CHAPTER NINE

Kelly

I slipped back in that afternoon and found myself in a silent house.

“Hello?” I called. I suddenly felt worried. Where was he? Was he okay? I walked quietly through the hallway and into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I found Grandpa making coffee.

“Whew!” I smiled at him, all my tension draining. “Hi, Grandpa.”

“Afternoon, Kells,” he said. He looked surprised to see me. I noticed that his cheeks were pink and his breathing seemed to be a bit heavy. I felt a stab of worry go through me even as he looked up at me with that engaging blue-eyed stare.

“Grandpa,” I smiled fondly. “You okay?”

“Okay. Yes.” He frowned, scratching his head. “Chest hurts when I lie down. Nothing bad, though.”

I felt a stab of worry go through me. He seemed disorientated and tired, and this hurt chest wasn’t filling me with joy. I’m not a medically minded person. But even I know chest pain sounds bad. I nodded.

“That doesn’t sound good, Grandpa,” I said cautiously. “Maybe tell the doctor when you visit.”

“The doctor?” He looked confused. “When are we visiting?”

“The appointment,” I reminded. “At four today.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “Yeah.”

I rummaged about. I had decided to make stew. He looked like he needed something substantial. While I cooked, I heard him take the coffee out onto the terrace. I was peaceful and my thoughts strayed to the previous evening. I blushed, thinking of it.

I had never actually felt like this with a man; this level of freedom and playfulness. I thought back to my last boyfriend. He had made me feel bad about myself. I felt bad that I wasn’t cool and elegant like the other girls he knew. He always said that, and I’d started to hate how inelegant and uncool I was. Being intimate was hard when I felt so bad about myself.

I don’t think like that anymore…now I don’t think of anything except pleasure.

I wondered what Reese was doing now. Pictured him working out—I could only imagine he worked out each morning. I imagined that lean, hard body, sweat gathering on his face as he performed some feat of athleticism that would doubtless leave me awed. I grinned.

Kelly Gowan. You are so naughty!

I laughed. That sounded good to my ears. It had been too long since my naughty side had a chance to come out. Reese brought it out effortlessly. The way he talked, looked, touched…he made me want him so badly that even now I could feel myself getting ready thinking about it.

I watched the stew, looking for that moment when it went all nice and thick. I was stirring away when I heard a truck going down the road. I glanced out and saw the distant cloud of dust follow it.

I wonder if that’s…

I shook my head. I should stop thinking about Reese. It was a beautiful morning. And Grandpa needed my focus.

I finished the stew and fished about for a bowl for some pepper and a jug for lemonade. Managed to find a glass that was whole and a small glass pepper grinder that was obscured by the rest of the things in the cupboard. I set it all out and took it through to the terrace.

“That smells good.”

I nodded. “It does. I’m starving.”

I set the lunch out on the table. Grandpa eyed it suspiciously.

“I’ll never be able to finish it,” he muttered, looking at the large helping. I bit back a grin. I hadn’t reckoned on how much he could put away in one sitting. I mentally doubled my list for the next cart of groceries.

“You’ll manage, Grandpa.”

We added the pepper to our breakfast. Grandpa’s eyes went cloudy when he grinded the pepper onto the stew.

“I haven’t seen that grinder since your Grandma passed,” he said reverently. I swallowed hard. The way he looked so wistful, a smile playing over his mouth, moved me.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” I said shyly. “I just found it now.”

He laughed. “It didn’t upset me, Kell. I just miss her.” His throat worked and I felt my own eyes get damp. Grandma had passed when I was five. I was twenty-eight now. He still missed her.

“I understand,” I said gently. He gave me a faraway grin.

“I miss Jess every day.”

I looked off over the landscape, not wanting to intrude on his grief. The sun was shining high in the sky already, the mountains a pale white under the haze of early morning. Somewhere, farm equipment made a lazy chug across a field. I heard a sparrow chatter.

When I looked back at Grandpa, he was focusing on the food again. I hoped his sadness had passed. He and granny were an example of everlasting love. It gave me hope that such a thing existed.

My own experience of love hadn’t been great, I reflected as I finished my porridge. My mom and dad had fought my whole life, ending in a divorce when I was five. I rarely saw my dad nowadays. He was a difficult man—raging and dissatisfied with everything in general.

I think I dated men like my dad because he was my only reference.

Most of my boyfriends had been, well…not exactly shining examples of humanity. I had felt rejected in favor of more “acceptable” girls—city girls with straight hair and fashionable clothes, who talked with an LA accent and knew how to make up their faces. I had never fitted in. Most of my male partners had reinforced that.

“What’s up, Kell?”

