Never Tell Your Dreams (18 page)

She hoped that once she got settled and figured out
what she wanted to do with her life, that she would be sitting around with her
friends shooting the breeze.

The smell of fresh water and spring air filled her
lungs. There was a sense of renewal in her life. Working on Hazel’s case felt
like she was truly giving back everything she had always wanted with her
career. When Van Meter dangled the big salary in front of her, she caved.

Regret settled in the base of her stomach.

Please, please let me help Granny
. Maggie closed
her eyes, and inhaled deeply. There wasn’t anything in the world she wanted
more, then to help Hazel.

The breeze felt good on her face. Slowly she opened
her eyes, curled on her tiptoes, and lifted her arm in the air.

“Seriously?” The male voice asked.

Maggie jumped around, clutching the quarter in her
fist.

“Grady?” She didn’t know whether to hug him or just
stand there. She blinked a few times to make sure her eyes weren’t playing
tricks on her. She was confused, but not nuts.

He stood with his hands in the pockets of his
khakis, as if he were protecting himself. His baby blue shirt was a little
wrinkled, probably from the trip to Grandberry Falls.

“You need a haircut.” Maggie knew she should say
something different, but she couldn’t.

I have no feelings for you.
She tried to
control her thoughts as she looked at him, but she was surprised. She didn’t
care that he was there.
Oh my God. I really have no feelings for him.
She searched for the attraction she once had for Grady, but it was nowhere to
be found.

Be angry, be angry,
she thought.

“That is all you have to say to me?” Grady laughed,
shuffling his Sperry’s along the pavement. “I bet you hate me.”

Maggie put her hands in her pocket, along with the
quarter. She wasn’t sure what he wanted her to say. She wasn’t sure why he was
here.

“Of course I don’t hate you.” She knew there were a
lot of unanswered questions, but what good would the answers be now?

In fact, he had done her a favor.

“You know what? This is where I need to be right
now.” Maggie nodded. “I’m not sure why you did what you did, but those
questions can be answered in time.”

Grady looked at his watch. “Well, I don’t have any
appointments today. What about now?” He asked, pointing to the Trembling Cup.

Maggie glanced over to the coffee shop. Jenna and
Liz had their faces planted on the window, staring at Maggie and Grady.

Maggie didn’t owe anything to Grady, but in order to
figure out her feelings for Mitch, maybe she did need to put the entire Grady
situation behind her.

Plus Mitch was nowhere to be found, and she did have
a while before she needed to help set up the decorations.

“Sure, you can buy me a cup of coffee.” Maggie held
her head high and walked to the Trembling Cup.

She tried not to make eye contact with anyone. It
was a matter of minutes before the entire town found out that Grady was here.

“Isn’t that your Aunt over there?” Grady raised his
hand, giving a slight wave.

Maggie glanced at Jenna, and waved her way.

“Yes.” Maggie was relieved to see that the line had
died down. “I’ll get a table, and you can order me a black coffee.”

He had no power here. She could tell he was trying
hard to keep the peace. Little did he know, she wasn’t going to even fight with
him.

Nervously, she looked out the window toward the
courthouse. The mayor’s parking space was still empty. She didn’t want Mitch
seeing Grady, even though she was certain he’d hear about it. Seeing was
different than hearing in her book.

Maggie’s phone beeped. She pulled it out of her
briefcase.

What is he doing here????
Jenna message
read.

Maggie quickly texted back,
I have no idea. AND I
DON’T CARE!
She noticed he had their coffee and moving toward her. She
typed quickly;
I have no feelings for him!!

Maggie glanced over Grady’s shoulder to see Jenna
read her text. Jenna looked up, a smile planted across her face.

Maggie looked at her watch. Wherever Mitch went, he
had to be back soon.

“Do you have to be somewhere?” Grady asked. He set
the two mugs down on the table.

“Yes, I do. But why don’t you tell me why you are
here.” Maggie peeled back the creamer foil, poured it in her cup, and stirred
it. She gave a wave to some people standing near the counter.

Yes, everyone in Grandberry Falls was going to find
out that Grady Cohen had come back to town.

“I couldn’t continue to live my life in New York
when you were here. I had to tell you why I called off the wedding.” He sat
back in the chair, and played with his napkin.

He was nervous. He deserved to be nervous, so Maggie
let him sweat it out.

“Go on.” She picked up the mug and took a sip. “I’m
all ears.”

“Maggie, I do love you.” He took her hands in his.
“And I could’ve lived with all the superstition you seem to believe in, but I
can never compete with Grandberry Falls.”

Maggie looked away. She couldn’t bear to hear this.
Her heart stopped. Mitch’s car was parked in the mayor’s parking space.

“Keep going.” She pulled her hands out from under
Grady’s. She prayed Mitch didn’t see them through the window, though it would
be hard not to notice since it was a straight shot from the courthouse.

“Whenever you came to visit or when I came to visit,
you became this girl I didn’t know. You were more relaxed, and just. . .just. .
.happy.” He paused, and then continued, “It is a happiness that I couldn’t give
you. There is no way I’d ever move here, and eventually you would want to come
back.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was
right. No matter how hard she tried to distance herself from Grandberry Falls,
the more she was pulled to come back.

“Being here at Christmas made me realize how much
your family means to you. I was raised with a nanny. Even though I had a
mother, she was that in name only.” He leaned in and whispered, “You have
Hazel, who may be your grandmother, but she raised you as if she was your mom.”

That was the truest statement Grady had ever said to
her, and the nicest compliment he had ever given Hazel. Despite their
differences, Grady had finally realized the importance Hazel had played in her
life.

