Page 32 of Silent Partner (Pine Falls 3)

“I won’t take your money.” Not like they had a lot. “And Brant is just making sure they crossed all their t’s and dotted all their i’s. What can he do other than that?”

“You would be surprised what a man in love is willing to do.” Grandpa smiled at Grandma as if they were sharing some personal story between them. And though I would love to know what that story was, I was more focused on Grandpa’s insinuation that Brant loved me. It was one thing for Grandma to say things like that. But Grandpa usually stayed out of such talk.

“Please don’t say things like that,” I begged him. “He doesn’t love me.”

Grandma waved her hand in front of her face. “You’re being ridiculous about this. Did you see the way he looked at you Saturday night? How he hovered nearby, though you did your best to ignore him?” She gave me a knowing smile.

I had done my best that night to stay away from him. But, much to Dani’s chagrin, Brant had seemed to never be too far away. Which reminded me. “I think Brant is sick,” I whispered, like I shouldn’t be discussing it. In fact, I felt like a gossip and immediately regretted saying anything.

Grandma narrowed her eyes. “Did you hear something?”

“No.” I bit my lip. “But it makes sense. His weight loss and how he seems to be gone a lot. Then there’s Dani’s behavior.”

“Hmm.” Grandma seemed to be in deep contemplation.

“He’s not sick,” Grandpa stated matter-of-factly. “At least not the kind you’re thinking of.”

I whipped my head toward him. “How do you know that?”

Grandpa tapped my nose. “It’s obvious, kiddo. He’s in some kind of trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“The kind that weighs heavily on a man.” He gave me one more tap for good measure.

I got the feeling he knew that kind of trouble.

“That makes sense.” Grandma nodded.

I’m glad it made sense to someone. “Brant isn’t one to get into trouble.”

“Sometimes trouble finds you whether you’re looking for it or not.” Grandpa stared at the fire.

We all sat quiet for a minute, lost in our thoughts.

“I wonder what happened,” I said quietly, almost to myself.

Grandpa turned and took my hand. “Kiddo, be careful what you wish for.”

Oh, believe me, I was, but that sounded so ominous it sent a shiver down my spine. “You think it’s that bad?”

“Bad enough it’s kept him from you.”

I opened my mouth to disagree, but Grandpa said, “Trust me, kiddo,” before I could articulate anything. After that, I was left speechless. I stared into the fire, wondering what all this meant and wondering how bad Brant’s secrets had burned him. Most importantly, I reminded myself not to jump into the flames no matter how bad I might want to.

~*~

After my odd visit with Grandma and Grandpa, I curled up in bed with Oscar, having decided that Netflix and a large harvest salad were the ticket. I needed to detox after the weekend of chocolate and birthday cake. I didn’t regret any of it. Okay, so maybe my stomach had hurt so badly on Friday night that I had been in the fetal position, regretting every ounce of brownie batter I had licked. I didn’t need a repeat of that tonight. My stomach was already in knots, worried about my future. And unfortunately, I couldn’t stop thinking about Brant. I thought I had gotten over him, but I’d only put a Tristan-sized Band-Aid on that particular hurt. It hadn’t been my intent. I truly did love Tristan, but not like I loved Brant. Ugh. I was pathetic. We’d never even been out on a date, and when I’d kissed him, he’d made it clear I didn’t belong in his world.

So why did I still love him? The answer was easy—he was the best man I’d ever known. His offer to help me wasn’t a surprise. He was always trying to help the underdog. Except, I didn’t want him to see me that way. However, maybe I needed to stop looking at myself like that first. Grandpa was right: I was feeling sorry for myself. In my defense, it had been a crappy few days. Perhaps, though, Tristan breaking up with me was a good thing. While I loved him, the last few days had made me realize I didn’t love him like I thought I did. He was more like a security blanket I had hidden under. It was time to come out from under it and face the cold world, and the truth that I could very well lose it all and have to start over.

With those warm, fuzzy thoughts, I munched on the pears and apples in my salad while pulling up Chuck on my laptop. Maybe I should buy a TV with all my Target gift cards. I thought that, but I knew I would be practical and use them for groceries and cleaning supplies. Especially since I might be facing unemployment and bankruptcy soon.

---