I blinked, my mind brought back to the present by my grandpa. He was looking shrewdly at me. I laughed.

“It’s okay. Nothing bad.”

He nodded. “You looked sad.”

“I wasn’t,” I contradicted. I looked at the breakfast. “You want some more?”

He chuckled. “I think I’m full enough for one afternoon.”

“Great.” As I suspected he would, he’d finished it. I felt relief. He was already looking better. But I would only be satisfied after we’d seen the doctor.

“What do we do now?” Grandpa asked, setting aside the bowl.

I frowned. I wasn’t used to being consulted like that. “Well,” I scratched the side of my head, wincing at how dry my hair had gotten. Darn wind! I paused. “We need to get to the doctor by four. Which means we have about an hour to get ready. Would you like to go to the store or something before we go in?”

He frowned. “Do we need something?”

I shrugged. “Depends.”

“I’ll walk down to the pump and check it’s working. Then we should go.”

“Okay.”

I cleaned away the breakfast and felt my heart soar. I was off to a good start with Grandpa, and I was feeling great. I caught myself humming a tune under my breath as I washed dishes. It was “Moon River,” an old song my grandma had taught me. I found my eyes were damp with tears.

I felt, somehow, like she would be glad I was here. As I finished tidying up and went through to the guest bedroom to freshen up I felt a deep peace settle on my soul.

I waited for Grandpa to return from checking the pump. I was smartly dressed in my office suit, and we headed into town.

As I drove past the ranch next door, I wondered how Reese was.

I went into the clinic with Grandpa and then left while the doctor examined him. When he called me aside after, I held my breath.

“What is it?” I asked.

“We need to send him to the hospital. He needs an ECG and some other tests,” Doctor Marsden, explained. I nodded.

“Is it something bad?” I asked.

He grinned. A handsome man in his late thirties, I would have been attracted to him had I not already met Reese. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll only know how serious until we’ve done the tests. Right?”

I nodded. It was difficult not to worry. I felt a bit impatient with him. How was I supposed to feel when I was considering my grandpa’s health?

“Okay,” I said. “When?”

“If you could take him through in a bit? I called through to the desk and they said they can fit him in at six.”

“Okay.” I nodded again. “We’ll come back in after a snack.”

“Good.”

I paid the account and headed off home again.

I managed to persuade Grandpa we needed to have the garage guys come and look at his van. He decided it was an ideal time to clean the garage. I went in to help, knowing he wasn’t as able as he thought.

Dressed in old clothes, I was busy cleaning nameless stuff off the workbench when Grandpa yelled. I ran to him. He was trying to lift a heavy wooden box. He had suddenly gone stiff and shaking and I was terrified as I saw his face change to dark mauve, his chest heaving.

“Grandpa!” I panicked, reaching for my phone. I called the ambulance and then, on impulse, I called Reese. When he answered at once, I felt my spirits brighten.

“Yeah?”

“Reese,” I murmured. “I’m sorry—I know I’m being a nuisance. But it’s Grandpa.”

He didn’t break stride. “I’ll be there now.”

When I hung up I felt my heart lift with relief. I settled Grandpa down in the sun outside the garage and paced, waiting for someone to arrive.

I heard Reese arrive and then, in the distance, the sound of the ambulance. When he got out and strode over I felt myself smile. It was so nice to see someone who was so capable, so ready to take charge.

“Reese,” I murmured. “I called the ambulance. Here they come…but I’m so glad you’re here.”

He smiled. “Of course I am. What can I do?”

I shook my head. Now that he was here, I felt so much calmer. My voice trembled, and I was suddenly really tired. “Not much,” I said with a smile. “I just needed someone here.”

“I’m glad you called,” he said.

The ambulance had pulled into the drive now and Reese took charge. I had never seen anyone direct people with such cool expertise. He sent them off to fetch Grandpa and guided the driver up the long drive so they could carry him in on the stretcher.

“What happened?” One of them asked. He turned to me.

“Kelly?”

“Uh…we were cleaning the garage together and he suddenly had this attack,” I explained.

“What sort of attack?” the man asked quickly.

I went blank. “Um, well, he was straining to lift something and…”

“You let him lift something?” The man looked at me like I was the most despicable person ever. I felt my self-control dissolve.

I broke down. Reese wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

“She’s his granddaughter, not his keeper,” he growled. “She was helping him. She didn’t want to insult him. He’s a capable man. How would you have treated him?”

The man went white. I wanted to laugh. I squeezed Reese against me, sniffing.

“Thanks,” I whispered when the ambulance guy had left.

He smiled down at me. “Don’t mention it.”

We went together into the house.