Savannah smiled. “You’re going to be a great grandma.”
“I am, aren’t I?” Her mother beamed, then her smile faded. “A much better grandmother than mother.”
Savannah practically gawked. “What are you talking about? You were an amazing mother. I just hope I’m half as good.”
“Oh, honey, hope for much more than that,” her mother urged, giving Sa
vannah’s stomach a love pat. “I was such a mess after your father died. I didn’t know if I was coming or going. I’ve often wondered if I scarred you for life.”
“You were grieving Daddy. We both were a mess.”
Her mother nodded. “We were and I channeled it into making sure you were everything I wasn’t.”
“In what way?” Savannah asked, truly baffled.
“I wanted to make sure you knew how to take care of yourself—that you never depended on a man the way I’d depended on your dad. Which in theory doesn’t sound so bad, but I think I was also trying to shield you from ever feeling the pain I felt at losing your dad.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“Not being able to feel that kind of pain means never loving like I loved your father.”
“Pain is overrated.”
Her mother shook her head. “Love is worth any amount of pain. Until you met Charlie, you never let anyone get close enough to hurt you.”
“We see how that turned out.” Savannah sighed. “Not so well.”
Her mother shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Without Charlie I wouldn’t be having this grandchild.” Her mother rubbed her belly and the baby moved, as if recognizing the spoiling this woman was someday going to do.
“That’s true,” Savannah admitted. “But if not Charlie, then I would have met someone else, someone who could have loved me and our baby.”
Her mother looked thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t understand a lot of the ins and outs of your relationship with Charlie, but I do recognize love when I see it.”
She bit the inside of her lip. “You’re wrong.”
“I don’t know,” her mother mused. “He sure went to a lot of trouble to take care of you after your wreck.”
“That was guilt-driven.”
“And that’s your pride talking,” her mother countered.
Savannah’s gaze cut to her mother in shock.
“Sometimes pride can get in the way of seeing the truth.”
“My pride isn’t blinding me to anything.”
“Except the truth,” her mother said softly.
“You speak as if I was the one who pushed Charlie away by being prideful. I didn’t. He left of his own free will.”
“And you can’t forgive him for that.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. He wanted to move. He moved. I’m here and want to stay here. End of story.”