Page 40 of Never Let Go

“Hello?”

“Foster?” The voice that came over the line was feminine, but it didn’t belong to Amanda. It had that thready, almost breathy quality to it that made it seem older and I frowned.

“Yeah, that’s me. Who is this?”

“Well, it’s, uh, my name is Priscilla Chesterfield. I’m not sure if you’ll remember me, but I’m your—”

“Grandmother.” I nearly dropped the damn phone. Clearing my throat after cutting her off, I dragged in a deep breath. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but I know who you are.”

There was a pause on her end. “Oh, well, I suppose that’s a positive thing. How are you, Foster? It’s been a long time since we’ve talked.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Yeah. Probably about twenty-five years or so? Give or take. I’m, uh, I’m good, though. How are you? I’m sorry about Mr. Chesterfield.”

She let out a quiet sigh. “Thank you. I appreciate that. He’d been rather ill for some time and we expected it was coming, but that doesn’t make it easier now.”

“I can imagine.” I felt an unexpected stab of sympathy for her. She was a stranger to me, but shit. She’d recently lost the man she’d been married to for longer than I’d been alive. It didn’t matter whether I knew her or not. I was still sorry for her. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I… no.” She fell silent for another moment, but I didn’t push her.

Whatever she’d called me to say, she was clearly working up to it and I could give her time. Hell, I could give her anything she wanted. She had signed off on giving me hundreds of millions of dollars just last week.

The least I could do was let the woman speak. “Foster, I’m sorry that your grandfather and I weren’t around to see you grow up.”

Well, fuck me sideways. “Thanks, but I think this might be a conversation you should be having with my mother.”

“I’ve tried calling her as well, but I haven’t had any luck reaching her, so I thought I’d try you.”

“Oh.”

Another soft sigh. “I should’ve been there for you and your brother when you were growing up. Every parent looks forward to the privilege of being a grandparent one day, or at least, I looked forward to it. As soon as your mother started getting older, I knew that was the next step, you know? She’d always been clear about the fact that she wanted children, so I just—” Her voice broke and she took an audible breath. “I suppose that I just wanted you to know that I’ve always regretted not being there. Will you please tell your brother that as well? I received the documentation back from Harrison and Harrison and your telephone number was noted on it, but I’ve no way of getting in touch with Porter.”

“I can send you his number if you’d like?” I offered, not really knowing what else to say. “If you don’t mind me asking though, where is all of this coming from now? I mean, the last time I saw you I was about seven.”

“Yes, it was the week after your seventh birthday. I remember it so clearly.” She went quiet for a moment again. “Porter wasn’t even five yet and he kept talking about his birthday coming up. I cherish those memories.”

One of my eyebrows dipped while the other remained high. “You do?”

“Yes, I do. I know you might find it difficult to believe, but I was glad for the times when I got to see you. I’ve never stopped thinking about them, and if I could do things differently, I would.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” Another brief pause. “I can’t go back in time, Foster. The best I can do now is to apologize and to hope that you’ll forgive an old lady her sins. I’m not asking for a relationship. I would love to reconnect with you and with your brother, but I realize that I might’ve missed my chance. It’s just that I don’t want to die without you knowing how sorry I am.”

“Are you dying?” My heart jumped into my throat.

She chuckled. “Aren’t we all? I’m as healthy as a horse and I won’t be meeting my maker too soon as far as I’m aware, but I’m well over seventy. It seems these days, it’s better for me to do things than to leave them until tomorrow.”

Another pang of pity shot through me. “I am sorry about your husband, and thank you for the apology. It means a lot. I’ll be sure to tell Porter.”

“Yes, well, I should let you go. Thank you, Foster. Good nigh—”

“Wait.” The word shot out of me, but when silence met my ears instead of the dull beep of her hanging up, I knew she was still there. “Why didn’t you reach out before? Why only call now when our grandfather is already gone and you’ve already missed our childhoods?”

“That’s a fair question,” she commented quietly. “I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, Foster. I suppose I could’ve gone against his wishes. I still don’t know if I did the right thing, but he was my husband and I loved him. I always thought that with time, he’d change his mind. When he let me see you when you were kids and came to the visits with me, I thought…”

Her voice became shaky and she dragged in another deep breath. “Your grandfather didn’t want me making peace with your mother. He forbade me from contacting you. I think he was waiting for your mother to apologize first, but she never did.”

“A game of paternal chicken kept us from knowing you?” My eyes narrowed. “No offense, ma’am, but that seems ridiculous.”