Her grandmother was sharp as a tack, and usually just as feisty. But this surgery had sucked the wind out of her sails. Hadley was determined to help her get it back. And the burning question remained in Hadley’s mind, Why Cam? Why, why, why?
“We just want you to be aware of all your choices, Mom. No stress.” Her mom exchanged a worried glance with her dad, who then checked his watch.
“I’ve got to run to a meeting.” He kissed Gran on the cheek before taking her hand. “I don’t want you to worry about a thing.”
“That’s kind of you, Stephen,” Gran said.
Her mom stood and gave Hadley’s grandmother a kiss too. “I’ve got a conference call with a student about her dissertation. I’ll be back later with my iPad so we can watch Netflix.”
Her grandmother smiled. “Well, okay. But only if you go home to sleep in your own bed afterward.”
Once Hadley’s parents had left, Kit jumped off the windowsill. “I’ve got to get back to work. I’m glad you’re doing okay, Mrs. Edwards. Next time I’ll bring Ollie, if that’s okay. He’s asked if he can make you some cupcakes.”
“Thank you, Kit.” Gran winked. “Be sure to tell him I like chocolate.”
“Will do.” Kit gave a little salute.
Kit hugged Hadley quickly. “Darla and I were thinking maybe lunch at Mussels on Saturday, then head over to her place. Still sound good?”
Hadley gave a quick thumbs-up as Kit disappeared out the door.
Then she walked over and sat down on the vinyl chair, aka her bed from last night. Her grandmother was now sucking down her shake and playing Words with Friends on her iPad, both of which reassured Hadley that she was on the mend.
“Does it hurt?” Hadley asked. “Your hip?”
Her grandmother set down the shake with a satisfied sigh. “Honestly, this is the best thing that’s happened to me all day. Besides seeing you.” She squeezed Hadley’s hand. “And the answer to your question is yes, it hurts a little. But nothing compared to how it was before surgery. Honestly, I’m ready to do whatever it takes to mend. I promised Paul I’d be ready for salsa dancing lessons before his daughter’s wedding in the fall.”
Hadley blew out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Hearing you say that just made my day.” For some reason, she found herself blinking back tears.
“Oh, Hadley. You always were the sentimental one. I’m just fine!”
Hadley swiped at her eyes. Yes, sentimental. One of her worst traits. She wished she could be more practical and logical. Maybe then she wouldn’t have gotten swept away by Cooper. She shook her head, not wanting emotion to overtake her.
“I don’t want you worrying about me.” Gran patted Hadley’s knee. “Taking care of me isn’t how you’d planned to spend your summer.” She tilted the shake cup toward Hadley, who took a sip.
The drink slid down her throat, ice cold and chocolatey and tasting like home. It almost made her forget what was on her mind. “I need to discuss something with you.”
Her grandmother set down the shake. “Okay. Shoot.”
“I don’t want to stress you by talking about this but—”
Her grandmother slid the shake in her direction again. “Have some more. And don’t treat me like I’m fragile. You sound like your parents. You know how I hate to be babied. I’m not that old yet.”
She politely refused. Then she took a big breath and spoke. “I ran into Tony—Cam—at the Palace this morning.”
Silence descended, thick and dark as the shake. Her grandmother suddenly got very busy poking the shake with her straw. As the wall clock let out a lurching tick, Hadley realized she had absolutely no clue what her grandmother was going to say next. But she was nearly certain she was not going to like the answer.
“Well,” Gran said, “I admit, I told him that his buying the building might be a good idea. That was before I fell. We’d been talking about it as he’s been making his own plans.”
So they were buds? As in, people who talked about things? Like, friends? Hadley’s head swirled with questions. “Why him, Gran?”
“Oh, Hadley.” Her grandmother looked her over with kind eyes. “Try not to judge him too harshly by what he did when he was eighteen. People change and grow. And right now, he’s in great need of a fresh start, whether he shows it or not.”
Only, Hadley could not be rational about Cam. Maybe she could forgive, but forget? No way. “Do you want to sell the business?” Hadley asked instead. “I’m here all summer. I can keep things going until you’re healed. You know I love Pooch Palace almost as much as I love you. You can take as much time as you need to think about things.”
Gran grasped Hadley’s hand, squeezing hard, and looked straight into her eyes. “You’ve always been such a sweet child. You’re so big-hearted and you feel so deeply. But you have your own life. And maybe it’s time for me to do what your parents have been trying to get me to do for quite a while.”
“Take a cruise?” Hadley smiled. Her grandmother was about as anti-cruise as you could get. All cruise ships reminded her of the Titanic, she said, and that was enough for her.
She rolled her eyes. “No. Retire.”
“Do you want to retire?” Hadley wasn’t sure how to sort out if her grandmother was frightened by her health scare, if she felt pressured by Hadley’s parents to quit working, or if she really did want to.
Her grandmother sighed and looked down. She fidgeted again with the menu card. “You know what happened. I lost Louie.”
Louie was the mayor’s pampered Yorkie. “You temporarily lost Louie,” Hadley reminded her.
“He was bound and determined to go after that greyhound Joy Steele walks right by our yard every single day. Why she does that I have no idea, because it works all the dogs up. And Louie decided to bolt after him, even if he is ten times his size. Somehow the gate got open and Louie just launched himself at that dog.” Hadley knew what happened next. When her grandmother went to grab Louie, she’d fallen. Her grandmother crossed her arms. “Stupid old bones.”
Hadley put her hand over her grandmother’s, trying to think what she could say to make a joke or to change the subject.
“Louie is fine,” Hadley said. “It was an accident. Have you spoken to Mayor Chaudhry?”
“Yes, and Nira was very nice about the whole thing, even if she was the tiniest bit upset. But that new boarding place near the highway has been stealing away my business for a few months now. They started calling themselves a fancy-schmancy dog hotel and advertising like crazy and poof! There went my business.” She gave a heavy sigh. “Televisions and soothing classical music in dog rooms! Dog massages! Ridiculous.”
“Gran, I can fix this,” Hadley said. “Besides, you’re the town’s top citizen. You chair a hundred committees and volunteer for everything. We can get your business back.”
Hadley flicked her hand in a no-big-deal gesture, but in reality she was worried.
“I’m so embarrassed,” her grandmother said. “I’ve never lost a dog before. Maybe your parents are right. It’s time to give it up. I’m too old.”