The way Ford shortens her name sends me into a silent panic. What the fuck? I didn’t even think he knew Isabella except in casual crossing. And what the hell does he mean, she loves me? “That’s twice today that I’ve been told Isabella loves me. She does not love me.”
Ford presses his hands to his eyes and rubs them before giving me a look of complete exasperation. “Oh my God, Lucas. You’re blind. So blind. The woman is crazy for you. You walk into a room and she can’t take her eyes off you. I’m telling you if you do this, you’re going to hurt her, and she doesn’t deserve that. She’s going to grieve too, Lucas, and we’ll all be there for her, but we don’t need to add a broken heart to the things she’s going to have to deal with.”
I’m stubborn. Probably too stubborn for my own good. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing that I’m a grown man now and can make my own decisions.”
Ford opens his mouth, but I cut him off. “What about Ollie’s soccer game? It’s starting soon, right?”
Ford looks at the clock on the wall. “Fuck!”
He grabs his papers off the desk and is headed for the door. “Way to end the conversation, brother, but I’m telling you, Granny wants you happy and settled, but she wouldn’t want the poor girl’s heart broken.”
I hold my hands up in front of me. “I promise you. I will not hurt Isabella.”
He gives me the look like he doesn’t believe a fuckin’ word I just said, but we both know he doesn’t have time to argue with me about it. “I’ll see you at the game.”
He walks out the door, and I close up the conference room with all my thoughts on Isabella.
Isabella
I’ve tried to hide my worry from G, and I think I’ve been successful, but I’m worn out from the façade. Lucas came home late last night, and by the way he slammed the door to his wing of the house, I assumed he wasn’t happy. And then this morning, when he left without even coming in to see his grandmother, I knew something was up. As a matter of fact, that was probably the kicker. He’s never missed a morning of coming in and talking to his grandmother. Not since I’ve been here. But instead of letting G worry with me, I made up an excuse of an early meeting as to why he didn’t come see her this morning.
She smiled and didn’t seem worried, but I still tried to keep her busy all day. As the late afternoon comes, and Ford shows up with his son Ollie, I’m able to relax a little. Surely, if something was wrong with Lucas, Ford wouldn’t be here all smiles.
Ollie is sitting in the chair next to his great-grandmother, telling her about his game from the night before. “I scored a goal, Granny!”
She claps her hand excitedly. “I know you did. I’m so proud of you. I’ve watched the video at least twenty times today.”
I sit in the corner of the room to give the family time to spend together. Usually I make myself scarce, but the night shift nurse should be arriving soon, and I want to make sure I tell her that G has already eaten and taken her afternoon medications.
I’m taking pictures with my phone of Ollie, Ford, and G all together when Ford says, “So are you still listening to rap music, Granny?”
G looks at me like I’ve sold her out. I hold my hands up and give her my most innocent look. “Don’t look at me. You know I wouldn’t tell on you. I haven’t said a word.”
Granny is all smiles, enjoying the teasing. “I’ll have you know, grandson, that I have impeccable taste in music. Ask anyone.”
Ford stands up and pulls his phone from his pocket. He scrolls on it, and when a song starts to play, he points at his Grandma. “No, Granny, this is good music.”
A slow country ballad comes over the speakers, and Granny points between Ford and me. “Go ahead. Show us how it’s done.”
Ollie goes to sit next to G, and Ford walks over to me with his hand held out. I stand up and meet him at the center of the room. I wish I could be this way with Lucas. Instead I’m all tongue-tied and worried I’m going to say or do something stupid. With Ford, I guess I don’t care, so I don’t try to hide anything. He’s good on his feet, and he twirls me around the room. Ollie and G are both laughing and clapping. Ford is really showing off, spinning me around and pulling me back in. I can’t help but laugh when I miss a step and almost face-plant. Ford saves me easily, though, and pulls me up again to twirl some more.
Ollie comes to stand next to us. “I want to dance, Daddy.”
I let go of Ford, but he shakes his head. “Oh no, you’re not getting out of it that easily.”
He puts Ollie, himself, and me in a little circle, and we all dance together. Ollie’s laughter is infectious, and we’re all laughing and having a good time. We’re completely ignoring the speed of the music, dancing too fast for the slow beat, but none of us seem to care.
I look over at G smiling at all of us, and I can’t help but point out to her, “Well, you’ve succeeded in getting out of your exercise, I see.”
G’s eyes twinkle at me.
Ollie releases his hold on his dad and me and runs to his great-grandmother. “I’ll dance with you, Granny.”
She grabs on to his hand, and he dances in front of her while she sits, tapping her feet back and forth. It’s obvious she’s worn out today.
With Ollie and G occupied, Ford pulls me back into his arms. I grin up at him, taking in his smiling face with the gray-streaked beard. He really is a handsome guy. All the Blaze brothers are. He looks at his grandmother and back at me. “She doing okay?”
I nod. “Yes, but she’s getting tired more easily. We’ll probably have to cut back on the dancing.”
He nods and looks at me curiously. “What about you? You holding up okay?”
I force a smile to my face. “Yes, I’m great. I got this, Ford. I promise I will take the best care of your grand–”
He cuts me off. “I wasn’t asking because I thought you weren’t qualified. I was asking because I know how you feel about her. I know it’s hard for you to see her deteriorate like this. It’s hard on all of us, but we get a break from it. You don’t. I’m just worried about you, that’s all.”
I tuck my chin onto his shoulder because I can’t look into his eyes. I know it’s his granny, and I should be the one comforting him, but honestly, I don’t know what I’ll do when she leaves us. It’s not something I want to even think about.
Ford pulls back and looks into my face. “Hey.”
I reluctantly lift my head to look him in the eyes. “I know. I appreciate it. We’ll get through it. We just need to enjoy every second we have left.”
A small smile slowly forms on his face. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”
I nod and let him twirl me out and back in. “So do I need to talk to you about my little brother?”
I groan and lean my forehead against his chest. Gee whiz. First Granny and now Ford. “Let’s not talk about him.”
“You know that when we asked you to do this, we had no idea how you felt about Lucas?”
I want to bang my head against something. “Does everyone in this family know how I feel about Lucas? It’s reaching a point where it’s embarrassing.”