Page 57 of Silver Edge
“Splendid idea.” A big smile spread across Linda’s face.
I tugged my hoodie sleeves down around my wrists and followed them to the back door. The fall breeze coming up the side of the mountain tickled my ears. I longed to pull my hoodie over my head, but it seemed rude, like they’d assume I was shutting them out.
After a few minutes, all I could think about was the tickling in my ear. To distract myself, I dug my nails into my palm.
Drake helped his grandmother down the path to a sitting area with plush chairs and a swing.
“You okay?” Drake whispered.
“I’m fine,” I mumbled, but once he had his grandmother settled in a chair I took his hand and sat on the swing next to him. The feeling of his skin on mine, his shoulders blocking the breeze, and the gentle swaying of the swing helped me settle and focus on what was being said.
“So, do you have any plans on returning to New York?” Linda asked.
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. My hope is that we can make the club work and I’ll have a job there for a long time. I’d like to get my own place and take care of myself for a change.”
“Independent woman. I like that.” She set her cane by her side and leaned back into her seat. “My grandson says you’re one strong lady. I have a good feeling all of this will work out. You two make a good team from what I hear.”
“We do.” Drake squeezed my hand, and for the first time in days I relaxed at his touch.
“I guess we do.” A bird drew my attention up to the trees, its chirping ringing in my ears, but after a moment, I forced my mind back to the feel of Drake’s skin on mine.
“It’s pretty out here. I always like to sit in the garden, but it is a little cool. Drake, honey, would you be willing to get my shawl for me?” She tilted her head and gave him a sweet smile that made Drake jump to his feet.
“Certainly.” He kissed the top of my head where he knew it wouldn’t startle me then trotted up the path toward her apartment.
“Thank goodness. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to ditch him again. Now, let’s finish our chat.”
My muscles tensed. The bird chirping above me, the squirrel skittering across the lawn in my peripheral vision, and the breeze still tickling my ears all fought for my attention, but I willed myself to remain with her. “What do you want to talk about?”
“I’m going to be blunt, if you don’t mind, since we don’t have much time.”
I didn’t think she could ever be anything but blunt. That was what I liked about her. “Go ahead.”
“Drake was a son of a bitch for many years. Don’t get me wrong. He’s my grandson and I love him, but he was a womanizing, selfish corporate snob who only cared about wealth and his own personal gain. That’s why my daughter and son-in-law drew up their will the way they did. One son would have blown it in five minutes, while the other son would’ve flaunted it. Drake inherited a modest sum after they passed, but the rest comes to him when I pass or on his twenty-fifth birthday, whichever comes first.”
“If you could give him the money to save the club, why didn’t he ask you?” I leaned forward, as if shrinking the distance between us would block out that frickin’ bird overhead.
“Because he knows I won’t. This is something he needs to figure out on his own. You see, if I gave it to him, he wouldn’t appreciate it. He’d save the club in his brother’s name then sell it for a profit and move on. This way he has to fight for it and appreciate it more, but this isn’t what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, I know you’re struggling with your past and the things going on in your life, but you’re the first girl I’ve ever seen my grandson care about. I mean,reallycare about. He loves you, but he’s too much of a dumbass to realize it. He’s so caught up in making sure he doesn’t hurt you that he won’t trust himself with his emotions. I know he can’t tell you how he feels right now, but trust me, he’ll get there. Since the death of his family, he’s carried around the guilt of letting them down. Now, he’s afraid of doing it again. He doesn’t believe he’s a good person. I’ll admit he wasn’t for a long time, but he’s changed now. You’ve changed him. He deserves a good life, and my daughter would be proud of who he is becoming. It doesn’t matter if the club makes it or not. It only matters that he sees this through and knows he did everything he could to save it. Do you understand?”
I nodded, but honestly, I wasn’t sure I did. “So, you think he loves me.”
“Yes, and you love him.”
I shook my head. “I’m not capable of loving, not like a normal person.”
She waved my words away with her hand. “Hog wash. Who told you that?”
“I’ve been told that several times. The orphanage had me evaluated after I was sent back from two foster homes for being antisocial. I frightened everyone with my strange behavior. I overheard the orphanage director telling my social worker that I’d either be dead or in jail by the time I was eighteen. That’s when they shipped me off to the foster family in the country.”
“Well, I have a news flash for you, darling. Having a degree doesn’t make someone an expert. Sometimes it just makes them stupid. Here comes Drake, but I need you to promise me something.”
“What’s that?”
“If something happens to me, promise you’ll take care of him. You’ll be all he has left. That boy won’t open his heart to anyone else if he loses both of us.”
“Are you dying?” A heaviness weighted my chest.
“Oh, shoot, I’m older than dirt, so it could be any day now. It’s just the cycle of life. Now, let’s hush up and not share any of this with my grandson. He’ll be mad at me for meddling. Can you keep this our little secret?”
