by Kait Nolan
Granddaddy crossed his arms and scowled. “Well, I suppose you’ll get extra time on the tractor this week. But don’t you let it interfere with your schoolwork, Kyle.”
Of course, he’d recognize Kyle after all these years. It seemed he was also stuck in the amber of high school, as she so often was for her grandfather.
Kyle’s sharp blue gaze flicked to her and back to Granddaddy. “No, sir.”
When he lagged a few steps, Abbey dropped back herself. “He slips in and out of the past. Sometimes he thinks I’m still in high school. Sometimes he thinks I’m Grandma Ruth. We try to humor him as much as possible because arguing about when it is or who we are just upsets him. Most of the time, he comes out of it on his own.”
Kyle nodded once, shoving the glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Abbey couldn’t quite hold back a smirk. “Does that getup actually work as a disguise?”
One corner of his mouth lifted in a rueful smile. “You’d be surprised.”
They trailed the nurse to the entrance, and Abbey waited with her grandfather until Kyle brought the Land Cruiser around. They got him settled in the backseat, with his ankle propped up. After a brief stop at a drive-thru for fast-food burgers, they headed toward home. She fought not to stare as the two of them slid into easy conversation, like it hadn’t been years since they’d seen each other.
When it became readily apparent her contribution wasn’t needed, Abbey blew out a breath and relaxed for the first time since she’d gotten the call. For all intents and purposes, her grandfather was okay. His injury wasn’t life threatening. It hadn’t required surgery or an overnight stay in the hospital. And that was good. She already wasn’t sure how much the ambulance ride was going to set them back. But an overnight would have required she contact her parents, and she didn’t want to ruin their trip. More, she didn’t want to be proved incapable when she’d insisted he’d be fine with her. They were out of port by now, so she had to make this work.
She’d need to cancel appointments for at least the next couple of days. She couldn’t possibly ask Pru to let her bring him to work at the spa. It wasn’t everybody else’s responsibility to keep an eye on him to make sure he stayed off that foot. The medical costs, on top of the chunk she’d dropped to pay for the cruise, was going to hurt. But she’d do what needed doing. For now, the focus had to be on what was right in front of her.
She began mulling over what accommodations needed to be made for his current condition. They’d been talking about converting the downstairs study into a bedroom for him for a while, as his balance had gotten to be more of an issue. No way did she want him trying to manage stairs on crutches. So that would need to be flipped.
“It’s gotta be the ’65,” Granddaddy insisted.
“It’s a sexy car, I admit. But the ’69 and ’70 is where it’s at. Speed, class, and that engine, man. You can’t beat it.”
This man chatting with her grandfather so much resembled the boy she’d loved and not what she was expecting. Abbey shook her head in silent denial as the bitterness washed through her. How the hell did she get here, being chauffeured from the hospital by her best friend turned enemy? A man she’d done her best to despise. To forget. A man she’d kissed as she did in the dreams she admitted to only in the dark of night. Abbey’s cheeks heated at the memory. So did the rest of her. Thank God the sun had long gone down so no one could see.
In all her thousands of imagined scenarios for when she saw him again, she’d never imagined any of this. There’d been groveling. Serenading. Heart-felt confessions. A great many of those situations had ended with a slap because, even ten years on, she couldn’t forgive him for the things he’d said.
God, how could she have kissed him back? The truth was, as many years as she’d been harboring the hurt, she still wanted him, and her inner teen girl, who’d been in love with her best friend since time immemorial, had flat-out swooned because she’d wanted his kiss for years. But not as some kind of act. Not as a cover story. She’d wanted him to want her. To choose her.
He hadn’t, when it mattered. And now he’d gone and announced they were engaged in a live interview. She still couldn’t quite believe he’d done that. But that paparazzi guy had showed up at the spa, and what else would have dragged Kyle home after all these years? She didn’t think he’d lied about saying it. It would be too easy to verify, which she should probably do to see what had been said.
