“I know who she is,” Nell said, cutting him off. She looked at Jenny. “Your Uncle Charlie and I were friends for years. Good man, your Uncle Charlie. A big loss for the town—for all of us—his passing.”
“Thank you for saying that,” Jenny said. “It’s a pleasure to meet a friend of my uncle’s.” She smiled. “Cain has told me a lot about you. It’s clear he adores you.”
Nell’s gaze slid in his direction. “He’s a devil, that one. You best watch yourself, girl.”
Jenny looked at him as if his being a philanderer was no surprise at all. “I’m sure half the women in Jerome have set their caps for him.”
Nell grunted a laugh. “They’ll have one devil of a time catching him.” She looked at Jenny. “ ’Less he wants to get caught.”
Cain figured it was time to change the subject. “So why didn’t you call? You drove all the way from Scottsdale, and I could have missed you.”
“I knew you were here. I still got lots of friends in town. I pretty much know everything that goes on in Jerome.” She cocked a snowy eyebrow in his direction. “I heard about that little tussle you had at the Star last night. Bastard deserved the beatin’ you gave him.” She turned to Jenny. “So Cain brought you here after the fight?”
Jenny’s cheeks flushed. “The hotel was sold out, and the room I was staying in was no longer . . . well, there wasn’t a door anymore.”
Nell nodded her approval.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Cain said to Nell. “I’m driving Jenny down the hill to work. Soon as I get back, I’ll show you around. You can look at your suite and let me know if there’s anything you want to add or change.”
“You got any coffee in the kitchen?” Nell asked.
“There’s always coffee in the kitchen,” Cain said.
“Good. I think Jenny and I could both use a cup. You can drive her down the hill when we’re finished.”
Cain didn’t dare smile, but he felt like it. Didn’t matter how big you were or how grown up, you didn’t argue with Nell Barrett.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
Jenny took a chair at a Formica-topped table in the kitchen. Cain wheeled his grandmother into position across from her.
“I’ve got a couple of things to do,” he said. “I’ll catch up with you ladies in a bit.”
Cain left the kitchen. Emma, a woman in her forties with black hair cut in a bob, quietly slipped away. Emma was Nell’s caregiver and best friend. One look told Jenny that Emma was solid as a rock and loyal to a fault, a woman Cain could count on to take the best possible care of his grandmother.
Opal poured two china mugs of coffee and set them on the table, along with a bowl of sugar, a pitcher of cream, and a couple of spoons.
“Thank you,” Jenny said, as Opal returned to her kitchen duties. She was a big woman, heavyset, with a short cap of salt-and-pepper hair. Just the opposite of Nell, who was thin to the bone, her hair silver-white. Faint evidence of an earlier stroke, an unnatural tilt to her lips and the veined-hand curled in her lap explained the wheelchair.
“So . . . you and my grandson . . . ?” Nell asked.
“What? Oh, no. We’re just friends. Cain’s very protective. He helped me deal with some motorcycle riders on Friday night, then last night he showed up just in time to keep the big one, their leader, I think, from . . . from . . .”
Nell rested a long-fingered hand over Jenny’s where it rested on the table. “He’s a good boy. One of the best. If he cares for you—”
“It isn’t that. Not really. He just hired me to do some work for him, and he’s protective of the people in his employ.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s what he said.”
“Did he now?”
“You don’t think it’s true?”
“Oh, yes, I’m sure it is.” Nell made no further comment, just smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “What do you think of this place?” she asked.
Nell glanced around the big, modern, stainless kitchen, making a circular motion with her finger that included the entire hotel. “Grand, isn’t it? Just like its name. Who would think the old hospital could turn into such a fancy place.”
