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“I see her almost every day too, and I didn’t notice anything. She’s never been one to complain about not feeling well, which isn’t the best trait when you have terminal cancer.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle because that was the gentlest possible way for her to describe my grandmother. She never complained anddefinitelydidn’t want to ask for help.
“That’s pretty on the nose. I’m glad Dennis is there to keep an eye on her.”
“Yeah, I am too.”
“Every so often, I wonder if I should ask about staying at the main house.”
“Do you think she’d want that?” Alice asked.
I cast her a grin. “No way. I asked before, and she told me I would cramp her style.”
Alice burst out laughing. “Well, you would. Theyarenewlyweds, after all.”
We laughed together, and the rest of the ride was quiet. My knee wasn’t that painful, just sore.
After Alice parked, she ran to the back of the SUV and fetched the crutches. Because I was a stubborn asshole, I climbed out, testing my knee carefully once I stood.
Alice studied me. “Are you sure you don’t want to use the crutches?”
“Fuck no,” I said flatly.
She pressed her lips in a line, but her throaty laughter slipped out anyway as she shrugged. “All right. Well, I’ll carry them just in case.”
We began walking, and my stomach let out an audible growl.
“When’s the last time you had anything to eat?” she asked.
I mentally skimmed through the day, eventually replying, “I had a granola bar before we got on the helicopter.”
“You’re coming with me,” she ordered. “I’m making you some dinner.”
“You don’t have to—” I began.
Alice came to a stop on the path and turned to face me, pointing one of the crutches at me. “I’m making you dinner. You’ve been gone for over a week. I’m guessing you don’t have much in your fridge, and you’ve had a long day. It’s not that late.”
I hadn’t even paid attention to the time and finally glanced at my watch, realizing it was only seven o’clock. Feeling sheepish, I smiled over at her. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course, I don’t mind.”
Honey gamely bounced along the side of us on her three legs. I glanced down as she darted into the trees to sniff something before quickly returning to Alice’s side.
“How long did you say you had her?”
“I got her from the shelter this week. Somebody dumped her at the end of the road,” she said, letting out an annoyed puff.
“You’re not worried about her running off?”
I watched as the dog darted into the trees again, returning to Alice’s side after sniffing the base of one thoroughly.
Alice looked from the dog to me and grinned. “No, I’m not. She’s kind of stuck to me. I’ve been taking her into the office. The only problem is she wants to go everywhere with me, even to the exam room. That’s not cool because sometimes the other pets get stressed out.” She leaned down to stroke her palm across the dog’s back, adding, “We’ll work on some training once she’s more comfortable.”
Not much later, Alice had me situated in her kitchen at the table. I had my leg propped up on a pillow on a chair and one of the sports gel packs that Holly had sent home over my knee. I didn’t think I needed it, but Alice insisted, telling me she didn’t want to lie to my grandmother or Holly if they asked if I did what I was supposed to.
My mind skipped tracks, something I hated. The last time I’d been in a hospital and then home recovering from injuries was after the shooting. My parents and my grandmother hadn’t been able to get there in time for my first night at home. I remembered feeling so raw inside, with the pains from my actual injuries the least of my worries. Even thinking about it now, there was this almost echo of a pain where I’d been shot, a stinging percussive sensation.
I forcefully nudged my mind away from that track. That was over. I was here, now, in a place where, well, where people took care of each other.