Why her? What did it say that hers was the name he blurted out on impulse? That he’d been thinking of her? Of that silly ring and that day in the orchard?
The whole thing gave her a headache. It would have to be sorted out tomorrow.
Kyle drove them straight home. Probably for the best. She didn’t think it would be easy to get Granddaddy transferred from the SUV to her little car. The fewer unnecessary moves, the better.
He tried to get out on his own as soon as they rolled to a stop.
“Wait, wait. Let me get your crutches.” Abbey leapt out.
“I don’t need any damned crutches,” Granddaddy insisted.
“How about using me for one?” Kyle suggested, ducking under his arm. “It’ll make the womenfolk happy.”
“Well, all right then.”
Abbey pressed her lips together to keep from commenting as she trailed them up the porch steps and into the house. Kyle got him settled in the recliner in the den.
“There. You’re the official king of the castle in that chair. And your humble servant will get you some ice.” He sketched a bow and turned toward the kitchen.
Abbey stared after him, dumbstruck at his ability to just walk in here like it hadn’t been years. She heard the freezer door. A minute later he came back with a bag of frozen peas and a kitchen towel.
“I expect we can sacrifice some peas in the name of an ice pack. This should mold to your ankle a little better.” Gently, he settled the peas in place.
“Thanks, son.”
Kyle straightened and caught her still staring. He handed Granddaddy the remote and jerked his head toward the kitchen. “Talk to you for a minute?”
Because she couldn’t think what else to do, she trailed him out of the room.
In the kitchen, he turned, eyes searching her face. “You okay, Abs?”
No. She was not anywhere in the vicinity of okay. She didn’t know how to handle being here, in this house, with Kyle. Just below the surface, emotions were set to hit a rolling boil, and she didn’t know what would happen when they spilled over.
But she wasn’t about to tell him that. “I was just trying to figure out the logistics of how we’re going to get my car. I can’t leave Granddaddy alone to go get it.”
“I’ll drive you to get it when we get up in the morning.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m staying to help. With your folks gone, I expect you could use a hand.”
She absolutely could. But not him.
Keeping her voice low, she prowled toward him. “You’ve been out of my life for years, and now you’re just sliding in and acting like everything hasn’t changed?”
He sucked in a breath, and she thought he might’ve been counting to ten. “Look, I brought a mess and more stress to your doorstep. The least I can do is help you out with this. You can argue with me about it tomorrow after you’ve had some sleep, and we’re sure everything is copacetic with Granddaddy. I’m guessing we need to do some kind of switcharoo with furniture so he can sleep down here tonight?”
She could keep arguing. But it didn’t change the fact that he was right. She couldn’t move the bed on her own, and she didn’t want Granddaddy’s old bones to suffer on the fold-out in the living room.
“Fine. You can stay the night, and we’ll sort out the rest in the morning.”
“All right. Let’s go move a bed.” He started toward the stairs.
“Kyle.”
When he turned back, a question on his face, Abbey pressed her lips together for a lon
g moment. “Thank you for being here today.”
Something that might’ve been pain flashed in his eyes before he dropped his gaze in a nod. Without another word, he trotted up the stairs.
Sucking in a bracing breath, she followed.
Chapter 4
Kyle woke to silence. For long moments, he lay still, eyes closed, trying to orient himself. There was no sense of motion from sleeping on the bus. None of the city noises he’d grown accustomed to on the road. He heard none of the muted sounds of Nashville traffic from his loft. Cracking his eyes, he registered he was on a sofa, in a house he hadn’t seen in more years than he cared to count.
The farm.
Abbey.
Rolling to his back, he scrubbed both hands over his face, and his whole body twinged from wedging his six-foot frame onto too short a couch. Abbey had offered him a guest room, but he’d opted for the sofa in case Granddaddy needed something in the night because he figured if he didn’t, she would, and she’d looked ready to drop last night. Besides, after all these years on the road, he’d trained himself to sleep wherever, whenever he could.
