Savannah's eyes widened. "Are you saying you and Maggie—"
Both of them shook their heads. Carter said, "No. Not yet, but we will be soon. And then there's Ben. You know, him being hot in the sack and all."
Maggie's mouth dropped open. "Carter!"
"What? She said so."
"I did not," Savannah said.
"Well, not in so many words, but I got it."
Maggie was giggling. "Is that true, Savannah? He is so hot!"
Carter protested, "Hey! Wife of mine, you're not supposed to be looking at other hot guys."
Maggie said demurely, "Honey, I'm all yours, but I do have eyes."
Savannah looked at him in exasperation. "Carter, you are so not helping me right now."
"Hey, you and I have really already had this conversation. Look how much you'd miss me if you left. And what for? Fancy parties and snarky gossip?"
"That's not all it is," Savannah said defensively.
"Really. Listen, Savannah, has it ever occurred to you that you don't have to spend 365 days a year in Boone? If you really wanted to, if that yearly fundraiser is that important to you, you can work out a way to do it even if your home base is in Boone. And, you know, there are charity events right here in the U.S. that need a good event planner. You say you can always visit here while you're living there. Well, the opposite is true too. You can always visit there while you're living here."
Savannah was silent. Finally, she admitted, "No. I can't say that ever did occur to me. I've got to think. Thanks for the advice."
Maggie gave her a long hug. "I hope you do what's best for you. But I really hope that turns out to be staying. We love you."
Savannah hugged her back. "I love you too."
Carter swept her off her feet and twirled her around. "Love you, sis."
Reluctantly, she smiled. "Love you too, Carter."
Savannah paced back and forth in her bedroom. She thought about her family, the baby coming, maybe two babies coming, her grandmother and the shop. She thought about lying on a sunny beach while an attentive, shirtless hunk of male testosterone brought her drinks. She thought of riding down a shady trail through the woods while a much hunkier male rode with her. She thought of the acclaim she received when she pulled off yet another fabulous fundraising event. She thought of GG lying asleep on the couch, and she thought of Ben bending over to hold a horse's foot.
Abruptly, Savannah pulled out her phone and called Joey.
"Miss Savannah! How are you doing? I'm happy to talk to you!"
Warmth coursed through Savannah and brought a smile. "I'm good, Joey. And it's just Savannah. How are you doing? Is the business going well?"
"It is." Joey launched into an account of what had been happening, making Savannah laugh at some of his stories.
"Now tell me what's been happening with you, M… Savannah."
Savannah hesitated and then said, "My Gran gave me a proposal today, and it kind of threw me for a loop." She explained about the offer.
"Congratulations!" Joey said, smiling on his end. "It sounds perfect. What's throwing you for a loop?"
"Well, I never meant to stay here permanently, Joey. You know that. I have a life that I left behind to come here to do a few things for my family. I just got an email about the fundraiser in France. It's time for me to go home."
"I don't know; it sure looked to me like you were home. You know, that's the happiest I've ever seen you. With your family around you, a baby coming, a new hobby that you really love. And Ben. Sometimes those things work out, and sometimes they don't, but I think he's a good guy and he's crazy about you. You really want to go back to that old life? I've never seen so many shallow, two-faced people in my life. And you know they want you to do the fundraiser just so they can brag about pulling off the most spectacular event ever. It has nothing to do with helping the charity."
Savannah chewed on his words for a minute. Then she sighed. "There's a lot of truth in that. But I just don't know if I can do it, move here permanently. Every time I think about it, I feel like I can't breathe."
Joey said gently, "I know that back when you were thirteen, your grandfather's death really shook you hard. I know there's something you never told me about it. You've probably never told anyone is my guess. Maybe you should sit down with your Gran and talk about it. If that's what's stopping you, then it must be something really hard and painful. If you could put it to rest, it would be like being set free, wouldn't it?"
Savannah had tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "You're pretty damn smart, Joey."
"I just know you well. You owe it to yourself to do this. It'll be hard, but you're the strongest woman I've ever known. You can do it. You have a good family and a chance for a new life with people who really love you, not people who just want to use you."
"I'll think about it. I promise. I really miss you."
"Same here," Joey said.
"Love you, Joey," Savannah said.
"Love you back."
When Savannah hung up, she realized that of all the people she knew from her fast paced, glitzy life, Joey was the only one she actually missed. Her thoughts drifted over how she had spent her time abroad, and it occurred to her that she had spent a great deal of it bored out of her skull. When it got too bad, that was when she would pack up and move on. She thought back to her first couple of weeks in Boone and how boring she had found it, and then she wondered how it had all changed so that she hadn't been bored in weeks.
"Great," she said out loud. "The more you think, the more confused you get. Maybe you should just sleep on it tonight."
Suddenly, Savannah realized that she was ravenously hungry. She shook her hair back and went downstairs in search of her grandmother. At the bottom of the stairs, she was hit with delicious aromas coming from the kitchen. She walked in to see her grandmother bustling around with her apron on.
"Gran, what are you cooking? It smells amazing!"
GG smiled at her. "It's chicken and noodles and mashed potatoes. And fresh sweet corn and tomatoes. And a beautiful cantaloupe for dessert."
"What's the occasion?"
"I just had a craving for some good old Indiana comfort food. And one of my customers brought me the corn and tomatoes and cantaloupe. So it's all home grown and picked today."
"What can I do? I'm starving; this is like a dream come true."
"I just have to mash the potatoes. If you'd set the table, we'll be eating in just a few minutes."
The two of them thoroughly enjoyed their dinner, chatting about the local happenings, some of GG's customers, and how Joey was doing. They both steered clear of any talk about GG's proposal. After dinner, Savannah insisted on doing the cleanup since GG had cooked the dinner. When she was finished, she brewed some herbal tea for both of them and they settled in the library.
"Gran, I want you to know that I really appreciate the offer that you made to me. It honestly took me completely by surprise. I need some time to think it over and, to be fair, I have to look at the proposal for the fundraiser and think that over too. I honestly don't know if I can do it, live in Boone permanently. I don't want to let you down, but I just don't know if I can do it. Can you give me time to sort it all out?"