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“Hello?”
“Talia? How are you?”
“Oh.” My heart rate slowed, and I sank down onto the couch. “Hey, grandpa. How are you?”
“I believe I asked you first.” There was a chuckle in his voice, and one corner of my mouth lifted.
“I’m okay. The end of the semester was a little rough, but I’m all right.”
“Yes, I heard something about that. But you weren’t involved, right?”
If Jacqueline had asked me that question, I would’ve hurled my phone across the room or tried to reach through the screen and strangle her. But Philip’s voice held concern for me, not the stiff, calculated concern for reputation that Jacqueline’s always had.
“Not…. not really.”
“Good.” His tone was brighter when he spoke next, and he sounded stronger than he had the last few times I’d spoken to him. Whatever regimen of drugs and lifestyle changes Doctor Garrett had recommended, it seemed to be working. “I was actually calling to invite you to come to our house for Christmas. I’ll understand if you don’t want to,” he added quickly. “But I would very much like to see you.”
“And Jacqueline?”
“Has agreed to be civil.” There was a hard edge to his voice, and a burst of pride flared in my chest. I knew he loved his wife, but it was about fucking time he stood up to her.
“I’ll… I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you, Talia.” He sounded pleased, as if even that was a victory.
“Thank you, grandpa,” I said softly, picking at a loose thread on the couch cushion.
“For what?”
“For sending Erin. For bringing me back here.”
There was a momentary pause, and then he asked, “Who is Erin?”
I sat up straighter, abandoning the thread. “Erin Bennett. The lawyer.”
His voice was halting when he spoke again, as if he wasn’t sure if he was the crazy one or I was. “I… don’t know any lawyer named Erin Bennett, Talia. What is
this about?”
My brows drew together so tightly the muscles of my forehead ached. Had it not been Philip? I’d been positive he was the one who had sent Erin. It had made so much sense—sneaking around behind my grandmother’s back, trying to help me without being obvious about it. But his voice held genuine confusion, and now that he was putting his foot down with Jacqueline, I didn’t think he’d lie about it, especially if I’d already guessed the truth myself.
But I obviously hadn’t.
I’d been wrong.
“Um… nothing, grandpa. I’ll tell you about it at Christmas.”
“So you’ll come?” Hope bloomed in his voice.
“Yeah.” I smiled slightly at his excitement, but I was still shaking my head, lost in thought.
“That’s wonderful. Maybe come on the twenty-fourth? We can spend Christmas Eve together, and you can be here Christmas morning.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
We chatted for a few more minutes about how he was feeling and how much he hated the new diet he was on, then hung up.
I tossed the phone down on the couch beside me, staring out the window but not really seeing anything.