He sat up, shoving off the quilt and scooping a hand through his hair as he took in the room he hadn’t paid much attention to last night. He recognized Grandma Ruth’s painting of the east orchard hanging above the mantle. The built-in bookcases on either side were still stuffed to bursting with a hodgepodge of books and family photos. There were new slipcovers on the chairs that flanked the fireplace, and it looked like they’d picked up some new end tables to go with the newer sofa where he’d spent his night. But even with the changes, even after all these years, this place still felt like home in a way nowhere else ever had. Not that he’d stayed anywhere else long enough to make what would constitute a home. His loft didn’t quite count since he was so often on tour.
Gray dawn light told him it was early. Scenting coffee, he pulled on his T-shirt and followed his nose to the kitchen. Grabbing a mug from the cabinet by the sink, he poured himself a cup and enjoyed the first hit of caffeinated steam, knowing he didn’t have to race to be anywhere, do anything. Sipping at the scalding black brew, he wandered out to the front porch to watch as the sun rose over the same orchards in Grandma Ruth’s painting. Gooseflesh rose along his arms from the chill morning air, but he didn’t go back inside. Unfamiliar peace wrapped around him, soothing jagged edges. Something in him realigned and settled at the sight. As if he’d been out of phase with himself until this moment. It wasn’t so far from the truth.
“Surprised you’re up.”
Kyle didn’t jolt at the sound of Abbey’s voice. Maybe a part of him had known she’d be out here. He looked over to find her wrapped in a thick gray sweater and blanket, in one of the wicker chairs that lined the front porch. Her blonde hair was pulled into a messy tail that trailed over one shoulder, and her big, doe eyes were still heavy from sleep as she blinked at him over her own steaming mug. A melody began to unfurl in his brain as he took her in, and his fingers itched for a pen and paper.
“Granddaddy okay?” he asked.
“Still sleeping. But that probably won’t last much longer. He’s usually up with the sun.”
Kyle grunted and sipped more coffee, forcing himself to look away from her toward the land he’d once loved more than anywhere else in the world. It was more run down than he remembered. Some sagging eaves here, peeling paint there. Guilt prickled at that. Had they struggled? Were things worse than he’d realized after his parents went to prison? He didn’t feel like he could ask. Not now.
Abbey shoved up from her chair. “I need to call into work. No way can Granddaddy go back to senior care today.”
“I can stay with him.” The offer was out before the caffeine hit his brain, but Kyle didn’t want to retract it.
She was back to looking at him like he’d grown a second head. “What?”
He jerked his shoulders, sipped more coffee. “I don’t have anywhere I need to be. I’m done with the tour.”
Her brows drew together. “Why would you do that?”
It grated that they’d reached a point where such an offer surprised her. “Because you need help, and I’m here. Because he’s the closest thing I ever had to a grandfather. Because once upon a time, we were family.”
A flash of something—Hurt? Temper?—flickered over her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but a shouted, “Dagnabbit!” from inside announced that Granddaddy was up, and she swallowed whatever it was back down.
Without answering, she went inside. For a few more minutes, Kyle stayed where he was, wondering what he’d have to do to convince her to talk about what had happened between them. He figured he could start by making himself useful. By the time Abbey helped Granddaddy into the kitchen, Kyle had bacon sizzling and eggs ready to go into a skillet.
“Lotta fuss for nothing. It’s just a little twingy.”
“It will be a lot worse than a little twingy if you don’t stay off it like the doctor said. Sit. I’ll fix your coffee.” Abbey installed him in a kitchen chair and crossed to the coffeepot.
Kyle felt her gaze on him at the stove, but figured it was better to pretend all was normal. He wasn’t sure what frame of mind Granddaddy was in this morning. Removing the bacon, he drained off the excess grease and dumped in the eggs.
“Smells good,” Granddaddy declared. “You draft your boyfriend as short-order cook this morning?”
Boyfriend? Shit, did Abbey have a boyfriend? In all the chaos yesterday, he’d never asked. He hadn’t even considered the possibility.
Abbey made a choking noise.
