“I’m on my way. I’m going to call Greyson, and then I’ll be there,” I tell her.
“I knew you’d say that, so you also know I’m going to tell you what Aunt Cat would say. She’d tell you to keep your hiney put and not to come sit and cry about her because she’s not dead, and even if she were, you better open up a bottle of bourbon and take a shot instead. I know you won’t listen to me, but please, honey, be safe and don’t drive while you’re upset.” She’s not wrong. That sounds exactly like what my favorite aunt would say. I don’t care that she’s my only aunt, she’s still my favorite.
“I won’t, I promise. Tell her I love her and I’m on my way. I love you, Momma.” I suck back the tears that are trying to blaze a path down my cheeks, something I do not have time for.
“I love you, sweet pea. See you soon.”
“Bye, Momma.” We hang up. My mind doesn’t stop. I run into the master bedroom, grab an overnight bag, throw in a change of clothes and pajamas, and call Greyson on his work line. When it goes straight to voicemail, I hang up and call his office. He doesn’t answer there either, so I leave a message. Just for good measure, I try him again on his cell phone. It rings once before his voice comes on the line. I’m so excited that I got through to him only for it to be Greyson’s voicemail.
“Greyson, I could really use your real voice right now. I’m going to try to keep reaching you, but I have to go to Georgia. It’s Aunt Cat. She’s had a heart attack, and I have to be with her. I’ll try calling you once I’m on the road. I love you.” I hang up the phone, then text him just in case his service picks up a text instead of my voice message.
I grab my bag and head out the door. I’ll try to call him once I’m on the road. Greyson finally got Samantha back up and running, only now she’s at his shop to keep her out of the elements since his garage wasn’t tall enough for it. It was his idea, wanting my Airstream safe and out of the way in case some other yahoo does damage to it. I jot down a note to him, dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s. If there’s one thing for certain, I’ll always come back to Greyson Reid.
Nineteen
Greyson
“That should do it.” I flip my helmet off from working on the weld on Dan’s skid steer. I thought for sure it would be his front-end loader, but it was something else the new guy screwed up, or whatever the case may be. I’m a sweaty, dirty mess, and I had no idea it would take this long. Hell, the afternoon sun is already starting to set.
“Thanks again. I had no idea it was that bad. Sorry for taking up your whole day.” Dan shakes my hand after I take my gloves off.
“All in a day’s work.” We shoot the shit for a minute, but not much longer. I’m ready to get home and to my woman. I start packing up my shit, knowing it’s going to take a good thirty damn minutes to put everything in its place. This is about the time I wish my damn OCD with my tools didn’t come into play.
I’m in my own world, not paying a damn bit of attention, my only focus on getting shit packed away, dropping this truck off, cleaning up a little bit, then getting in my everyday vehicle and getting to where I need to be, with Serenity.
“Hey, Grey, I think someone’s here for you,” Dan hollers over at me. I lift my head when I see a truck blazing a path through the job site.
“That’s odd. I wasn’t supposed to meet him for another few days.” It seems Les is hell bent and whiskey bound to get here. He pulls up to where I’m standing, window down, and says, “You need to check your phone. Now. Serenity has been trying to get a hold of you for the past six hours. Mazie sent me out here as a favor.” He tips his head to my truck, silently telling me to get a move on it.
“Is she okay?” I’m already walking to where my phone is stashed in my center console. I don’t keep it on me when I’m working with the heavy machinery. I learned my lesson with that shit a while ago.
“She’s on her way to Georgia.” My gut sinking when he says that, I look at my phone. There is no missed call or text, but then again, the service isn’t registering either.