Page 110 of Freefall

An hour later, Daisy, Nate, and I walk up the stone steps to a beautiful building with the words Summit Grove Assisted Living etched on the side.

Nate didn’t tell us where we were going, so I’m a bit confused until I remember the conversation we had that night at the diner.

“Does anyone ever call you that?”

“Just my Gram when I do something to piss her off. She usually pairs it with my middle name too.”

He’s taking us to meet his grandmother, the woman who raised him, who would be…Daisy’s great-grandmother.

“Gram has dementia,” he explains, looking up at the building. “She may not remember me right away…or at all. She has good days and bad.”

I nod in understanding. “Are you sure it’s okay if we meet her?” The last thing I want to do is overwhelm the woman.

He pulls open the door to the entrance. “I’ll go in first so I can make sure she's up for having visitors.”

Daisy’s hand is warm in mine as we reach the front desk, where a young woman checks us in and directs us to the common area where Gram is.

Before he goes in, Nate crouches down to Daisy’s level. “There’s someone really special I want you to meet,” he says. “Someone really important to me, but…her memory isn’t so good, and sometimes she gets a little confused.”

Daisy tips her head up. “Like Josie’s grandpa?”

Nate looks at me.

“Her friend from Colorado,” I explain. “Her grandfather has Alzheimer’s.”

I turn to Daisy. “Yeah, like that.”

“That’s okay. I can help her remember.”

“That's really nice of you.” He gives her a small smile. “I’ll be right back.”

Nate disappears around the corner and returns only a few minutes later, giving us a thumbs-up.

There’s a low hum of chatter as we enter the common area where residents are sitting at various tables. Some are playing cards. Others are reading in plush chairs, and there’s what looks like a heated debate taking place between a woman and two men in the corner.

“You took her to lunch yesterday, Marv,” the taller man says.

The other man, who has auburn hair and a salt-and-pepper mustache, takes a step forward. “You mean before you had her in your room all afternoon? What were you two doing until nine at night, huh, Albert?”

Tall guy smirks. “If you don't know by now, I ain’t gonna be the one to explain it to ya.”

Mustache guy’s eyes widen, but the woman, a petite lady with brown hair, moves in between them. “Now, now. Gentlemen. How about we have lunch…all together?”

Neither man appears sold on the idea, but they sigh, and both hold an elbow out to her. She threads an arm through each one and winks at me as they walk past.

I hear a scoff from the other direction, where an older woman sits on a herringbone lounge chair holding a book. I have to squint to make out the writing on the spine, but I swear it looks like My Stalker’s Secret.

Is this lady reading dark romance?

“Can’t be happy with one man,” she mutters. “She has to have two. Not that I’m interested in either of those jackasses.”

“Gram!” Nate whisper-yells. “Language. You have a visitor, remember?”

The woman turns to look at me, and then her gaze drifts toward Daisy. The moment her pale blue eyes land on my daughter, her entire face lights up like a Christmas tree. She pulls down the reading glasses on the beaded chain around her neck.

“I’ll be damned,” she murmurs.

“This is Daisy. Your great-granddaughter.”