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remainder
of the trash in the dumpster.
    Jackie followed him to the door to lock up.
When Grant came back, he stopped for a moment. “Do you want to eat
again? I’ve actually made a few decisions in the past couple of
days and I wanted to share them with you.”
    “Sure, I’d love to eat with you,” Jackie
said. She was curious what Grant had to share. She knew it was
probably a long shot, but Jackie hoped Grant was going to choose to
stay and run his father’s hardware store.
    “I’ll see you down there at Chad’s in about
an hour,” Grant said, as he placed the trash can back inside the
house.
    “I’m looking forward to hearing what you’ve
got to tell,” Jackie said, as she closed the door behind them and
locked the deadbolt.
    Jackie climbed into her truck and felt a
wave of excitement course through her.
    ***
    Grant pulled into the driveway of his
mother’s home and felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. None of the
lights were on in the house, so it couldn’t be his mother texting.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at the screen.
    His director, Tad, had sent
a message. Hey Grant. We need you here
tomorrow. Can you come home to tape a special?
    I’ll get the first flight
out in the morning , Grant texted back. He
looked through his phone for Jackie’s number and dialed
it.
    “Hi Grant,” Jackie said, answering the
phone. “Are you already at the restaurant?”
    “No, I going to have to cancel tonight. The
studio just sent me a message. They want me there by tomorrow to
tape a special. Can I get a raincheck on dinner?”
    “Of course. Have a safe trip home. The kids
will miss seeing you.”
    “I’ll talk to you soon,” Grant said, hanging
up the phone. He was hoping Jackie would be the one that would miss
him.
    ***
    Jackie grabbed a cart at the grocery store
and pushed it down on of the aisles. As she neared the milk aisle,
she spotted Susan. “Hi Susan, how are you doing?”
    “Hey Jackie,” Susan said. “Did you see Grant
is back together with that star, Jennifer Tilman?” She lifted the
tabloid out of her cart and showed it to Jackie.
    The headlines were in bold, ‘Tilman and
Williams Back Together.’
    Jackie felt as though she’d been deflated.
Two weeks had passed since Grant had left, but she held on to the
idea that he’d be back. At least for a short time. But it was
apparent that would never happen. She should have known better.
    “She is beautiful, don’t ya think?” Susan
asked, still holding up the tabloid.
    “She is. I’m sure they will be happy
together,” Jackie added. “I’ll see you soon. I’ve got some shopping
to do.”
    “Come in and get some pizza. I got used to
the two of you coming in and getting something to eat every night,”
Susan said. “Believe it or not, I thought the two of you would end
up together. I really thought you were good together. And the way
that he looked at you, I really thought he loved you. He had me
fooled.”
    “I’m sure that’s just for show. He’s been in
Hollywood all this time, after all. What does he want with some
girl from Snowy Creek anyway?” Jackie laughed, but inside her heart
ached. She had apparently been fooled as well.
    Jackie pushed her cart toward the back of
the store. She couldn’t regret falling in love with Grant. It was
her fault for believing they could ever be together. He belonged in
Hollywood and she belonged in Snowy Creek. Tears welled up in the
corner of her eyes. She lifted her sleeve and wiped the tears. She
refused to allow them to come and she pushed them back. She had to
forget about him. She had no choice.
    ***
    Grant glanced down at his phone.
    You need to call your
me, a text popped up on his phone from his
mother. You haven’t had a chance to fill
me in on Jennifer yet .
    The past two weeks had been a whirlwind of
chaos. He hadn’t even had a chance to call his mother with his work
schedule. The studio decided, before cancelling the show, to tape
several more episodes to