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Chapter Thirty-eight
Kayla waited until John was alone to approach. “Mr. Madison, can we speak with you for a few minutes?” She gestured to the bedroom where Angie waited at the door, grinning a welcome.
“Not if you call me Mister again. You girls either call me Poppa John or Gramps, like Charli, that’s if you want me to be your pal.” He put out his hand for Kayla to take, waited until she slipped hers into his and walked her to the room.
Angie closed them inside, and then pulled the lime green chair over to the bed for him while the two girls sat cross-legged on top of the white cover.
“Charli told me a little more about your predicament last night. How she’s looking after you both. She takes her responsibilities seriously so you can rest easy. Now, what can I help you ladies with?” Kayla watched John’s arms rest on the chair, and his hands grip each other loosely.
The man’s face had more natural color than most of the elderly she’d seen, which gave him an appearance of a healthy person. His white hair shaved close to his head and his bushy eyebrows, tamed by a barber’s trimming, made him kinda adorably cute.
His confidential demeanor and his cheeky grin, as if they were sharing secrets, delighted her. She couldn’t stop the swell of affection that consumed her, and looking at Angie, she saw the other girl’s eyes shine with liking, something that didn’t happen often. Normally, they were freaky empty.
“You know why Charli and I are together, don’t you?” Before he could argue, Kayla admitted, “We listened at the door last night.”
“Oh, I know you did.”
Kayla, stunned at first, had to laugh. “You’re scary for being a blind man.”
“There’s an old saying –there’s none so blind as those who won’t open their eyes and pay attention. I might be blind in my pretty blue eye but that old brown one sees a lot more than most people are comfortable with.” He turned to Angie and spoke very gently, “For instance, I know you’ve survived hell and are terrified to go back there.”
Tears appeared before Angie could recover from his words. “I ahh, I… ahh, yeah. It fu… freakin’ sucked.”
“I bet. But from this day on, kiddo, everything will be okay. Know that inside your heart, in your belly and everywhere else you need it to lodge. You belong to me and Charli now. And you, Kayla – you too. From this point on, we’re family. So, I’m your grandpa, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you. As long as we stay…” He held up both hands and wiggled them… “as close inside the law as possible.”
Kayla hugged him, she couldn’t help herself. Charli had shown her just how sweet that kind of connection could be, and she needed to pass on that sweetness to the old guy.
Angie sniffed, and her words came out loud, cruder than intended. “We need money to buy a gun.”
