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finish off the season. Grant barely had
time to sleep let alone call his mother. He knew she and Gary would
be happy when he told them that he would be back to run the
hardware store. Grant was ready to be home… for good.
    Grant had spent the past two weeks trying to
field questions from the press about Jennifer Tilman and whether or
not they had gotten back together. So far he’d avoided a lot of
calls. He couldn’t stand being hounded. When Jennifer called and
didn’t have a date for a premier, he figured he would just go out
for the night. He had no idea the press would have a field day and
print that the two of them were back together. Grant worried that
Jackie might have seen the tabloids and believed it. He’d tried to
call her several times, but she didn’t answer.
    Maybe Jackie wasn’t interested in him
anyway. She was a tough one to read. He’d enjoyed every single
minute he spent with her in Snowy Creek. He hated that he had to
cancel their dinner plans before he was called out unexpectedly.
Grant wanted to tell her how he felt. Tell her he was falling in
love with her.
    Still waiting… His mother texted again. Grant had forgotten about
her text.
    I’ll call you
tonight. Grant responded. He figured he’d
surprise her tonight when he showed up at the house. She wouldn’t
be expecting him and his mother always loved surprises.
    “Sir, you’re going to have to shut off your
phone,” the flight attendant said. “Sorry, but it’s
regulation.”
    “Of course,” Grant pressed down on the top
button of his phone and waited for it to power down. He leaned his
head against the headrest. He couldn’t wait to see Jackie.
    ***
    The next day, Jackie had planned on getting
a lot of work accomplished at her client’s house. She slid her
earpieces into her ears and turned up the volume on the music
player on her phone. She’d allowed herself to cry a couple of times
since she’d learned that Grant was in love with someone else. Her
heart was truly broken.
    The students had stayed at the school for a
school-wide test and Jackie was alone inside the quiet house. The
silence was almost too much. She’d dive into her work, finish the
house, and forget about Grant once-and-for-all. Jackie grabbed the
paintbrush and started to work.
    ***
    Grant turned his car into the driveway of
Jackie’s client’s house and put the car in park. He’d been
surprised at how much colder it was than just two weeks ago. When
he arrived the night before, his mother had been so surprised. It
might have been the first time she didn’t have something ready to
eat.
    Grant stepped out of the car and felt the
cold blast him as he walked up to the door. He knocked a couple of
times but she didn’t answer. Jackie’s truck was the only vehicle
parked in the driveway, so he figured she had to be inside.
    Grant pushed the door open and went inside
the house. He could hear footsteps in the distance and walked into
one of the backrooms. He found Jackie painting the walls. “Jackie,
I don’t want you to say anything. I just want you to hear me out,”
Grant said. Jackie kept her back to him and appreciated that she
respected his wishes. “I know it seems crazy and we barely know
each other, but I am falling in love with you. I ached for you
while I was gone. I’ve never felt the kind of loneliness that I
felt without you. I can’t live without you.”
    Jackie continued to roll the paint on the
walls and remained silent. Why would she ignore what he said? Why
didn’t she respond?
    Grant walked closer and touched her elbow.
Jackie jumped and swung around, hitting Grant in the face with the
paint roller, knocking him down. “I am so sorry!” Jackie yelled.
“What are you doing here?” She bent down and grabbed a rag off the
floor and started to wipe his face.
    “Didn’t you hear anything I said?”
    Jackie pulled the earpieces out of her ears.
“What did you say? I didn’t hear you.”
    Grant laughed and laid his head back on