I retrieved my cell, found her name.
Yeah, she seen it. The checkmark was blue.
Would she respond?
Minutes passed.
So stubborn. But then, she’d always been.
No matter.
I scrolled through her old texts to me—all five of them from the last three years, and all about Max. My teeth ground down—
Sharp yapping reached me first before a ball of golden-brown fur came hurtling into my ankle. I pushed my cell into my pocket, tossed the bike keys onto a side table, and scooped up the tiny, hairy bundle. “Hey, Speck. What have you been up to, little guy? Where’s Pops? Asleep, hmm? Let’s go check, shall we?”
Carrying the terrier under my arm, I jogged up the stairs to my paternal grandfather’s bedroom on the second floor and quietly opened the door. A dim light burned on one wall, casting a soft glow over Pops, where he lay asleep in his massive, mahogany bed. Since my grandmother’s passing several years ago, he always kept a light burning for her, so she could find him again, he said.
I stood there for a moment, watching him. My gut twisted just remembering last fall when he’d suffered a near-fatal heart attack and had barely hung onto life. My throat tightened. I couldn’t lose him. For as long as I could remember, though he’d worked long hours, he’d been my only anchor in life.
Not wanting to disturb him, I turned to leave.
“Jack, my boy?”
At the sleep-roughened voice, I wheeled back. “Hey, Pops,” I said softly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Wasn’t asleep.”
“You should be. You’ve had quite the adventure today, I hear.”
He snorted. “Does that old buzzard, Cliff, send you a report of what I do?” he grumbled.
“You know he does.” I glanced around, stroking Speck. “Shall I call Cliff back? I saw him at the bar earlier.”
Pops grunted as he pushed himself up. “My caregiver is human, not a machine. It’s his night off. Sit down, Jack.”
I set Speck on the wooden floor, and he trotted over to his bed near Pops. I put two pillows behind my grandfather’s back, making sure he was comfortable. He appeared slender, no longer the robust man I’d once known. Although he’d retired as chairman of the company, he still had a zest for life, and it was damn hard to get him to stay home and take it easy. But the shock of nearly losing him had me moving into the mansion. Afterward, I realized that living with Pops had given me back some measure of my sanity.
“Tomorrow is take-it-easy day, Pops,” I reminded him, adding a quiet warning to my tone. Although he appeared much better these days, my concern over him didn’t lessen.
He grunted, then scratched his full head of steel-gray hair. “I can’t stay house-bound all day. I need to keep busy—”
“You’re not going off alone to see Chuck, Pops. I mean it. I’ll take you this weekend.”
Chuck was an old army buddy of Pops’, their friendship spanning decades.
My grandfather cut me the gimlet Griffin look I knew well and often used myself. No, he wouldn’t take orders. He suddenly shrugged, surprising me with his easy acceptance. His brow crinkled, his too perceptive light blue eyes scrutinizing me. “You left early this morning. What’s going on? Trouble at work?”
If only. Work, I could handle. But my damn family was now interfering in my personal life. Andthat,I refused to allow. It had me clamping my teeth in frustration.
When a gray eyebrow arched at my silence, I realized he didn’t know what had occurred. Not wanting to upset him—and hewould beon my behalf—I said, “The usual. Busy. You shouldn’t worry about work. You have a board for that. What didyoudo today?”
Instantly, he perked up, his pallid features warming. “I met a girl.”
“Good for you, Pops.” I laughed. “When do I get to meet my future step-gran, then?”
“She volunteers at the retirement home where I see Chuck.” His eyes sparkled. Absently, he smoothed the covers over his chest. I’d never seen him this animated about anyone before.
But I could understand the connection he had with Chuck. After all, I felt the same about Max, and we went way back to the cradle, even though I was older.