“Yes, I see Granny as my mom.” Tears lined the edge
of her eye lids. “But you didn’t have to leave a note. You could’ve told me in
person.”

Grady shook his head back and forth several times.
“No, no I couldn’t. Or I’d never had been able to let you go.”

Maggie got it. No matter how hurt she was, she
understood why he had done it. He really did love her to let her go.

“Grady, its okay. I forgive you.” Maggie cleared her
throat. “Little do you know how right you are. Only, I wish I hadn’t spend my
life savings on that damn dress.”

That was the only thing she regretted.

“Oh, that.” He pulled an envelope out of his pocket.
“I made a couple calls and sent the dress back. The full refund should be
here.”

Maggie took the envelope and looked inside. There
was a check for the full amount.

“And what about that ring?” She wasn’t going to let
him off the hook that easy.

“You took the ring back?” He asked.

His eyes sagged down. It was a look Maggie didn’t
recognize. Grady was hurting.

“I needed money. I left with nothing, Grady,” she
said. He might be right about her not being able to walk away from Grandberry
Falls forever. But he was wrong on how he broke up with her.

“It’s a family heirloom. And the one you had is a
replica of the real one you would’ve gotten on the day of the wedding.” Grady
ran his hands threw his hair and let out a big sigh. “I completely forgot about
it.”

“Why?” Maggie asked. “Why a fake?”

“You know my family. They are so protective of their
money, and couldn’t risk you running off before the wedding.” Grady stared
blankly at her.

It was time to let him off the hook. She needed to
move on and so did he. After all, she did get the full refund back on the
dress.

“Grady, you did me a favor. I really do love it here
and I was not able to choose between you and Grandberry Falls,” Maggie’s voice
cracked. “Eventually it might have torn us up. And right now, this is where I
need to be. Van Meter is representing the Pelt Company to claim eminent domain
over Granny’s farm. I’m here trying to save it.”

“Oh, Maggie.” Grady leaned in and tried to take her
hand, but she pulled it back. “I’m sorry. I just want to comfort you. But I
know you will beat them. You were the best litigator they had.”

He was right, again. Maggie poured her heart and
soul into Van Meter and Associates.

“We are trying to come up with a solution before
tomorrow.” Maggie bit the side of her lip. “I’ve only been able to look at the
documents for a couple of days. Like you, Granny didn’t want to tell me because
she didn’t want me to come back to Grandberry Falls because of her. She wanted
me to come back in my own time.”

She leaned her head to the side to get a better view
of the courthouse. Mitch’s car was still there.

“What do you keep looking at?” Grady looked out the
window.

“Nothing. I just have a lot of work to do before
Patricia shows up.” Maggie didn’t have to tell Grady anything. Plus she didn’t
want to upset him about how she was feeling for Mitch. She was confused. She
couldn’t even explain it to herself, much less someone else.

“It’s Mitch,” Grady’s voice trailed off. “You are in
love with him.”

Hearing Grady confirm her fear, her heart sank.

In love with Mitch?
She questioned
herself.
Oh my, God. I’m in love with Mitch.

“I’m sorry. I have to go.” Maggie stood up. “Grady,
thank you so much for coming, but you really didn’t have to. I’m good. In fact,
I’m great.”

She gathered her briefcase and ran out of the coffee
shop.

Abruptly she stopped when she realized she was
standing in the mayor’s parking spot. And it was empty.

Chapter 33

Faith is the bird that sings when the
dawn is still dark. ~ Rabindranath Tagore

Mitch was so excited driving back from Lexington. He
was so glad that he had taken a chance and made the trip. Bob Jr. had been so
helpful.

He held the deed to the property in one hand and the
other on the wheel. Now that he had it in his grasp, he wasn’t going to let it
go.

“Maggie, I’m coming.” He said, thinking about how
happy she was going to be.

There was no way he was going to question why his
mom owned the property on the other end of town, especially when it was not
farmable, but he was grateful she had held onto it for him.

Thank you, mom
. Mitch loved
his mom and she always looked out for him, even in death.

The old truck hadn’t been pushed to go this fast in
years. But he couldn’t wait. He imagined the entire conversation with Maggie.
Hopefully she was sitting in his office, and when he told her that he actually
owned the property she questioned, she’d grab him, they’d kiss, and she’d
realize that she was in love with him.

Mitch pulled the truck into the mayor’s parking
spot, and grabbed a quarter out of the ashtray.

“A little wish can’t hurt,” He muttered, gripping
the deed in his hand.

He dodged a few cars with a smile and a wave, making
his way across the street. He noticed the Trembling Cup was full of citizens.

He smiled when he saw Maggie. She wasn’t alone. He
squinted to see who she was with.

Grady?

“Damn,” he whispered. He put the quarter in his
pocket, and turned around. “Stupid waterfall.”

Grow up, man,
Mitch beat the
thought into his head. He was a complete idiot to think that Maggie was
beginning to feel something for him. In the back of his mind he wondered if
after tomorrow Maggie would pack up and go back to New York City.

But there was a job to do. He had to get all of his
ducks in a row with the eminent domain case with or without Maggie in the
future.

“I wondered where you were.” Susie Benton sat at her
desk with a slew of post-it notes in her fist. “These can wait. But that
Patricia Van Meter called to confirm she’d be here first thing in the morning.”

“Great.” Mitch grabbed the notes from her and went
straight into his office.

Maggie had his keys and she was sure to return them,
but he didn’t want to be there when she did. He grabbed all of the Greenlee
farm files, and tucked them under his arm.