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“We haven’t. Not since he deserted me.”
Donna Rae rolled her eyes. “He didn’t desert you. He went off to college.”
“And never once called. Never answered my letter. Never visited.”
“And you haven’t even talked since Bea hired you?”
“There’s never been the need. Until now.”
“Well, I’m excited. You’re destined to be together.”
Lindsay leaned back and thunked her head against the wall. Her friend was way off base. “We were never more than friends, but the thought of seeing him again scares me.”
Donna Rae gave a deep, throaty laugh.
“Don’t laugh at me. I’m nervous. And just you watch. I’ll end up with a migraine before it’s all over.”
“It’ll be fine. I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you again.”
Yeah, right. He’d missed her friendship so much that he’d ignored her for the last fifteen years. They’d been the best of friends. Or so she thought. But two days after graduation, he’d left town. Just disappeared without so much as a goodbye.
Apparently their friendship meant nothing to him. And that still hurt. She would have to steel herself for his arrival.
That evening, Lindsay watched Granny Bea try to grip a fork and scoop a bite of green beans into her mouth with her right wrist enclosed in a spanking-new cast. The cast was brilliant white except for Lindsay’s and Donna Rae’s signatures scrawled in a circular pattern around the wrist area like a pair of bracelets.
A couple of the beans fell down the front of Granny Bea’s hospital gown.
“Here, I’ll help you,” Lindsay said.
“I might as well learn to do it on my own. I’ll have the thing for weeks.”
“I can help today. You’re sore and tired.”
Granny Bea harrumphed, but leaned back against her pillow, relenting. “I hate being laid up. What about the community center?”
“Mr. Kennedy and the others covered for us today. You’ll be able to go back to work in a couple of days, looking like one of the kids.” She smiled at the woman she took care of who was also her friend and coworker. “I know you’ll impress Dylan.”
“Yes. I’ll have to tell him I fell out of a tree or something a bit exciting.”
“Mr. Kennedy will sure want to fuss over you.”
“Oh, don’t even mention his name or you’ll get my ire up.”
“He’s been crazy about you for two years. You should see him mope when you’re not at the center.”
Granny Bea shook her casted arm. “That man is too young for me. If he hovers, I’ll bop him in the head with this thing.”
“Granny Bea has a boyfriend,” Lindsay sang.
“I may have to test it out on your head first.”
Lindsay laughed, then scooped up a bite of beans, held it out to Granny Bea, and watched as she ate it.
A man cleared his throat in the doorway, then rapped on the door. “Granny?”
She’d know that voice anywhere. Had she really thought she could prepare for this moment?
She was afraid to turn around. Afraid of the hurt that might still show on her face even after so many years.
“Bill, honey, you’re here!” Granny Bea called. “Come in.”
Lindsay pasted a half-smile on her face, then swiveled around to see him.
Oh, my. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She absolutely could not believe this was Bill Wellington. Tall, skinny, nerdy, bookworm Bill had been transformed during his years away.
Tall. Yes, he was still tall. But that’s where the similarities ended. He had filled out. And had turned into an attractive man. How could that have happened?
He hurried to his granny’s side, then hugged her. “How are you feeling?” He was so careful, so concerned, that it gave Lindsay’s heartstrings a big, ol’ yank.
“I’m fine, son.”
He looked up from Granny Bea and smiled in Lindsay’s direction. “Hi, Lindsay.”
After several seconds of staring at this near stranger, she realized she hadn’t acknowledged his greeting. “Oh, hi. Good to see you again. Wow. You’re all grown-up.” Way to go, Lindsay. Stating the obvious.
“Yes, fifteen years have a way of doing that. But you look exactly the same. I would have recognized you anywhere.”
And she couldn’t have picked him out of a police lineup if her life depended on it. His dark brown, shaggy hair was now short and layered and looked as if it had lightened in the sun. His gaunt, pale face was now tanned, angular, masculine. And his beanpole body was now muscle-bound.
“Broken wrist, huh?” He touched Granny Bea’s cast. Then he craned his neck, trying to read the signatures. Once he completed reading the circle of permanent marker, he smiled at Lindsay.
Her traitorous heart galloped underneath her rib cage. Stop it! I will not let my heart race over this man. This supposed friend.
“Lindsay, I appreciate you bringing her to the hospital. I’m sure you’re worn out. I’ll stay with her tonight.”
She bristled. He’d marched in and was going to try to take over Granny Bea’s care.
He’s her grandson. He has every right to.
Still, it made her mad that he lived his life way up there in Boston and barely ever spent time with his granny.
“I can stay,” she said. “I imagine you’re tired from traveling.”
“I dozed a little on the flight. Go on home. I’ll call you if she needs anything.”
“He’s right, dear. You’ve been here all day.”
What could she do? “Okay. I’ll come back tomorrow morning with some fresh clothes for her.”
“Thanks.” He started to hold out a hand, as if he were going to shake her hand, but then the gesture ended up as a little wave. A somewhat dorky wave, more like the Bill she remembered.
She was comforted by the fact that he was still Bill. Yet that little wave reminded her of the friend she’d lost.
Bill wasn’t sure he’d be able to catch his breath until Lindsay was gone. He had to get a grip or she might think she needed to rush him down to the E.R.
Her eyes were still as violet-blue, her hair as deep red, thick and smooth as it had been when she was eighteen.
