The War Within by Yolanda Wallace Read Free Book Online

Internet, then called to make it official.” She glanced at Grandma Meredith to gauge her reaction.
    Grandma Meredith’s eyes narrowed. She looked like a mama bear ready to fight off a threat to her cub. Jordan could have kissed her.
    “Did she offer an explanation?” Grandma Meredith asked, giving her a consoling pat on the knee.
    “More like excuses. For one thing, she thinks I’m shallow. Her exact quote was I’m ‘as deep as a wading pool.’”
    “She has a way with words, I’ll give her that, but she could definitely learn some tact. A course in sensitivity might be beneficial as well.”
    Jordan felt her dark mood begin to brighten. “I knew I could count on you to be on my side. You don’t think I’m shallow, do you?” When Grandma Meredith opened her mouth to respond, Jordan held up her hands to stop the flow of words before they could begin. “Don’t. I’ve had enough constructive criticism for one day.”
    “I think you can take a little bit more.”
    “Do I have to?”
    Jordan hadn’t related Brittany’s other reasons for leaving so she could spare Grandma Meredith’s feelings. She wished Grandma Meredith would return the favor.
    When Grandma Meredith turned to face her, Jordan could feel some of that tough love she’d thought she wanted coming on. “I’m not going to tell you to ignore what Brittany said because I think you needed to hear it. But hear this, too. What she said was based on her opinion. Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one.”
    Jordan snorted laughter. She had never heard Grandma Meredith use any word stronger than fiddlesticks to express her displeasure. She didn’t know which was funnier, hearing Grandma Meredith utter an actual expletive or seeing the unabashed glee on her face when she did. She looked like a teenager sneaking a cigarette under the bleachers at recess. Like she was getting away with breaking the rules and having the time of her life in the process.
    “Feel better?” Grandma Meredith asked.
    Jordan conducted a brief personal inventory. “A bit, yeah. It’s her loss, right?”
    “You bet.” Grandma Meredith cupped a hand against her cheek. “You have an old soul, honey. One day your heart will catch up. I know it will.”
    Jordan fanned her splayed fingers as she tried to hold a sudden rush of emotion at bay. “Stop before you make me start crying again. Besides, we’re supposed to be talking about you.” She put the car in reverse. “Are you ready to pick up where we left off?”
    “Are you sure you want to hear more about my dull, boring life?”
    “Dull and boring, my ass.” Jordan pulled out of the parking lot and eased into the flow of traffic on the interstate. “I would call you GI Jane, but that makes me think of Demi Moore, which conjures up a completely different image altogether.”
    “The movie had its flaws—except for a few recent exceptions, most Hollywood war movies fail to get it right—but Demi did look powerful with a shaved head, didn’t she?”
    “That’s one way of putting it. Super sexy is another.” Jordan loved being able to talk openly with Grandma Meredith about her attraction to women without having to tone anything down for her audience. “Why can’t I talk with my parents like this?”
    “Have you tried?”
    “Every time I do, Mom gets all flustered and doesn’t know what to say. Dad just turns fifty shades of red and buries his nose in a book. To make it easier on them, I always change the subject to something safer and more innocuous.”
    “In their eyes, you’re still their baby, and the last thing their baby should be doing is having sex. I was the same way when Diana started dating, and your grandfather was even worse. He nearly scared your poor father to death when Diana brought him home to meet us, but he and Frank ended up the best of friends.”
    “Guys are different. They can fight it out and forget about what made them start trading blows in the first place. Women don’t