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We drove by the exit that would have taken us to the cove, and what had happened there with Aspen over the summer assaulted my senses. I wanted, more than I was ready to admit to myself, to hold her in my arms again.
“That’s pretty fucking understanding of her.”
“What are you talking about?” I glared at Cole as he swept his dark hair from his forehead.
“She’s going to those appointments alone?”
“Maybe.”Probably.
“I’m just saying, it’s a lot. She’s probably scared. You should go with for moral support.”
I let my head thud back against the headrest. He was right. I hadn’t been thinking about that, only the money problems we were both facing. “I’ll talk to her.”
I added that to my long to-do list. Of course, it was going to the top. I only hoped it would be enough. Why Aspen and I couldn’t find common ground about anything other than when we touched was challenging.
“Damon mentioned you were buying a house next year that Riley and Skylar were also moving into.”
His green eyes pierced me before returning to the road. “You and Shane too.”
“Yeah, Damon said that too.”
Cole frowned, but I didn’t elaborate. Aspen was due next semester. I wasn’t sure of the exact date. I would have to find out, which only made me feel worse. No wonder she was so prickly around me and let that opportunist hang around her all the time. I hadn’t been there for her, not really. I need to change that.
We turned off the exit and made small talk for the ten minutes it took to get to Grandad’s, where I thanked him for the lift and headed inside.
Grandad lived in a neighborhood similar to ours but that wasn’t on the beach. His house was a giant brick monstrosity that hadn’t been updated since Nona was alive. I let myself in then called a hello.
“Phoenix.” Mom rounded the corner with a big smile and deep circles hanging under her eyes.
“Hi, Mom.” I pulled her in for a tight squeeze. It drove both Shane and me crazy that she worked so hard.
“Phoenix, my boy.” Grandad shook my hand then yanked me in for a bear hug.
I caught Shane’s eyes over his shoulder. He looked just as tired as Mom. And he wore the pouty expression that meant he had to do something he hated. I brushed it off because it was probably caused by being forced to family dinner. I felt the same way. I loved my family, but Grandad was overbearing. With everything we had going on at school, midweek dinners were inconvenient.
It also meant he probably had something up his sleeve, and I didn’t like it. Apparently, my brother didn’t either. With one glance, the animosity between us melted away, and it was just Shane and me like it should have been the whole time. After that small exchange, Shane went into the den, where the faint sound of a game played on the TV.
Grandad put his hand on the side of my check then smacked it harder than necessary. It was a sly move he liked to do that looked friendly, but the sting said otherwise. I grit my teeth as Mom slipped from the room and out the front door, no doubt for a cigarette. She had been born a rebel. I wasn’t the only one who noted her absence—Grandad took full advantage.
“What’s this I hear about your failing grades?” His bushy white eyebrows hung low over blue eyes that had lost some of their color due to age, amplifying the map of wrinkles on his face.
There was my answer for why we were having family dinner in the middle of the week. Grandad liked to use in-person tactics to keep us on track. “It’s just an adjustment to forty hours dedicated to athletics and finding time for classes and homework.”
“That’s life, kid. You sink or swim. And we’re not quitters. Are we?” He tapped my cheek again for good measure.
“I’ve got it under control. I can turn it around.”
“I’ll be keeping an eye on things. I better not see any more failing grades.” He waited a beat, and I nodded. “Now, go get your mother. We’re about to eat.”
I went onto the cement porch to find mom resting her elbows on the railing, a cigarette dangling from her fingers. “You need to quit that.”
She grinned. “I’m down to one a day. Working on it. But”—she gestured toward the house—“you know.”
I did. Grandad was being his usual self, pissing off everyone in the house with his domineering attitude.
“How’s school?” She took a drag and turned her head to blow it away from me.
“School is what it is.” I had to tell her about Aspen and the baby, and I guessed there was no time like the present. “I need to talk to you about something.” We hadn’t talked much since school started.