He was a complete sap. A thirty-three-year-old acting like a lovesick teenager.
He walked to the other side of Granny’s bed, putting distance between him and Lindsay. She’s only a woman like any other. Nothing special. Just happens to have been blessed with gorgeous eyes and hair. And just happens to be the girl I fell in love with ages ago.
“Well, Granny Bea, I’ll see you bright and early.” Lindsay kissed Granny’s head. “Make Bill take good care of you.”
“Thanks for everything, dear. Get some rest, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”
Lindsay smiled fondly at Granny, which didn’t help his composure a bit. She stepped toward the door. “Good night.” She made brief eye contact with Bill, but then turned and left.
“So you fell off the porch while taking out the trash?” he asked.
She huffed. “Yes. Silly on my part.”
“I thought you hired Lindsay to help with that.”
“I did. But she was running late this morning—had to get the boys at the last minute.”
“The boys?”
“Her nephews. Her brother Gregory is divorced and has sole custody. Lindsay’s like a mother to his boys and keeps them a good bit. She was about to take them to day care this morning, then she and I were going to go to work.”
“Work?”
“At the community center. They hired her as director, and I’m working as her assistant.”
“You mean you’re volunteering?”
“At first I was. Now I’m hired.” She grinned, and looked so proud. “My first job outside the home—at age eighty-three.”
His granny working? But her home was her life. She’d always been there for him and his brother Drake after his parents died, moving them in with her—cooking, cleaning, helping with homework, chauffeuring them to lessons and Drake to sports practices.
“Why would you get a job now? You don’t need the money.”
“That’s a silly question. I love it! It gives me a reason to get out of bed each day.”
Had Granny been depressed? Had she been lonely? “You won’t be able to work with that cast.”
“Oh, I don’t think this’ll stop me.”
“Well, I want to talk with the doctor tomorrow. There’s always the concussion to consider.”
She waved away his concerns. “You should go to the house for the night, son. Don’t try to sleep here.”
He looked around the room and spotted a chair. “I bet that folds out into a recliner. I’ll be fine here.”
She smiled at him, and her lower lip quivered. “I’m so happy to see you, baby. It’s nice to have you home. Even if I had to break my arm to get you here.” She patted his cheek. “I’m teasing.”
It was the truth, though. He’d been away for too long. And whenever he did visit, it was a brief thirty-six-hour stay. He usually flew in on a Friday night, spent Saturday at Granny’s, maybe took her out to eat in Athens, then flew out early Sunday morning. He tried to avoid the townspeople. He had never fit in here.
Maybe he should hang around for a couple of days. To make sure she would be okay with her right arm out of commission. But if she could fall off her own porch doing something as simple as carrying out the trash, he suspected she might be getting too feeble to live alone. “I’m glad to be home. I’d like to stay until I make sure you’re okay on your own.”
“Oh, good. We’ll break out of this joint tomorrow and have a nice time together. You, me and Lindsay.”
Lindsay? Why would she say that? Sure, they worked together some. But Granny wouldn’t need her while he was there.
A nurse stuck her head in the door as she knocked. “Mrs. Wellington, how about getting up before my shift’s over? I imagine you’re ready to go to sleep for a little while.” She looked at Bill. “And if you’re staying, we’ll get your chair fixed up with a blanket and pillow.”
“Thanks.”
As the nurse helped Granny out of bed, Bill excused himself to wait in the hallway. But before he left, he noticed what a hard time they had getting Granny out of bed, then how slowly she moved. She’d definitely aged a lot since the last time he’d been home. And a broken wrist would make getting around even harder.
He had to wonder how much longer she’d be able to live on her own. He would watch her closely the next few days.
You, me and Lindsay.
Chapter Two
Bill helped Granny in the front door of her house. She seemed worn out from the short trip home from the hospital, and leaned heavily on his arm.
“Help me into my chair. I think I’ll rest a bit.”
The sight of her recliner caused a pang in his gut. So many memories of sitting with her in that chair, her rocking him when he was young, then sharing the chair side-by-side, squeezed in together, when he thought he was too old for rocking.
He closed his eyes and let the familiar smells wash over him. Home. At least it was home as far as he could remember. Though he had memories of his mom and dad, they had always traveled extensively, so Granny had been the stability in his life.
Lindsay, who’d insisted on following them home, slipped in the front door, put a blanket over Granny’s lap, then pulled a TV tray in front of her. Once she’d turned on the television, she put the remote on the table. “Here you go. Have a nice nap.”
He motioned to her to join him in the kitchen. “You know, Lindsay, while I’m here, Granny won’t really need your help.”
“And how long do you plan to stay this time? Ten minutes?”
Obviously, she hadn’t forgiven him for leaving town after high school. Or maybe he was reading too much into her anger. Maybe she just thought she needed to protect Granny. “I know I’m not here often, but I do love my grandmother.”
“Where were you when she had the flu last winter or when someone tried to break into her house one night? I’m the one who helped her then. And I’m the one who was here to keep her from giving out her credit card number in a phone scam.”
She sounded hurt that he had tried to exclude her. “I’m sorry. I just thought you might enjoy a little time off.” Plus, I’m not sure I can be around you every day.
She slumped into a chair at the table. “No. I’m sorry for jumping down your throat. I’m worried about her and don’t want to be shut out while she’s recovering.”
“That’s fine. I’m sure I can use your help.”
