A Turn in the Road (Blossom Street #8)(74)

In the weeks that followed, Annie had done her utmost to bring her father home. She’d cried and pleaded and told him she’d make sure Bethanne did whatever was necessary to make him happy. In retrospect, Annie was embarrassed by her behavior. She understood now that nothing she’d said had put a dent in his determination.

What hurt the most was discovering that he didn’t even want to talk to her anymore, although they’d always been so close. Annie was convinced it was all lovely Tiffany’s fault.

After she’d finished blaming her mother, Annie had turned her anger on the new woman in her father’s life. The divorce was completely her fault, and if Annie could show her dad the truth about Tiffany, Grant would change his mind and come back to the family.

Annie had pulled some nasty tricks on the lovely Tiffany, but they’d backfired. The only thing her efforts had accomplished was to upset her father and widen the rift between them.

With her mother a weakling and her father refusing to have anything to do with her, Annie had nearly self-destructed. Fortunately, Andrew had stepped in and, with Courtney’s help, gotten her away from the dangerous path she’d chosen.

“You’re quiet all of a sudden,” her mother whispered.

Not wanting to confess where her mind had wandered, Annie said, “I had a thought.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Funny one, Mom.” Annie smiled into the dark.

“And? Want to share that thought?”

“Jason’s actually really nice.” Jason was more than nice; she’d probably try to keep this going, see where it went, although he lived in California and long-distance relationships were a drag.

“Do you know what you’re going to tell Vance?” her mother asked.

“I think so.” She paused. “Vance should’ve thought about being a third wheel when he agreed to go to Europe with Matt and Jessie,” she began. “I’ve got more to do with my life than give up a whole month just so he doesn’t feel lonely while he’s away. He had his chance and he blew it.”

“But you’d still like to be with him, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, but for all the wrong reasons.”

“Oh?”

“I want to be with him because we’re comfortable together. Familiar. But that isn’t a good enough basis for uprooting my whole life.” The more Annie verbalized her thoughts, the more convinced she was that she’d made the right decision. And the more she felt that pursuing a relationship with Jason made sense. The very reason she’d had doubts about him—the fact that he wasn’t Vance—was now why she wanted to see where a connection between them might lead.

“Can we go back to sleep now?”

“Okay,” Annie said, but she didn’t think she would.

Twenty-Four

They stayed in New Orleans another day, and after a leisurely drive, got to Vero Beach late Monday afternoon. Bethanne hadn’t heard from Max. She’d toyed with the idea of contacting him, but had resisted.

For now.

“I can’t believe how much everything’s changed,” Ruth kept repeating as they made their way into town. On the drive down Route 60, she’d pointed left and right, shaking her head at what were once orange groves as far as the eye could see, but were now mostly housing developments and suburban sprawl.

“Call Royce,” Annie said when they reached their hotel and had unpacked.

Ruth paced the room, nervously rubbing her palms. “You think I should?” she asked, looking at Bethanne. “I mean, so soon? We just got here.”

“You said you would,” Bethanne reminded her.

“Grandma,” Annie groaned. “He’s waiting to hear from you. Now call him!” Annie commanded, gesturing at the room’s phone.

Ruth glanced uncertainly toward Bethanne, who nodded her encouragement.

“Okay…I will,” Ruth declared, sounding more like a schoolgirl than a mature adult, “but if this turns out badly, I’ll blame the two of you.” She fixed them both with a shaky glare.

“It won’t, I promise,” Annie said with utter confidence.

Bethanne watched discreetly as Ruth sat on the bed and punched in Royce’s number from a slip of paper in her purse. She held the receiver to her ear, clenching and unclenching her fist. In the silence Bethanne could hear the phone ring, followed by a man’s voice answering.

“Royce, it’s Ruth,” she began, her own voice fluttering with anxiety. She rushed on. “My granddaughter thought I should let you know we made it here safely. We’re in Vero Beach at the hotel the reunion committee recommended.”

While Bethanne couldn’t hear what Royce said, she saw from Ruth’s reaction that he seemed pleased to have heard from her. Ruth hunched over, and Bethanne could see her smiling.

“Sure—but my daughter-in-law and granddaughter are with me. All right. Uh-huh…that would be very nice.” She looked at Bethanne and Annie, who stood with their hands clasped as they awaited the outcome. “Okay, yes…that’s very thoughtful. We’ll see you soon.” Ruth hung up the phone.

“Well?” Annie asked expectantly. She and Bethanne were staring at Ruth.

“He wants to take us all to dinner,” Ruth said.

“All of us?” Bethanne asked to be sure she understood correctly.