Carrying the plate of bacon to the table, Kyle kept his tone easy. “Nah, I figured cooking breakfast was the least I could do for y’all putting me up last night.”
The old man’s eyes narrowed. Did he recognize him? “Well damn, you grew up.”
Kyle laughed. “Sure did. Good to see you, sir.”
“Oh, don’t sir me, boy. And mind those eggs don’t burn.”
He moved back to the stove, wondering how much Granddaddy remembered of the hospital last night.
“Need to hurry on up. I’ve gotta drive down to the feed and farm supply to pick up our order this morning.”
Even without the injured ankle, Kyle was pretty sure he shouldn’t be driving, a fact confirmed by a quick glance at Abbey.
“Actually, I figured we’d have some lessons in how to use those crutches. I’ve got more practice than you. If you need to go somewhere today, I’ll drive you. You can give me the grand tour and show me everything that’s changed, while Abbey’s at work.”
“You don’t have to—” she began.
“Sounds good! Lots of catching up to do. Can’t say I’ll mind having a younger back to load things.”
Kyle slid the bowl of eggs onto the table and met Abbey’s gaze. “It’d be my pleasure.”
Her eyes were ripe with distrust. For a moment, he thought she’d refuse out of stubborn principle. Then her lips flattened. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”
The tone was grudging, but it wasn’t a no, so he’d take it. “We’ll finish breakfast and load all of us up. Granddaddy and I can drop you at the inn so you’ll have your car.”
Oh, she hated needing him for anything. Her nostrils flared with frustration at the situation, but again, she only nodded and shoved back from the table. “Then I’d best clean up and get ready to go.”
“You didn’t eat,” Kyle pointed out.
“Not hungry.”
He could hear the pique in her steps as she went upstairs to shower.
When the banging pipes signaled she’d retreated into the bathroom, Granddaddy lifted his coffee and surveyed Kyle over the rim of his mug. “Well, took you long enough to come home.”
He paused with a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth. “Sorry?”
“You should be. Don’t know what happened between you two, but it’s long past time for you to fix it. The whole damned situation’s been festering for years. So what’s the p
lan?”
“I don’t… have one?” A plan would indicate he had a damned clue what he was doing, rather than fumbling his way in the dark.
“That’s just damned foolishness, and you done used up your quota, son. You ain’t gonna win her back without being tactical. My granddaughter’s a Whittaker. Stubborn as they come.”
Granddaddy was a lot more with it than Abbey had led him to believe, and it sounded like he was on Kyle’s side. Kyle didn’t know what to do with that.
When he only continued to stare, Granddaddy arched a bushy brow. “What? I know I’ve got memory problems, son, but I’ve never been blind to how you feel about my granddaughter. You’ve been stupid in love with her since you were knee high.”
Kyle was too stuck on the first thing Granddaddy had said to be flustered at being called out for the feelings he hadn’t fully admitted to anyone. “You think I have a shot at winning her back? Or, hell, winning her in the first place?”
“You won her years ago. You just have to remind her.”
He glanced up at the ceiling, where he could hear muffled strains of what sounded like “You Better Think” by Aretha Franklin. “I don’t think it’ll be that simple.”
“Love never is. But it’s worth the work. Now let’s make a plan.”
The moment Kyle’s SUV pulled up to the Misfit Inn and Spa, Abbey opened the door and slid out. She needed to escape his orbit for the sake of her sanity.
“Have a good day, Abbey.”
She shot him a level look. “I’m trusting you to behave yourselves.” She’d given him a full list of dos and don’ts for Granddaddy before they left the house.
He saluted from the driver’s seat. “I won’t let you down.”
They’d see about that.
“You’ve got my number if anything happens.” God help her.
“I’ll take good care of Granddaddy.” There was no trace of cocky amusement in his tone or expression, and she could only hope she’d properly conveyed the seriousness of the situation.
Abbey opened the door to the backseat and ducked in to brush a kiss over Granddaddy’s wrinkled cheek. “You behave, too. Don’t overdo on that ankle.”
