Page 63 of Deadly Evidence
“I know. We’re doing the best we can, but at his doctor’s appointment yesterday, the doc told him that it was time to think about a higher level of care. Jonah, as you can imagine, wasn’t too happy to hear it.”
“He tells me he’ll never leave here unless it’s feet first.”
Anna laughed wryly. “He said the same to Doc Garmon, but he was a tad more blunt. I selfishly want Jonah to have the best possible care so he can live longer. But so far, he has refused to think about going into a nursing facility, refused home health workers, and even refuses his medicine half the time. When the time comes, I just hope he will agree to hospice care.”
“He says...he has his pride. He wants to ‘go out like a man, not some invalid.’”
“I’ve heard that a time or two, believe me. I want to thank you, by the way, for all you’ve done here. You’ve been a Godsend, and I plan to pay you before you leave.”
Mia gave a firm shake of her head. “Absolutely not. I stayed on because what happened to Vicente was mostly my fault, and I hoped for a chance to get to know him a little better. My big plan didn’t work out very well, but I’ve enjoyed being with the rest of you.”
“And we’ve enjoyed you.” Anna winked at her. “It even looks like Dante has come around.”
“Since Brady left, I think he’s been...I don’t know...lonely or something. He even asked me to go riding yesterday, but I had to say no.”
“How come?”
The girl blushed prettily. “I’ve never even been on a horse before. He would think I was a complete dork.”
Anna hid a smile. “Maybe I could help you.”
“I couldn’t let you do that. You work such long hours...” Mia picked at a fray in the hem of her jeans. “I wouldn’t feel right.”
“Lacey, then. Wouldn’t you like to go back East and be able to tell your friends about learning to ride?”
“Do you think she would? I mean, I’m probably the biggest chicken you’ve ever seen. The closest I ever got to a horse was a carriage ride through Central Park. That horse washuge!”
“But gentle, I bet. We’ve still got Lacey’s first horse, Frosty. He’s thirty years old and absolutely bomb-proof.”
Mia beamed. “I’ve got just a couple weeks left. Is that enough time?”
“I’ll talk to Lacey when she gets home from school this afternoon.” Anna hesitated. “Now, about Vicente...”
Mia’s face fell. “You can’t help there. Luck of the draw, you know? I have a grandfather who won’t give me the time of day and obviously wishes I’d never been born.”
“I’ve tried talking to him, honey. There are things in the past...” Anna hesitated, her wish to help Mia weighing against Vicente’s right to privacy. “It’s not you,” she said finally.
“Yeah, right.” Mia’s voice turned bitter. “It’s been embarrassing, you know? Except for my mom and Dominga, he’s the only relative I ever met.Mostkids have happy memories about grandparents. I’ve got one who thinks he’s too special to even bother talking to me.”
“That isn’t it, Mia. He’s had a hard life. Some very sad things. He...” Anna’s voice trailed off as she tried to find a way to explain. “He’s a wonderful man with many talents—a man who loved deeply, with all his heart, and who lost a great deal. Give him time.”
“I know you’re trying to be nice, but you don’t need to cover for him.” Mia uncurled her legs and stood. “I really don’t care anymore. I mean nothing to him. Well, he’s not worth my time, either. My mother would have been so glad to say, ‘I told you so!’”
At a sound behind her, Anna glanced over her shoulder.
Vicente stood in the doorway with a bundle of mail in his hand. An expression of raw pain flashed in his eyes. His scowl didn’t waver as he tossed the mail onto a table by the door and disappeared down the hall.
A shivery tremor of anticipation sped through her as Anna watched the bus pull to a stop in Saguaro Springs at dusk on Thursday.
When Brady stepped out and shouldered his duffel bag—on his uninjured shoulder, she noticed—she hurried forward.
Did he look pale? Was he in pain? He’d been gone three days now, and she’d imagined everything from major surgery to sepsis. He’d never been far from her thoughts.
“Let me take that,” she urged, reaching for the strap.
“Thanks, but that might look a little strange to the good folks of Saguaro Springs, don’t you think?” He grinned down at her. “Then again, with me being your old boyfriend and all, they might just think you were really eager to have me back.”
She glanced around, suddenly aware of the woman in front of the grocery store. The ranchers shooting the breeze in front of the cantina down the street.
