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That was all he said before he set the phone back on the dock and headed for the door.
I guessed I was turning off all the lights.
***
I pulled up in front of Grandpa’s truck, leaving Chase to park on the street. He didn’t seem to mind at all. He was at my car before I’d even gotten out, and he emphasized that by opening my door for me.
I muttered a thank you and headed for the side door of the garage with Chase right behind me. I couldn’t quite compute that less than an hour ago we were kissing in the store and now we were at my house to deal with my insane relatives.
Great.
This couldn’t get any worse, could it?
Hold that thought. I’d watched rom-coms. I knew what those thoughts ended up as.
Ignore that, universe.
Come back tomorrow.
I pushed open the side door to the garage with Chase right behind me. Grandpa was kneeling on the floor with his head inside what looked like a huge wooden box. He was surrounded by bricks and tubes and other garden things, so I guessed he was in the middle of one of those bug house things.
“Hey, Grandpa.” I dinged the windchime that hung near the door.
He bumped his head on the ledge above him as he moved out. “Hi, kids. Your grandma finally calmed down,” he said, looking at me. “She’s passed out on the sofa.”
“I can’t believe you drugged them.”
Chase chuckled.
“This is not funny!” I turned to him, hands on my hips.
“I didn’t drug them. I simply…influenced them.” Grandpa stood up and wiped his dirty hands on his even dirtier pants.
Way to go, Grandpa.
“You drugged them!”
“It’s herbal. It’s fine. They’re fine.” He waved a hand and went over to the small sink to wash his hands. “Your mom is asleep in bed and, as I told you, your grandmother is snoring on the sofa. No harm done. Except to my earlobes from all the caterwauling.”
Caterwauling? Oh, God. He was pulling out the big words.
“Caterwauling?” Chase laughed. “What were they doing? Singing?”
“Whining. Fucking whining,” Grandpa grumbled, grabbing a towel. “Like a bunch of teenage girls who’ve been caught wearing too-short skirts to school. Like you did, Rae.”
“I did not,” I replied indignantly.
“You did,” Chase responded immediately. “I remember that well.”
I shot him a dark look. That wasn’t helpful at all.
“Thank you.” Grandpa nodded in his direction. “I don’t know why you’re complainin’ over there, Rae. You didn’t come home to handle it, did you?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “No, I didn’t. She showed up after two years of barely talking to me. Am I supposed to suddenly fall over my feet to be there for her? Where the hell was she when Aunt Allie died? Where was she when we needed her? She didn’t even come home for her own sister’s funeral. She didn’t come when I needed her. She never helped anyone except Dad. Excuse me if I harbor some crap toward her.”
Grandpa sighed, resting against the wooden counter that ran the length of the garage. Cupboards hung above it, and the storage shelves beneath it were stacked with all kinds of building materials.
“I know,” Grandpa said quietly, letting out a long breath. “I know, sweet pea. I know. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need you right now.”
“She hasn’t needed me for two years. Why would she now?”
“She’s your mom.”
“That didn’t bother her when she didn’t come home when I needed her.”
“Rae…” Grandpa sighed, rubbing one hand down his wrinkled face. “I know. Holding grudges doesn’t help anyone. She’s hurting. She’s my daughter, and I love you both more than you know, but you holding onto this anger doesn’t help either of you in this situation.”
I folded my arms across my chest. Was I childish? Yes. Was I avoiding this? Yes. Was I wrong? Yes, probably. Did that mean my emotions didn’t still control my actions?
No.
Sometimes emotions ruled all.
“Anyway,” Grandpa said, smiling. “What are you two doing together?”
I shared a look with Chase.
“Saving her from hurting herself even more,” he answered. “I was about to go home when I heard her smashing things in the back.”
“Smashing things?”
“I tried to get something off the shelf and caused carnage. I was hardly throwing plates at the walls.” I folded my arms across my chest. “It’s a little thing called an accident, and they happen to people.”
“Especially creative people,” Grandpa said, nodding.
“Yeah, ‘cause her head is always in the damn clouds,” Chase muttered, walking over to Grandpa’s project and crouching down.
I stepped forward and smacked my hand across the back of his head. “Asshole.”
He winced, rubbing the back of his head, and Grandpa laughed.
“How are the tables?” I asked him, catching sight of something that looked similar in shape to the ones I’d shown him on my laptop.
“One is done. Ready for your paint.” He pointed to the one I was looking at. “The second one is almost done. They were simpler than I thought they would be.”
