Page 45 of Day Break

Phil’s eyebrows shot up. Then he laughed again. “Right,” he said slowly.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to block his path to the house.

“What?” Phil looked shocked and hurt. “Can’t I come up and see my grandfather? Or are you the only family member who can schmooze the old man before he croaks?”

I felt my back teeth grind and had to consciously relax.

“Grandpa’s sleeping still.” I glanced at my watch. “It’s not even eight.”

“I know.” Phil slapped me on the shoulder again. “I rented the old house for the summer. It’ll be like old times.” He laughed. “Thought it’d do me some good. All this fresh air.” He took a deep breath and then easily moved past me into the yard.

It didn’t escape me that Byron avoided my cousin. Phil had hated dogs for as long as I could remember. He claimed it was because he’d been bitten once when we were kids. The funny thing was, I couldn’t remember anything like that ever happening.

“You rented your old place?” I asked, a little shocked.

The house my grandparents had owned and lent out to the family for most of our childhood sat less than a mile away, closer to town. I’d spent my summers riding my bike back and forth between here and there to hang out with my cousins.

Grandpa had sold the home shortly after Sherry’s death. The fact that Phil had paid to rent the home for the summer had me on edge.

There was no way I was going to let him be this close to my grandfather for that long.

Then I heard dishes and pans banging inside the house and felt my stomach roll. Shit. Okay, correction. There was no way I was going to let Phil be this close to my grandfather and to Chloe for that long.

Just then, my grandfather stepped out onto the patio.

“Well, this is a surprise,” he said dryly, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I have half of my grandkids over for breakfast.” He poured himself a cup of coffee and took a muffin.

Phil sat beside our grandfather.

“You’ll have me around for longer than that. I’ve rented the old place for the summer,” Phil said.

I watched surprise flash on my grandfather’s face, followed by annoyance. It was obvious to me that my grandfather knew that Phil wanted something and was ready to settle in until he got it.

I noticed how much more guarded my grandfather was around Phil than he was around me. He also didn’t use endearments with Phil like he did with me.

Half the time, my grandfather didn’t even acknowledge Phil.

“Interesting,” Grandfather said, then he leaned down and gave Byron half of his muffin.

“Lane has told me you hired someone…” Phil glanced into the house.

My grandfather sat up quickly, a frown on his thin lips. “Chloe. She’s not to be bothered.”

The warning was clear, and anyone else in the family would have understood. Phil, however, just smiled and I watched his interest grow.

“He means it,” I added in a low tone.

Phil turned towards me. “Aren’t you going back to the city today?”

“No,” I said quickly. “I’m sticking around.”

“For how long?” Phil asked.

“A while,” I added. “Excuse me, I’ll go see if Chloe needs any help.” I stepped inside without waiting for a response, shutting the door behind me.

Chloe was dicing some fruit and putting it in a bowl next to a container of yogurt.

“What’s he doing here?” Chloe asked.