I paced back and forth across Granny’s living room floor, worrying a pathway into her carpet. I’d tried to call Randi—she was much better for this type of thing—but she hadn’t answered, and I was desperate for a sounding board.

Granny sat on her sofa, her feet propped up on the coffee table with a pillow underneath, and listened while I walked her through the entire scheme. “Don’t you think your abuela would understand?” Granny said. “If you told her the truth?”

“Maybe. Probably. But she’d be so disappointed. And her health isn’t great. I don’t want to make things worse by making her sad.”

“I guess it’s good luck the man standing in is a man who’s caught your eye a time or two.”

I had known it wouldn’t take long for Granny to make that point. After all, she’d been the first to suspect there was something going on between Simon and me. At least, she’d suspected there was potential for it.

I made another pass in front of the sofa. “I’m trying not to think about that part,” I said.

“Child, you’re going to run holes in my rug if you don’t come sit down.”

I stopped my pacing and dropped onto the sofa beside her.

“Why aren’t you thinking about that part?” she asked. “With all the wondering you’ve done about Simon, maybe spending some time with him will help clear things up,” Granny said.

“I thought you told me to stay away from Simon. Brother relationships and family loyalty and all that.”

“I did say that. But you went and ignored my good advice, and now here we are. Better to make the most of the opportunity than to squelch it based on principle.”

I leaned in closer to Granny so I could put my head on her shoulder. “Granny, I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“That I might really like him. I don’t know what to do with that if I do. I really don’t think Simon would ever betray his brother. Not for me, not for anybody.”

She reached over and took my chin, tilting it upward until our eyes met. “You know what happened when your mama told me she was having a baby girl?”

I shook my head.

“I got down on my knees and said, ‘Lord, you better send some extra wisdom to old Grace. I got a feeling this one’s going to be a handful.’”

I laughed despite my effort not to. “You did not!”

“Listen to me, Lane. I’m about to give you some of that extra wisdom.”