Page 26 of Smolder

We were almost there. My heart sped up some more. What if Grams was hurt? She could have tried to cook something and burned herself. She could have fallen. She could have broken glass and cut her hand and be bleeding to death.

“Easy. Less than a minute. Don’t go having a panic attack on me. Let’s get you inside and make sure all is okay first.” Amory’s voice eased me some, but not enough.

He slowed the car as we neared the house, and it was a straight-up miracle we hadn’t been pulled over. Amory had to be the luckiest person I had ever met. Things seemed to always go his way.Must be nice.

As soon as the car came to a stop, I unbuckled, shot out of the car, then sprinted for the front door, digging out my keys from my bag as I ran. I heard Amory getting out behind me, but I didn’t have time to stop him. If he was coming in, then so be it. I might need help in here anyway. I had no clue what I’d find inside.

Shoving open the door, I left the keys hanging from the lock and rushed inside. “GRAMS!” I called out, running past the empty living room, where I heard her favorite soap opera playing on the television.

I was in the kitchen when I heard the shuffle of her feet. I swung my gaze to the small hallway to see her coming toward me, and I almost fell to my knees and wept in relief. No blood. Nothing was cooking. She appeared to be fine.

“Grams!” I said, going to her. “You’re okay?” I scanned her body for any signs of a problem.

“Course I’m okay,” she chided. “Just got the beds made up and was gonna start on the apple pie that Vin loves so much. Thought he might want a slice when he gets back from work. Why don’t you go wash your hands? I’ll let you peel the apples while I work on the crust.” She patted my arm, smiling, lost in the past as she walked on by me. “Scrub them up good now. Ain’t no telling what all you touched at school.”

I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, then let it out. It was okay. She was okay. All that could have gone wrong hadn’t. I rested my head against the wood paneling and took a moment before going after her to stop whatever mess she was about to make. We didn’t even have apples, much less the stuff she needed to make a pie. If we did, I might just help her make one. Not that Dad would be eating it. As it was, I had no extra money for ingredients. I needed to make a grand if he was going to come home anytime soon.

Turning my head toward the kitchen, I saw Amory standing there, watching me. I’d forgotten he had followed me inside. Straightening, I forced the embarrassment of our home from my thoughts. I would not go there. Not again. I’d been so ashamed of it when Merce came here the first time. But this was a home that my grandfather had bought. He’d taken care of it with Grams. She’d loved this place when I was a kid. She had been proud of what she had. My being embarrassed by it was insulting to them both.

“Seems all is well,” I told him. “Except I need to make sure she doesn’t burn anything down, trying to make a pie.”

His lips quirked, but he didn’t smile. He seemed to be thinking or perhaps trying not to make any expression to give away how he felt about the place where I lived. I was sure he lived in some mansion to go with his fancy car.

Walking back into the kitchen, I found Grams standing in front of the refrigerator, staring at it like she was lost. This was common.

I put my arm around her shoulders and closed the door. “Hey, Grams, your story is on,” I told her. “I can hear it playing in the living room, and you don’t want to miss it. Someone could always return from the dead. And who knows what Victor is up to today?”

She nodded. “Oh, yes. I need to watch it, don’t I?”

“You sure do. Let’s go get you seated in your chair, and I’ll heat you up a slice of pizza.”

She scrunched her nose. “Not the pizza. Do we have any pork chops?”

Gran couldn’t eat pork chops with her dentures, but by the time I had her meal fixed, she’d have forgotten about the pork chops.

“Sure,” I agreed and walked past Amory, who was standing silently.

Grams, however, stopped and turned back around to look at him. “Aren’t you a handsome young man?” she said, her eyes widening. “Isn’t he handsome, Royal?”

I glanced up at him, and he was giving her one of his female-slaying smiles. He closed the space between us and took her hand, then pressed a kiss on the top of it. “Amory Blaine, ma’am. It’s nice to meet you. I can see where your granddaughter gets her beauty from.”

Grams giggled. She actually giggled. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t keep from grinning at him. Merce had never spoken to her. He’d only come inside once. Amory had said he’d come today to charm me, and I had to admit, he was successfully doing so.

“Well, isn’t that sweet?” she said, smiling at me with a pleased look on her wrinkled face. “I like this one. He’s a sharp boy. Just like your father.”

I grimaced and patted her shoulder. “Let’s hope not,” I muttered under my breath and turned her back around toward the living room. “I believe I hear Victor now,” I told her.

“You do? That scoundrel. There is no telling what he’s doing.”

She hurried over to her chair and sat down, her eyes now glued to the television.

I left her there and looked back at Amory. “Thanks for that. She won’t remember you tomorrow—or in ten minutes probably—but thanks.”

His gaze went from her to me. “I was just being honest. You can tell a beauty, no matter what the age. I’m sure she had the men falling at her feet back in her day.”

I headed back to the kitchen. “Oh, she did. Back when she could tell me the stories. My grandfather was four years older than her and would come to her high school and buy her lunches. He worked at the coal mines, and she was from a poor family, much like his. He knew she didn’t have much in the lunch she brought from home. Normally, a cold biscuit from breakfast or an apple, if she was lucky. So, he wooed her with hot lunches from the cafeteria.”

I’d heard that story so many times that I knew every detail by heart.

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