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“God, I hope you’re right.”
Cat eyes me knowingly. “After everything you did…after everythingwedid…she’s forgiven you. That takes love. A whole lot of it. Don’t give up…she’ll come back to you.”
I swallow uncomfortably. As many steps forward as we’ve taken over the last few days, we’ve got miles to walk.
Knowing Grace is busy with Cat, I call Lydia’s office to see if I can make an appointment before heading to Bristol for Christmas. There’s so many things I need to talk through, and I just want to get everything right when it comes to Grace. An hour later I’m sitting across from her as I replay everything that’s happened since we last spoke.
“So, she’s living with you now?” Lydia asks, her tone devoid of judgment.
I shift uncomfortably. “No. She is staying with me until the doctor gives her the all clear.”
I just plan on using this time to convince Grace to never leave.
Lydia sees through my semantics. “But you want her to live with you?”
I can’t help the smile that makes my dimple pop. “Yes.”
She sighs and I can’t help but feel like I’ve gotten the answer to a test wrong. “Just say it, Doc. Tell me what you’re really thinking.”
Lydia rarely smiles but the hint of one crosses her lips. “Mr. James—”
“I’ve told you all my deepest darkest secrets; I’m pretty sure you can call me Cash.”
She closes her eyes as if I’m testing her patience. “Cash, are you sleeping with her?”
I shake my head. “We never really had a problem with that part of our relationship, Doc.” I wiggle my brows and she just laughs. “But it’s the other stuff—the trust, the communication, as you’ve so aptly pointed out—that kept us from having everything. I told her I want to wait. I want to work through those things first.”
The pride that crosses Lydia’s face is like a beacon pushing me forward.
“Which is why I’m here. I need to know what to do. How to open up to her. How to get her to open up to me. I want to do this right.”
“You are here. Putting in the work. Continue to do that, and open up to Grace, and I have no doubt in my mind you’ll be better for it.”
Back in the office, I text Frank to see if he wants to grab a late lunch. He can’t exactly beg off and say he’s busy because he works for me. It’s a sick joke that I constantly feel like I’m bribing him to spend time with me. For a few months I was a prick, but I’m pretty sure I’ve made up for it at this point. Or at least I’m working on it.
Surprisingly, Frank walks in the door only seconds later. His face is grim. “I’ve figured out what your brother is doing with your father,” he says as he sits down in the chair across from me.
I’d just started standing up and putting on my jacket, but seeing his demeanor, I unbutton my coat and sit back down. Worry lines his forehead.
“You may need a drink to hear this,” he says, pointing to the bar. He actually stands up and walks over, pouring us both a glass before he speaks again. I go to object—I made a promise to Grace—but Frank sticks it into my hand. “You’regoingto need it. Believe me.”
With the warning in his voice, I take a sip of the whiskey, letting it burn a trail of guilt down my throat.
“Okay, hit me,” I say, leveling him with a stare.
Frank’s eyes close and for a moment I almost think he fell asleep. Then he opens them again and blurts out life changing words. “He’s spending time with Grace’s mother and your father.”
The words are hard to comprehend. I don’t mean that I don’t understand what he’s said, but involving Grace in any context with my father throws me for a loop.
“But why?”
Frank shrugs. “I haven’t a fucking clue, and I can’t figure it out. But it seems…” Frank scratches his chin as if he’s trying to find a proper way to word what he’s going to say. “It seems like they’refamiliar.”
“Why would Chaseand Grace’s mother be familiar?”
Frank shakes his head. “Not them. Your father and Grace’s mother.”
He leaves me to do the mental gymnastics of what this could possibly mean.
