13. Josie

THIRTEEN

Josie

Navigating the gravel driveway of Nana Geraldine’s log house, I gripped Caleb’s hand, steeling myself for the inevitable awkward encounters. Fred was only the beginning, and I knew it.

The house was a veritable hive of activity, the chatter and laughter of around seventy-five people spilling out onto the lawn. Despite the drizzly weather, people huddled under the shelter of gazebos erected especially for the event. A harpist was playing, and given the sheer number of wrinkles on her face, she must have been one of Nana’s schoolmates.

The scent of damp earth and the subtle perfume of evergreens mixed with the fragrant aroma of home-cooked food. The large log house, with its stone chimney billowing smoke and windows aglow with warmth, was a picturesque backdrop to the gathering.

And then I saw them.

Caleb squeezed my hand reassuringly as we approached my parents. They were standing near one of the long, food-laden tables under a banquet tent, deep in conversation. When they saw me, their expressions shifted into smiles that didn’t quite reach their eyes. It was going to be as awkward as I’d expected. My mother’s gaze flitted between me and Caleb, her curious scrutiny unhidden. Dad was a bit more subtle, but the slight crease of his forehead gave him away.

“So glad you came,” Mom greeted me with a tilt of the head. Dad gave me a curt nod, his attention shifting to Caleb.

I could tell exactly what was coming next. The good ol’ Mom and Dad act of butter us up, chew us up, and then spit us back out again. We hadn’t been there for two minutes, and I already wanted to crawl into a hole.

“Of course I’d be here.” The knot of tension in my stomach grew tighter. Who was I fooling, thinking this might be a chance to mend bridges?

“I tried to tell her not to come.” Nana Geraldine’s voice cut through us. “Because I am just over the moon about her new bookstore.” She winked at me. “But she insisted she didn’t want to be anywhere else.”

“It’s true.” I smiled at her. “And it’s so wonderful to see you, Nana.” I wrapped my arms around her, certain she’d grown smaller since the last time I came to Snoqualmie.

She broke from my embrace. “Wait just a minute now. You haven’t introduced us to this fine example of a young man. You must be Caleb.”

“Indeed I am.” Caleb extended his hand, a jovial grin splitting his handsome face. “Pleasure to meet you, and happy birthday, ma’am.”

Nana shimmied her shoulders and took his hand. As soon as they touched, Nana’s face changed. Her brow furrowed, and she cocked her head to the side, looking deeply into his eyes. “Caleb, you say? I could swear… ”

Her voice trailed off, and all of us stood waiting for something to happen, Caleb included. He returned her intent look, and I knew he was using his powers to scrutinize her.

Nana shook her head, as if coming out of a fog. “Never mind me. You seemed so familiar for a moment there, but that must only be because Josie has told me so many wonderful things about you.”

Thank you, Nana, for not outing me in the first five minutes.

“At least that’s one of us,” Dad grumbled.

“Champagne!” Nana shouted as a server came by with a tray. “Thank you, Michelle. Michelle here is the daughter of the neighbor down the road. Isn’t she delightful? I thought perhaps she and Fred might enjoy spending time together. He’s always so huffy, so a real lady might help him loosen up, don’t you think?” She clucked her tongue.

“Nana!”

“Mom!”

“Mrs. Ray!”

We were all equally horrified, which seemed to be exactly Nana’s intent. She cackled as she took a glass of champagne from Michelle’s tray. “To young love!”

She gave us no choice but to toast to it.

“Young love,” we muttered with much less enthusiasm in reply. Except Caleb, who was full of gusto. Given his cupid status, loving love seemed to come with the territory.

“That’s the spirit!” She twisted quickly, smacking straight into Michelle and her tray of full champagne glasses.

“Nana!” I cried, being the closest and desperate to catch her before she toppled. Horrible visions of glass-shard-related injuries and ambulances and a broken hip briefly blinded me, but with a blink? —

Everything was fine. I sucked in a startled breath, blinking in shock as I tried to process what I’d just seen.

The tray was righted, and the tipping glasses tinkled on the tray as they settled back in place.

But most shocking of all, Nana remained upright. Like magic .

The rest of us had frozen in a tableau of nervous wreck—arms outstretched, horror on our faces. The only movement was our eyes as mine briefly met Mom’s with mutual panic rushing through our veins.

But everything was fine. The music continued, and we all slowly relaxed back into a normal standing position.

“That was a close one,” Dad whispered, his chest heaving up and down as the tension subsided.

“You can say that again.” Michelle took a step back, and we watched Nana continue her social rounds. “I was sure we were both going down.”

“Me, too,” I said and looked at Caleb… who did not look the least bit surprised. Of course he wasn’t surprised. It was just like the floating book and the landlord. Catastrophe once again averted thanks to my not-boyfriend-nor-lover-but-only-a-friend.

He caught me watching him and immediately his expression changed. “What luck, right?” He smiled widely. “I think I’ll have a glass of champagne myself.” He downed the whole glass in one great big gulp.

Smooth move, angel boy.

“Caleb, you must tell us more about yourself,” Mom said, her tone overly sweet as she leaned in, a ploy to make the interrogation seem casual.

Within the beat of a butterfly’s wings, they bombarded Caleb with an array of irrelevant questions—everything from his thoughts on the latest economic developments to his opinions on some obscure painting they’d seen at a gallery—when a hand wrapped around my arm and tugged me backward.

With a wicked grin, my cousin Lena announced, “Josie, I have to borrow you for a moment.” I knew that tone of voice, the one that said she was about to grill me for all kinds of dirty details.

As we moved away from the crowd, I cast a backward glance at Caleb, who was deep in a discussion about trade tariffs with my dad. His eyes met mine for a brief second, and he flashed me a reassuring smile.

