Page 90 of Never and Always
Chapter 30
Piper
“This is a great meal, Ms. Ellis.”
“I told you to call me Penelope, Everett,” my mom said with a semi-flirtatious smile at him. “And it’s nothing fancy. Just my chicken pot pie. Mom loves it.”
“I can see why.”
I shook my head. He had both Gram and Mom eating out of the palm of his hand.
“You okay, Gram?” I asked.
At the head of the table, my grandmother turned and smiled. I was so glad she was home. We’d brought her home from the hospital in the late afternoon to the cute Victorian house with wrap-around porch I’d spent my teenage years in. She already had more color in her cheeks, although she looked tired. Everett had moved an armchair in from the living room, and she looked like a queen sitting on her throne. She had a throw blanket my mom had knitted resting over her lap.
“I’m fine, just not very hungry, doll.”
She’d picked at her food. Worry still felt like restless butterflies in my stomach.
“Your appetite will come back after good night’s sleep in your own bed, Gram,” Everett said. “It’s hard to get any rest in a hospital.” Under the table, he placed a hand on my thigh and squeezed.
I smiled at him. I was glad he was here. I barely remembered the flight, and he’d arranged everything to get me here safely.
“So true, Everett.” Gram’s gaze narrowed. “You’ve experienced sleeping in hospitals?”
“My mom died of cancer a few years back. The last month, I spent quite a few nights beside her bed in the hospital.”
“I’m sorry to hear you lost your mother,” Gram said quietly.
“Me too, Everett,” my mom murmured.
I pressed my hand over his.
“She was the best, and she left me with lots of good memories and the ability to cook some very good meals. Piper can attest to that.”
“I can.”
“After college, I had a job in California, but I came home to be with her and dad when she got sick. Then I realized that home is where I was supposed to be.”
My mom and Gram sighed.
“You’re a good boy,” Gram said.
My eyebrows rose. At six foot three inches, I didn’t think Everett could be called a boy.
Gram smiled. “And now you’re taking care of our girl.”
“I am. The first time I met her, she fell into my arms.”
I gasped. “I did not.”
“Slipped while wearing a pair of those sky-high heels she loves.”
Gram snorted, and mom smiled widely.
“There was a wet patch on the floor,” I told them.
“And a wet floor sign that you marched right past. I saved your life.”
