“I’m fine. Stop worrying so much.” He patted my arm. “You’re going to get wrinkles.”
I laughed at him parroting my grandmother’s words.
“I’m okay, sweet girl. The fresh air and light exercise are good for me. I just needed to be out and about, you know?”
He had been cooped up in the apartment since he arrived, so I understood his needs.
“Okay. Next time, please call and let me know you’ll be going out. At least then I’ll know where you are.”
“Deal.” He gave me a thumbs-up. “The corner store is nice. It has a lot of fresh produce.” He lifted his bag.
“It does. Save your ingredients for later. You’ve got sushi.” I lifted my takeout to show him.
“I haven’t had sushi in a long time.” His eyes brightened as we walked home. “By the way, I forgot to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t be mad, okay?”
“How can I be mad at you?” I smiled, wondering what it could be.
“Last week, you left your phone on the table while you went to shower.” He slowed his steps. “I picked it up and noticed a text from someone asking if you were okay. So I replied for you.”
“What? Who was it?” Oh my gosh. A plethora of horrific text messages popped into my head. “What did you text?”
“Oh, nothing important. He told me his name was Kain. I’ve never heard you mention him, so I thought he was a spammer.” He narrowed his eyes. “I pretended to be you. Gotta protect my pretty granddaughter from the creeps.”
“Grandpa!” I slapped a hand to my forehead. “That’s an invasion of my privacy. Please don’t do that again.”
“I know! I know! Sorry! I was worried about you, especially after he asked if you were okay. Did something happen at the Boston Harbor Hotel?”
How did Kain get my number? What had he revealed to my grandfather? Based on Grandpa’s admission, it appeared Kain said nothing worrisome. I had to bet on that.
“Nothing. I delivered some flowers and had an accident. He was there to help.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Please apologize to him for me.” He frowned.
“What am I going to do with you?” I sighed.
“Accept that you have a caring grandfather who’ll do anything to protect his only granddaughter.”
“Sounds like you need to stop watching MacGyver.” We headed into the building.
“No! It keeps my mind fresh.”
I let Grandpa set the table while I ambled to my room. Once inside, I scrolled on my phone, searching for the unknown number from last week. Once I had found the number and saved it to my contacts, I struggled with what to text him.
It had been a week. Did he think I was avoiding him?
After a moment, I sent him a text.
Eva:Hi. I’m okay. Hope you are too.
I didn’t expect his quick reply.
Kain:Glad to hear that.
