CHAPTER SEVEN
Kelly
I made dinner for Grandpa later. I had bought enough ingredients for a week and I decided to make my mom’s Cajun chicken recipe. I was busy in the kitchen when I heard Grandpa in the sitting room. I went over. It sounded like he was making reconstruction work in there.
“Hey, Grandpa?” I called.
He appeared, sweating, from behind the ancient lounge suite. “Just tidying,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “We’ll eat outside. It’s a hot day.”
He nodded. “Good.”
I stirred the dinner, thinking idly about the day. My body felt like I had a new one—every inch of it felt like it had melted. I still couldn’t quite believe that had happened. I was making the rice to go with it when I caught sight of myself.
In the reflection in the window, I was grinning, my face bright. It had been a while since I looked like that.
I grinned to myself and was humming as I finished the dinner. It was six thirty and early, but I decided we should eat. Grandpa was likely to tire easily—he already looked like he was going to doze off soon. I carried the tray out to the terrace.
“Mm!” He grinned. He looked genuinely enthusiastic as I put the plate down in front of him and I wasn’t sure whether I felt happy or guilty as he tucked in. He looked healthier already, and I wished I’d thought of this ages ago.
I took a spoonful of my own cooking, smiling at the result. It had just the right flavor—burn and sweetness perfectly balanced. I swallowed and found myself enjoying my evening. The sky had turned a soft blue and I could see stars. It has been ages since I saw them. Out here, they hung over the barren landscape like diamonds.
“It’s so lovely,” I murmured. Grandpa hadn’t heard. He was too busy eating. I was amazed by how quickly he managed to get through half the meal. Then he sat back, face a funny color.
“I feel a bit sick,” he said. I nodded.
He hasn’t eaten properly for a month. His stomach has shrunk. And besides, there’s some health problem here. I could see his face was flushed and his arm shook a little. I was looking forward to getting him to the doctors’ tomorrow. I’d made an appointment for four.
“I have to say,” Grandpa said slowly. “It’s good to have you.”
I grinned. “Grandpa, it’s good to see you.”
He smiled. I felt deeply touched as he reached across the table, taking my hand. He patted it.
“You were always a good girl, Kelly.”
I coughed, my throat tight. “Thanks, Grandpa.” I blinked rapidly, feeling emotions course through me. Tenderness and regret. How could I have neglected him so badly? I knew I wasn’t entirely to blame for what had happened here—how could I have known? But all the same, I felt bad. I finished my meal in silence.
“There’s more of that in the pot,” I told Grandpa. He was finishing his meal and it pleased me to see the color in his face become healthier. The grayish blue had receded, and he had flushed a healthy color.
“Oh.” He brightened at the suggestion, then chuckled. “I think I’ve had all I can take,” he said, leaning back contentedly. His hands rested on his lap and he looked out over the ranch. He seemed happy.
“How’s Jackie?” he asked after a bit.
Jackie was my mom. I cleared my throat, wondering what to tell him. “Oh…she’s good. I haven’t seen her in a while, actually.” The last time I’d gone home had been six months ago or so, round New Year. I spoke to her on the phone every Saturday, but it was hard to gauge how she was. “Last time we spoke she seemed okay. You know how she is…always busy.”
He grinned. “Tell me about it.”
I felt my heart ache. He clearly loved my mom. She should come and visit him. I knew she had her work—which was her life, really—and she found her dad troublesome. But it would mean the world to the old man.
“I think it’d do her good to come out and visit,” I said. I meant it. After months and months in the city, my heart was healing in this wilderness.
He snorted. Looked out over the fields. I knew what he was thinking. He was thinking that it was unlikely Mom would come all the way out here. Last time she’d taken more than a week off her work was for Christmas. She was devoted and never took off.
I sighed. “Want seconds?”
“Maybe we can have them for lunch,” he suggested. I smiled.
“We have plenty of food now, Grandpa. But if you want to?”
He nodded. “Yes. I do.”
I smiled. “I’m glad you liked it. Now,” I added, yawning. “Maybe we should go clean up, huh?”
He nodded. “I’ll make coffee.”
“Great.”
It was nice, I reflected as I tidied the kitchen, setting aside the remainder of our supper for tomorrow, to be here. I could hear Grandpa pottering about with the kettle and tin of coffee—the kitchen light needed a repair, and we worked with the glow from outside—and I felt content.
I wondered, idly, how Reese spent the evening. At the thought my body clenched tight with need. I wanted that man so badly!
I laughed.
Grandpa came over and tapped my shoulder.
“We should go out on the terrace with the coffee,” he said. “Watch the bats come out.”
I smiled. “Okay.”
As I sat watching the landscape shift from day to night in lyrical tones of blue, I felt my soul unfurl for the first time in months. I felt like all my senses were renewed—my eyesight sharpening as I watched bats flit in front of a dusk sky.
I went to my room shortly afterward. It was only eight P.M. but I felt sleepy. It had been a long day. I showered again and contemplated the guest bedroom. It was marginally less awful than when I had arrived—the dust was out and the bed was made. I still wondered if I had the courage to actually sleep in it, or if I’d be better off curled up on the cover.
It was when the light shining through the window woke me that I sat wide awake and realized with complete awe that I had fallen asleep. I was wearing my nightgown and slippers and the sun was streaming in through the window. The clock said seven am. I yawned. I had been asleep for almost half a day!
I stretched and reached for my suitcase to find clothes. It was a new day. I could hear birds singing and somewhere a car, winding its slow way along road past the farmlands. The sun shone on the hills beyond my window, and I thought it was going to be an amazing day.