“Right.” Jennie remembered the day she’d left school to find her baba. Three months pregnant and frantic after she’d begun spotting, her grandma had been the only person she wanted nearby. Baba had called for one of her doctors, and they’d taken her for an examination, all the time reassuring her that it wasn’t necessarily a miscarriage. From then on, they looked after her like she was royalty… all because they loved her grandmother.
Jennie leaned over to lay a soft kiss on Baba’s cheek, took her hand, and then carefully, and truthfully, told her all about Melena and her needs. When she got to the part of Kane protecting her during the recent battle, a gasp broke loose.
“Kane good boy. I like him.” Baba’s eyes filled. “He is okay?”
“Yes. Lance arrived in time.”
“I like him too.” Her head nodded empathically.
“You don’t even know him, Baba.”
“Never mind.” She waved her hand as if swatting a fly. “I like him anyway.”
Jennie laughed and carried on with the rest of her tale. Once she finished, she waited for the older woman’s reaction.
“But of course, Melena stays with us. Poor baby needs to be safe. Terrible world for many children, Jennie. Terrible.” Baba’s hands shot to her cheeks, her head shook one way and then the other as she tsked her dismay. “Sometimes I watch news and cry to think how bad people can be. Then I come to vork and see the goodness here and feel better. You tell that little girl I make her cookies and perogies. She gonna be happy with us.” Her gnarled hand patted Jennie’s cheek. “If you get home before me, I left big pot of borscht in fridge. You eat, yes?”
Jennie’s heart lifted and the boundless joy from her baba’s words filled her full. How incredibly lucky could a girl be to have family like she did? How couldn’t she share with another so unfortunate?
Then an image entered her mind, and she turned to mush. Baba loved Kane too.
Seriously!!What the hell am I thinking? Forcing her thoughts in a different direction, she relived their recent conversation.
Strangely, Kane had always been a favorite with the old woman. Now Jennie loved that idea. How she’d changed! One minute she hated the man, and earlier, the thought of him made her heart zing.
Jesus!How had this happened?
Could she take it if he left her again? Instinctively, she knew if he did, it wouldn’t be because he wanted to. The action of the night before became an instant replay in her head. She saw him diving to protect her. Experiencing the overwhelming pain when she thought she’d lost him, she clenched her muscles and held on to the knowledge that he’d escaped because of Lance’s instinctive protection.
Heaven knows, she’d gone through absolute hell in that second. Accepting that if he’d taken that bullet, she’d have suffered horribly. And if he’d died, a good portion of her would have died with him.