Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so stunned either. “What about you?”
Lenny inhaled deeply. “She found out I’m her grandmother.”
He snapped to look at her so fast that his neck ached. “You’re her what?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be dramatic about it. My late son was her father.”
Des considered this for several beats, drawing connections between this revelation and Lenny’s actions where Cami was concerned. Then he nodded. “You didn’t want to tell her, but you didn’t want to leave her on the street either, so you gave her a job and rented her your apartment.”
“Yeah.” Lenny’s brow furrowed as she contemplated the remains of her lunch. “I paid for her schooling, too.”
“You did?”
“She wanted it so badly.” The old woman slumped against the bench. “If her daddy had known about her, he would’ve wanted to pay for it. But I didn’t want to fess up. I justwasn’t...wasn’t ready. So I contacted her school and told them I wanted to anonymously pay her tuition as part of a scholarship, based on financial need. They don’t care where the money’s coming from as long as they get paid, and Cami took it at face value.” Lenny paused then, chewing on the inside of her lip. “She hasn’t figured that part out yet. Just another lie for her to discover, I guess.”
“Everyone I love lies to me,” he sighed.
“Huh?”
“That’s what she said to me. She came to see me this morning and ripped me a new one. I tried to explain, but she stormed out. Can’t say I blame her. Between the two of us, she’s had enough lies to last a lifetime.”
“No kidding.”
“Is that why you wanted to meet up? To commiserate?” It wasn’t helping his mood much, and he still felt like shit, but knowing someone else was going through something similar gave him a certain peace of mind. It shouldn’t have. It meant Cami was more upset than he’d anticipated. Double the betrayal, the world’s worst two-for-one. His fingers itched to reach for his phone, to text her and see if she needed anything. As if she’d accept his help.
“No.” Lenny seemed to shake off her misery as she stood and threw out the remains of her sausage dog, then returned to her seat. “I want to sell the store. You have the papers on you?”
“I—” He almost responded before the shock hit him, but didn’t quite manage. His words stalled out and it took him a second to recover. “Uh, yeah.” They were in his briefcase, tucked in the tail bag on his bike, but he hadn’t shown up here expecting her to sign them. “Are you sure?” She shot him a look. “Not that I’m complaining. It’s just sudden.”
“Nah, it ain’t. You’ve been working on me for months, and I was only holding out for Cami’s sake.” She got up again andnudged him over to the bike. “Now that she’s leaving, no point in me hanging onto it. I’m old. I just want to walk my dog, eat matcha ice cream, and watch 90 Day Fiancé. Let’s see the paperwork.”
“All right, all right.” He unzipped the bag and withdrew his briefcase, which he propped on the seat of the bike. “Wait—what did you say?”
Lenny blinked at him. “About 90 Day Fiancé?”
“No, not about—Cami’s leaving?”
Lenny’s mouth tightened. “That’s what she said. She doesn’t want to see me anymore. I told her the truth, but she didn’t believe me, which I guess is understandable. She wants some space, so she said she was taking off.”
“And this doesn’t concern you?” His voice had grown taut with anxiety and dread at the thought of her leaving the city, going somewhere he couldn’t find her. It wasn’t that he expected her to ever forgive him, but he’d appreciate the option to grovel once she’d cooled down. How was he going to do that if he had no idea where she was?
“Desmond.” His name came out half irritation, half resignation. “I’m not her momma, and she’s managed just fine without me so far. Hell, I tried to help her, and all I did was hurt her. If she wants to leave, that’s her right.”
“So you’re letting her go because you feel sorry for yourself?” His anger shocked him, and, judging by the outraged widening of her eyes, it stunned Lenny too.
“You don’t get to judge me,” she snapped, tightening her grip on Holmes, who was sniffing around the front tire of his bike. “You gave up too! I don’t see you breaking down her door, spouting love poetry and flowery apologies.”
“You’re right.” He hadn’t fought for her. But he would, if he ever got the chance. When they were done here, he’d call her, seeif he could pinpoint where she was, maybe meet her there. He could?—
Holmes bolted, darting across the road and yapping at some kind of rodent he’d seen. A car honked and narrowly missed clipping his shoulder, but he weaved around it. Lenny was hot on his heels, tearing across the busy road without glancing for traffic.
The squeal of tires on pavement and the smell of burnt rubber reached Des just before the sickening thud of metal meeting flesh.
Lenny went flying, the truck’s impact sending her colliding with then rolling along the pavement. The truck stopped before she did, and Des scrambled toward her. He landed hard on his knees next to her.
“Shit. Shit. Lenny, can you hear me?” A crowd had formed around them while he was taking stock of her injuries and checking her pulse. “Everyone stand back. Give her space. Somebody block off traffic.” He fumbled his phone out of his pocket and tapped out 9-1-1. “I need an ambulance at the corner of Pacific and Appian. Lenny, can you hear me?”
He was distantly aware of the driver of the truck climbing out of his vehicle. Lenny wasn’t conscious, but her pulse was normal, which was promising. It had been a long time since his internship, and those years had never felt so long as he hunched over her, listening to the operator’s questions.
