“How are you feeling today?” Lark asked as she stepped back. “This is my friend, Cash. He’s staying in Momma and Daddy’s house.”
Her grandmother looked at Cash like he’d been caught stealing her precious jewelry. “He’s staying at the house? Why is he staying at the house?”
“Remember, Grammy, Momma and Daddy are in Costa Rica,” Lark said, her voice nothing but chipper and filled with positivity.
Cash wondered how much that cost her, but he simply kept his smile in place and said, “It’s great to meet you, ma’am.”
“Cash, this is my grandmother, Helen.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He dipped his hat at her and lifted the plate of doughnuts. “We brought you dinner and dessert.”
“Oh, my,” Helen said. “Did you get those at The Cupid Cupcake?”
“No, Grammy,” Lark said, turning that gorgeous beaming smile on him. “Cash made them.”
“You made these?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “My step-mom used to own Hole in One, and she taught me how to bake when I was fourteen years old.”
“Oh, how wonderful,” Grammy said. “Come in, come in. It’s so cold outside.” She bustled away from the door, swiping up a shawl that had been laid over the back of the recliner.
Cash followed Lark inside and closed the door behind him. He immediately smelled the evidence of cats, and he found foodand water bowls over by the small two-person dining room table in the alcove to his right.
“Cash made meatballs and mashed potatoes, Grammy,” Lark said. “Where’s Mister Muffins?”
“He’s around somewhere,” her grandmother said, hobbling into the kitchen. “Do you guys want water?”
“No, Grammy, we brought you dinner and dessert,” Lark said. “You don’t need to get us anything.” She turned back to Cash and took the plastic bag of food from him. “I’ll get it heated up, okay?”
Cash slid the plate of doughnuts onto the counter, not quite sure where he fit or what to do next. A black cat with white facial features and a white-tipped tail rubbed along his ankles, yowling for some of the meatballs Lark had just slid into the microwave.
“Oh, hello there,” he said. “What’s your name?”
“That’s Pepsi Cola,” Grammy said. “He’s the nicest of my cats.”
“How many do you have?” Cash asked.
“Three,” Grammy said.
Cash really didn’t want her to come stay at the house. Then guilt swept through him, but Lark hadn’t brought it up again either.
She looked over to him. “Will you check their food and make sure they’ve been fed?”
“Sure,” he said, but he turned back to Lark. “Where’s Sweetie?” At the mention of her name, the little dog lifted her head from the couch. “Ah, there you are, girl.” He moved over to her and watched as her tail wagged and wagged. She pushed into his hand as he stroked across her head. “I think you’re coming home with us tonight.”
“She is,” Lark said. “Remember, Grammy? I’m taking Sweetie.”
“Oh, she’s been the best girl,” Grammy said. “But Mister Muffins doesn’t like her.”
“No, I bet he doesn’t,” Lark said.
Grammy told them all about her potluck lunch, what someone named Harold had brought, and then how Louise had shown up without anything.What a scandal, Cash thought, a smile touching his soul.
He stayed quiet as he filled the water bowl for her cats and poked around in the galley kitchen until he found the cat food to feed them. All three of the cats and Sweetie came running then, and he wondered how long it had been since she’d fed her pets.
Lark sat at the dining room table with Grammy while she ate, and Cash found himself sitting on the end of the couch going through the texts Lark had already read to him on the drive here.
The Young family had an enormous family text that everyone fifteen and above was on, but he and his older cousins had their own message string as well.
