Luca must have realized what Annette sensed. “She knows, Mrs. Forest. I told her last night at my brothers’ wedding.”
Annette visibly relaxed. “I could feel something about you when you reached for my hand. But I can’t explain what it is.”
Dawn looked at Luca, a worried expression on her face.
“It’s okay, Dawn.” Luca glanced behind the curtain to make sure the other woman was sleeping. With a lowered voice, he explained his abilities to Annette, who listened patiently.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Annette eyed her granddaughter.
“I promised not to, and even if I could, I didn’t know how. I figured I’d know when the time was right, and then you fell. Please forgive me.”
Annette sighed and nodded. “I understand.” Annette reached for Dawn’s hand and Luca’s. “Luca, you need to watch over my Dawn. She’s got a big heart and has a notion she can change the world we live in.”
“I promise to look out for her, Mrs. Forest.”
“And promise me you’ll call me Gran from now on.”
“I promise, Gran.” Luca grinned.
“I can see why my granddaughter is so taken with you.”
The nurse interrupted them and told them visiting hours would soon be over.
“Honey, tomorrow morning, bring me my nightgown and robe. I can’t abide these hospital gowns. And my knitting. I need it to pass the time here or I’ll go batty.”
Dawn nodded, saying she’d be in first thing in the morning before work. She placed a gentle kiss on Annette’s forehead, but she was already falling asleep.
“Good night. Sleep well.”
Dawn sighed and leaned her head on Luca’s shoulder as they made their way out of the hospital.
So much for the Forest women’s luck turning. The nurse said her grandmother would have to stay in the hospital for at least a week and then go into a rehab facility for two weeks after that. She would be safer in the hospital than at home. Dawn would be able to focus on finding Mandy, knowing her grandmother wasn’t in harm’s way.
“Are you okay?” Luca asked in a soft voice as he pulled up to her house.
“I’m okay.” She turned to him. “I don’t want to be alone. Will you come inside?”
Luca nodded.
Dawn felt overwhelmed by what had happened to Annette. She blamed herself. She wasn’t able to rescue Mandy, and she wasn’t able to stop her grandmother from breaking her hip. Somehow, she had to make it right. But for now, all she wanted was Luca’s arms around her. She wanted his heat. His kisses, his body close to hers. She turned to him. And leaning in, she whispered in his ear, “Stay with me tonight. Please.”
* * *
Luca followed Dawn inside her house. He had been here before, but it seemed strangely quiet without Annette bustling around. Without saying a word, Dawn opened the hall closet, then reached toward him for his jacket.
After handing it over, he ambled around the living room, taking in features he had missed before. A bookshelf against the far wall was crammed with books of different sizes and no knickknacks. It looked as if Annette and Dawn were serious readers. The sofa appeared to be one that could be opened and made into a bed, not that that meant much. Somehow, he doubted Dawn would make him sleep on the couch tonight.
After hanging up her own leather jacket, Dawn walked over to him and slipped her arms around his neck.
“Thank you for staying with me tonight. I’m really upset about what happened to my grandma, but I put on a brave face for her.”
His arms automatically pulled her closer. “I know. It’s okay. She’s going to be fine. In the meantime, you have me.” He stroked her back and placed a gentle kiss against her neck.
She leaned back slightly and looked up into his eyes. “You have the most beautiful blue eyes. But you’re the only one with blue and the rest of the family has brown eyes. Right?”
Luca smiled. “I know. I must’ve had an ancestor on both my parents’ sides who had blue eyes, and I got the recessive gene.”
“Yeah. I know how it works.” She brushed his hair away from his eyes and just stared into them for a moment.
