Gramps waved off Jeff. “Trust me, son. She gave me a run for my money. It made winning her all the better. Knowing that she put up a bit of a fight.”
The three of us remained quiet for a bit before Gramps started talking again.
“You’ll know. You may not know right away, but something about her will be different. You’ll feel it with this.” He patted his chest. “Instead of that.” Then pointed down. She’ll make you feel things you’ve never felt before. Like that weak-in-the-knee moment.”
We both stared at him.
“You boys have never felt weak in the knees when looking at a girl? Never?”
“No, can’t say I ever have,” I said.
Jeff cleared his throat and looked away. A dead giveaway that he’d felt that way. Probably the mystery girl he had a thing for.
Gramps stared at Jeff. “You have, though, haven’t you, son?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve for sure felt something for one girl that I’ve never experienced with any other girl.”
Gramps pointed to Jeff. “Then there ya go.”
“What if she doesn’t feel the same way about you?”
“Well, then I guess you’ve got yourself a pickle. How have the dates been?”
I chuckled. “Gramps, I think this is Jeff’s mystery girl.”
Gramps’s brows raised. “Mystery girl?”
“Yeah, the one he admires but from afar.”
“Well what in the hell kind of fun is admiring a girl from afar? Jeff, you’re a good-looking kid. Get in there; sell yourself for Christ’s sake.”
Jeff laughed and shook his head. “It’s complicated.”
“Bullshit. Nothing worth having comes to you easily.”
I couldn’t help but watch Jeff as he let Gramps’s words settle in.
Who in the hell is this girl he liked?
The conversation was changed by Gramps. He must have sensed Jeff needed to focus on something else.
“Are you boys excited about your last year of college?”
Jeff shrugged. “I am, and I’m not. I have no clue what I actually want to do when I graduate. I have a few ideas, though.”
“Well, it’s a no-brainer for me. The ranch is in my future,” I stated.
Gramps’s smile warmed. “Have you spoken to your mother or father lately?”
He just ruined my warm fuzzy. “No.”
It was a simple one-word answer that he knew not to pursue. My relationship with my father was not a good one. Never had been if I’m to be honest. I missed my mother something fierce, though. I’d talked to her a few weeks back. She had begged me to come home for a visit, but I couldn’t do it. The thought of seeing my dad made me physically ill. I wondered if his soldiers felt the same way when they saw him walk in.
The rest of the evening was spent sitting in the living room watching old westerns and eating Grams’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
It was heaven on earth.
Chapter Fifteen – Gunner