“Nash.” James tips his chin up at me. He’s somewhere in his mid-twenties and on his third start-up. The other two didn’t work out.
Jackie says, “Hello.”
I’m still not sure how they feel about Grandpa making it. Still not sure what their feelings are toward me for that matter.
“Are you in time-out here in the hall?” I ask.
James’s jaw twitches. “Something like that. It’s a family lunch day.”
I glance down the wide stairwell. “Where’s Harper?” Harper is my favorite cousin. She’s Kevin and Judith’s youngest and seems like she might turn out all right. She has plans for her life, and they don’t include waiting on Grandpa to die.
Jackie answers me, “She’s running errands with mom.”
I nod. “Tell them hello for me.”
“We will.”
I’m hesitant to leave Grandpa with Kevin, but I know that’s the petty part of me talking.
So, I force my feet to carry me downstairs. I’ve already been to work, as I needed to check on things at the building. I should call Magnolia to ask if she can come to Grandpa’s this afternoon. I’ve been trying to give her some breathing space, but Grandpa won’t hear of it.
Or maybe I’ll stop by her place and ask her in person. That sounds like a lot more fun.
There’s an extra pep in my step as I reach the bottom of the stairs.
The doctor is just walking into the entryway, and he greets me with a smile.
“Thanks for coming again, Dr. Charles.”
“I’m glad to be here under these circumstances. What a recovery!” He shakes his head, as though he doesn’t know how to describe what’s happened. “I’ve never seen anything like it. How is he this morning?”
I chuckle. “He’s already back at it, talking business and making plans to go visit his place in Pine Ridge.”
The doctor smiles. “Okay, well, I’m counting on you to help hold him off. I know he likes to stay busy, but this is nothing short of a miraculous recovery. He can’t be traveling anywhere. We can’t do anything to upset him or cause a shock. It could send him right back to where he was. It’s something that isn’t talked about in the medical world—how much stress affects your health. So, I’m counting on you.”
I tap my fingers against my leg. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t tell him that I introduced him to a fake fiancée?”
The doctor’s eyes go wide. “No, I wouldn’t tell him that. What do you mean by ‘a fake fiancée’?”
I take a step closer to him and lower my voice. “Mary thought he was about to pass, and she called to tell me that he was asking to meet my fiancée before he died. So, I brought someone to meet him.”
Dr. Charles looks surprised for the first time. “So, you brought someone who wasn’t your fiancée?”
“She was available and willing to grant a dying wish,” I try to explain.
The doctor looks skeptical. But he just doesn’t understand.
How do you explain Magnolia and how she lights up a room? She was the perfect person to introduce to my grandfather—his own miracle. But now I have to figure out how to tell him we don’t actually get to keep her in the family. He’s going to be devastated.
“He loves her,” I say.
The doctor shakes his head. “I’m not quite sure what you were thinking there, but I suggest not telling your grandfather. Especially since he seems to have recovered just after meeting her. We’re going to have to tread lightly here.”
I nod solemnly. Because what else can I do?
I thought about telling him the truth this morning, but now the doctor is thinking it wouldn’t be a good idea either.
Dr. Charles walks past me, toward the stairs. “Maybe you should just marry her anyway. She sounds like a nice woman, trying to grant a last wish.”
