Page 2 of Vengeful Seduction
Though a knot had formed in my throat as emotion threatened to take me over, I managed a smooth tone. “Of course.”
Just treat it as routine.
When I went to the phone, I found it had a very long cord. I took it over to sit by his bed. It was one of those old models, with the curled cord that always ended up tangled. Picking it up, I half listened to the dial tone. I stayed silent, somehow sensing that, whatever happened, it was going to be a big deal. I was going to find out something about this man’s life and I didn’t want to do anything to derail it. I didn’t want him to change his mind about letting me help him this little bit he was finally allowing.
I waited. The silence stretched on, and I turned my gaze toward Theodore. He didn’t look back at me, apparently too fixated on his own wasted hands resting on his comforter, which was far thicker than most people would need with the heat of the summer lingering on into September. He was always cold though.
Gently, I dropped the phone back into the cradle, and he turned his eyes on me. “What are you doing? I need you to call someone.”
He had always been courteous to me, even when he was in massive pain from the cancer that was eating at him. The fact that he wasn’t now meant this was even more serious than I’d thought.
All in a rush, the digits of the phone number burst out of him. “Five, five, five, six, three, one, twenty-four hundred.”
It might actually have been one of the more courageous things I had ever seen, watching this scared, sick old man trust me enough to share his life with me. It wasn’t something he’d done much of in his life. I knew that very well.
It was a good thing I had been paying attention. I was able to pick the phone up again and dial the numbers before I forgot them all. Breathless, I handed the phone to him, then tried to give him some space. I tried to act as if I wasn’t eavesdropping, though to be honest, I totally was.
Theodore didn’t ask me to leave, though, and that meant a lot to me too. It was all more trust than I thought I deserved, but I couldn’t help but be deeply honored by the whole thing.
I could hear the phone as he clasped it in his shaking hand. I heard it ring once, twice, a third time, and then the line abruptly went to voicemail. I heard a strong, confident, deeply masculine voice pick up, but there was a canned quality to it that let me know it was a recording.
I couldn’t hear the exact words, but I could tell from Theodore’s expression—too carefully neutral to be anything but artificial—that he was deeply hurt.
His hand shook as he placed the phone back into the cradle. “He never answers.” No one who wasn’t looking right into his eyes would be able to tell how much this had hurt him.
“Who?” I dared to ask. It was rude, and I was probably pushing the bonds of our friendship just a little bit too much. But there was no way I could keep that one word to myself. It was more than I had in me.
Maybe he’d been waiting for me to ask, though. He certainly showed no signs of hesitation in answering me. “My grandson. My only grandson.” His voice did a strange thing. It didn’t quite break—he was too strong for that—but it dipped down a little lower. Subtle. Not the sort of thing that I would have noticed if I hadn’t been paying strict attention.
My heart clenched in my chest and I had this sudden feeling like I’d been drenched with ice water. Not on the outside, though. On the inside, so that it froze me more surely and deeply. My heart broke for this poor, strong man, so alone and still so brave.
I started to dislike this grandson immediately. I didn’t know what had happened between them and I didn’t really care, honestly. Nothing could excuse this man, whoever he was, from ignoring his dying grandfather.
I had to do something to curtail the hurt the poor man was enduring. “Maybe he just wasn’t home.” I had to try to cheer the poor guy up, but also wanted to be fair to this grandson. I didn’t know the man, after all. I was tempted to judge him, but what did I know?
“That’s his cell phone. He never answers it.” Theodore let out a soft sigh, one I was sure I wasn’t supposed to hear. “Not for me, anyway.”
Just like that, the dislike was back. Or something like dislike, anyway. The situation must be pretty grim when a man could ignore his grandfather like this. I couldn’t even imagine doing such a thing.
“I’ve tried calling so many times,” he murmured, his voice even smaller than it had been before. There was a brief moment of silence between us, and when he spoke again, his voice was stronger.
“I’d like some water, Kaye, if you don’t mind,” he said, and I smiled a little, though my heart was breaking for the man. He was always so polite, even though he didn’t have to be. A bit cold and remote, but always a gentleman.
“Of course.” I kept my voice as cheerful as I could as I went off to get him his water.
Damn that grandson of his. The fool better wake up and smell the coffee.
He was Theodore’s only heir. Theodore might decide to leave it all to charities or something if his grandson didn’t eventually contact him.
Seeing as how the man never saw fit to make a visit to his dying grandfather, maybe the riches should go to charity. At least then the money would be appreciated.
David
When the phone rang, I didn’t have any idea who it could be at first.
I should have. My grandfather had always been a stubborn man, and it had been him trying to reach me for years—years of him calling at least every month. Over the past year, it had been more like once a week, if not twice.
Not once had I answered. It had been twelve years since the last time I’d laid eyes on my grandfather or even heard his voice. Twelve years that I’d been utterly unable to make myself face the one and only member of my family who was still alive.