Despite the strange situation, I couldn’t help but marvel at how effortlessly he seemed to navigate the minefield that was my family. Perhaps it was his angelic patience, or maybe he really was that good at holding his own. Whatever it was, it lit me up inside. As much as I loved Lena, all I wanted was to be at his side.

“Josiiie,” Lena began, her voice a teasing sing-song, “I have to hand it to you. This one is a stunner!” She tilted her head toward Caleb, who was humorously impersonating some historical figure to the amusement of my parents. The twinkling lights in the tent accentuated his angelic features, the soft glow making him more striking than usual, if that was even possible.

I must have him.

Lena was still making faces at me, so I rolled my eyes, offering a lighthearted shrug in response. “Yeah, he’s pretty easy on the eyes, right?”

“Wait, wait.” My cousin Emily joined us, her high ponytail bobbing in the air as she was more than six feet tall and built like Superwoman. “Are we talking about the prize Josie snagged? ”

“Stop it!” I hissed. “He’s just a guy, a great guy.”

“Great guy? Come on ,” Emily continued, her eyebrows rising suggestively. “Have you seen the muscles on this dude? And in the sack?” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You can’t tell me he doesn’t make you scream six ways from Sunday.” I gasped—not in surprise, because Emily has always loved locker-room talk, but because it was loud enough to be heard by any of Nana’s geriatric guests walking by. Fortunately, no one did. “You’ve got to admit, he is quite the step up from… Well, every other lame-ass guy you’ve ever dated.”

“Hey!” I nudged her playfully, feigning offense. “I’ll have you know my past boyfriends were perfectly—um—adequate.”

Emily snorted with laughter, slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. “Adequate? Josie, you can’t even call them boyfriends. What about the one who would only let you undress in total darkness? Or the one who sent you a letter in the mail with a relationship contract? Thank goodness they rarely lasted a rotation of the moon. Speaking of which, your last boyfriend thought that the moon landing was a hoax!”

Despite the jest, her words stung a little. I was a serial dater, it was true. No one could make good conversation, enjoy quality book time, or frankly, just be normal. Making love had become a check-box exercise that left me reaching for a vibrator the second they were out the door.

But most of all, none of them were Caleb.

“Adequate or not,” I said, forcing a smile and attempting to steer the conversation away from the rocky terrain of my past relationships, “I’ll be thrilled if Caleb survives the raking over the coals.”

“Looks like he’s doing just fine.” Emily tipped her head toward the conversation Caleb continued with my parents, a mischievous glint in her eyes .

But I was not so confident.

My father’s eyes were pulled half-shut, and I knew that meant he wasn’t buying it. And Mom was looking off in the distance, barely listening. Perhaps their initial tactics had failed, but the battle wasn’t won. Tension rolled over me like a weighted blanket. Caleb cast me a glance, and I could tell even he was feeling on uncertain ground.

And just like that, the weather cleared.

As the last of the raindrops fell, a cheer erupted from the crowd, a collective sigh of relief. The clouds parted, revealing a brilliant blue sky, bathing the log house in a glorious afternoon light. The guests spilled onto the lawn, their chatter and laughter filling the air as sunshine injected a dose of warmth and optimism. Kids ran around the sprawling garden, their joyous squeals echoing off the tall trees surrounding us as their shoes got damp in the grass. The adults moved tables adorned with bright floral arrangements out from under the tents, their glasses clinking together in celebration. It was as if the party had suddenly burst into life, the sunshine injecting a dose of warmth and optimism that permeated everything. It was, in every sense, a real celebration now.

“I told you all we were going to have a great day!” Nana declared, and we applauded her taking the credit for the weather.

I glanced at Caleb, who seemed to be intentionally avoiding my gaze.

“Little sis,” Fred began as he sidled up to me, his tone sharpened by his characteristic dry wit. “You, the bookstore owner. Quite the far cry from your old Wall Street dreams, isn’t it?”

I smirked, used to his teasing. I tried to give it right back to him with an overly dramatic reply. “I’ve got books about Wall Street. Maybe you should come check them out.”

“Maybe I should.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Were we still taking jabs? Or was he actually saying he would stop by? With Fred, it was hard to tell.

“You know you’re welcome anytime.” I extended an olive branch. “I’d love to show you around.”

He shrugged, a quick up-down of his shoulders that would’ve seemed indifferent if not for the glint of… was that respect in his eyes? “You know I’m more spreadsheets than Shakespeare, but I’ll keep the invitation in mind.”

Before I could decipher his intentions, he strolled away, leaving me both irked and confused by his response.

It was my father who brought Caleb over to me by the arm, guiding him like a lost pet. “Caleb, what did you say you do again? Ah yes, independent contractor. Rather vague, isn’t it? And awfully convenient,” he said, glancing at my mother who had a poorly concealed accusation on her face.

“Yes, I’ve heard of these independent contractors,” my mother chimed in, leaning in closer to Caleb, wine sloshing in her glass. “You know, independent contractors who help at family gatherings, work functions, or to make exes jealous. Quite the novel concept, isn’t it?”

“Or,” my dad continued, “he’s a real date and doesn’t yet know that Josie doesn’t do serious relationships.”

I felt a surge of anger bubble up inside me. They’d managed to insult both of us in a single go.

“No, no.” Mom shook her head. “Josie wouldn’t dare bring an online date to her great-grandmother’s one-hundredth-birthday party.” She glared accusingly in my direction. “Tell us the truth, dear.” Her nostrils flared, and the child inside me felt like she’d been discovered with her hand in the cookie jar. “Just who is this man, anyway?”

“He’s… he’s…”

I didn’t know how to finish the sentence, scared and panicked and ashamed all at once.

But Caleb stepped in, and I didn’t have to say a word.