I was in seventh grade and he was a senior. But he left Sage Valley nine years ago and hasn’t been back.” With her cheeks burning, Jess studied the flowers on her mug. “What difference does it make, anyway? Nick told me Cord’s at a big-shot software firm in New York. I won’t see him again unless he’s the best man at Nick’s wedding someday. And let’s face it, that’s probably never going to happen.”
“Oh, I think you may run into him sooner than you think.”
Jess jerked her gaze to Nanna, but the dinging timer drew her grandmother’s attention. She rose to retrieve a pan from the oven. “Are you sure you can’t stay and eat a couple of fresh biscuits?”
“No, I already ate a protein bar for breakfast.”
Nanna tsked her disapproval. “That’s not enough to get you through a morning of hard work.”
Jess ignored her scolding, though she was probably right. But thoughts of Cord had taken her appetite away, so she gave up on finishing her cocoa. “What were you saying about Cord? Is he back in Sage Valley?”
Nanna placed her cup in the sink and turned around, leaning back on the counter. “He came home to spend some time with his dad before he passed.”
A violent shiver shook her body, putting herself in Cord’s place. “I would’ve done the same thing, I think. I’d have gone up to Oklahoma to be with Mom and Dad.”
“Let’s pray that doesn’t happen,” said Nanna. “Cord’s father passed within two months of his diagnosis. Now his mom’s staying with his sister, Caroline, and Cord’s putting the ranch on the market.”
“Cord didn’t go back to his job in New York?” Feeling guilty, Jess struggled to hide her mounting excitement. I can’t be happy Cord’s home under such awful circumstances.
“He’s still doing his work, but he does it on his computer, somehow. He’s with a new company. Some outfit called Phantom Enterprises.”