Savannah felt a little thrill. "I'll be here!"
The little girl scheduled for the next lesson came skipping into the barn calling out greetings. Savannah was disappointed not to have a chance for another one of Ben's hot kisses, but she waved goodbye and headed home. She chattered to Joey on the way home, a little bubbly about the prospect of the ride coming up on Saturday.
When they pulled into the driveway, Joey turned to face her without getting out of the car. "Miss Savannah, I need to talk to you."
"Of course, Joey. Do you want to come in the house and sit down? Or we can go out on the back porch and have a cold drink."
"Yes, let's do that."
Joey opened her door, and they went through the house and spoke to GG then poured glasses of iced tea and went out to the porch. Joey sipped his tea and then got up and paced restlessly along the porch railing.
"I've been with you for a long time, Miss Savannah," he began.
"Call me Savannah, Joey. Yes, you have, and you've done an excellent job for me."
"I have a brother in New York, and he's opening a defensive driving school. He asked me to be part of the deal and relocate to New York."
Savannah was shocked and took a moment to recover. "Oh. Well. That sounds like a real opportunity. And it's your brother. You're close, aren't you?"
Joey grinned. "Yeah, we've always been pretty good friends. And I'm not getting any younger, either. Settling down is starting to sound kind of good."
Savannah smiled a little sadly. "You know I would never stand in the way of you doing something like that. I'll sure miss you, though."
"He's been after me for a while," Joey admitted.
"Why didn't you ever say anything before?"
"When you were living outside the U.S. and traveling around all the time, I felt like you really needed me. But now, I see you with your family, and you fit here. And it kind of makes me miss my family."
"Oh, Joey. You think I fit here? I don't belong here. I'm just here to help my Gran."
Joey shook his head and said, "Savannah, you fit here more than you know. I'm not sure why you fight it, but that's something you have to work out for yourself."
"When do you want to go?"
"I'll give you as much notice as you want."
"You should go when you're ready. All I have to do is get a car, and that's no big deal. I'm perfectly capable of driving myself, and I don't need a bodyguard here. When I get back to Europe, I'll find another driver. It won't be the same, but I'm sure I can get somebody capable enough."
"Well, then, with your blessing, I'll take a few days to tie up loose ends, return the car, get a plane reservation to New York, and then I'll be on my way."
Savannah got up to give him a warm hug. "I'll miss you always. You've been a good friend to me. I'd like it if you'd come with us all to Carter and Maggie's cookout on Sunday."
Joey hugged her hard. "I wouldn't miss it. And, by the way, I approve of your cowboy."
Savannah's mouth dropped open and she actually blushed. "Well. I kind of approve of him too."
"I'm wishing the best for you. And that means you need to open your eyes and see things clearly." Joey was dead serious.
"I'll think about it, my friend."
"Okay. That's all I can ask."
Joey went on his way, and Savannah came back into the kitchen and dropped into a chair, still a little stunned. GG looked at her quizzically.
"What's going on?"
Savannah said, "Joey's leaving. It honestly never occurred to me that he would move on."
"I'm sorry, honey. Where is he going?"
Savannah explained what Joey's plans were and GG said, "He's been good to you, hasn't he?"
"The best. I'll miss him forever." Savannah looked a little lost.
"You've been good to him too."
Savannah smiled. "He deserved it. And he deserves to go now."
"Life does move on, doesn't it?" GG asked gently.
"It does. Sometimes I don't like it."
"But then we meet new people and have new experiences; there's always something new coming. That's the blessing. For every ending, there's a new beginning."
"Well," Savannah shook her head, "I guess we'll see, won't we? Anyway, I asked Joey to come with us to Carter's cookout on Sunday."
"Good. That'll be a nice day."
"Oh, I almost forgot. I asked Ben to come too."
"Wonderful. You like him, don't you?"
Savannah frowned a little. "He's…he's different. He's not what I'm used to. At first, I thought he was just a dumb cowboy, whatever that is, but he's not at all. He's smart and kind, and just when I think I have him figured out, he does something I don't see coming."
"Hmm, that might be a good thing."
"Maybe. Joey said something strange. He said he "approves" of my cowboy."
"Joey knows you well."
Savannah shook her head and said, "That's enough serious talk. I'm hungry. What should we have for dinner?"
"I actually brought home salads from Maggie's place. How does that sound?"
"That sounds perfect. Would you like wine?"
"Yes. We'll toast Joey."
The next day, Savannah went car shopping with Joey. By the middle of the day, she had found herself a sleek little red sports car and Joey took her out for a spin on the country roads.
When she realized that they were faced with a gravel road, she turned to Joey with dismay. "Joey, I don't think this is the best choice for around here. It would be great in Europe, but I can't drive this on gravel roads."
"I think you're right about that. Let's do some more looking."
When Savannah drove into GG's driveway in a bright red pickup truck and honked the horn, GG came outside, her mouth dropping open in shock.
"Well," she said after a moment, "that's certainly not what I expected you to come home with."
"Isn't it pretty?" Savannah was beaming as she hopped out of the truck.
Joey pulled up behind her and got out, grinning. "She had herself a little red sports car until we came up on the first gravel road. That made her realize she needed to shift gears, no pun intended."
"Very smart decision." GG nodded in approval and exchanged glances with Joey. "I like it!"
"I do too," Savannah said proudly. "You know, Gran, this is the first vehicle I've owned since high school."
"Really?"
"Yes, when I married Geoffrey, he provided me with a car and driver, and I guess I just got used to it. Now I can take myself wherever I want to go."
GG gave her a hug. "You should enjoy that."
"I'm going to. It's not that I never drove, I just never had my own car."
"She's a surprisingly good driver, considering that," Joey said.
"Wait till Ben sees me drive up in this!" Savannah laughed delightedly.
GG exchanged another quick glance with Joey.