Page 35 of Nothing to Deny
She couldn’t count him. She didn’t even have his phone number. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t call him at three in the morning or three in the afternoon.
“Come to the house for dinner next weekend.”
“I’m going away with the Pivens next weekend.”
“With this new boy?” Only her grandfather would think it was okay to call a grown man a boy. “What do you know about him?”
“Nothing,” she said. “I’ve never met him. We’re supposed to get to know him during this vacation. That’s the point.”
“I don’t like you going away with them alone.”
“I won’t be alone.”
“Take Dexter.”
“I am not going to take Dexter,” she said. “Alan will be there.”
“Oh, what use is that boy?” he chastised. “He’s a wet blanket. Good for nothing but dousing a fire to save the drapes.”
“Would you stop?” Should she be offended or amused? A bit of both. “That’s my cousin.”
“On your mother’s side.”
She narrowed her eyes. “And the distinction is important because…?”
“Deres protect you.”
That sobered the mood. Even after all these years, the reminder could still hit with Mach-10 force.
“That’s you and me, Granddaddy. We’re it… and you don’t have to worry about me being safe. I will be safe.”
“How do you know?”
How did she know? Because Baer was going to be there… Except, maybe he wasn’t. If Holly didn’t choose him to go with her, Baer would stay behind in the city, and their lives would drift apart.
God, where did that come from? What happened to the lighter mood? Time to divert them back.
“Because it wouldn’t be a great impression if this new boy let all of us succumb to tragedy, would it?”
Her grandfather’s wit was dry. “And yet, I am unmoved,” he said. “Send me the details of the resort at least forty-eight hours before you leave… Do you need the chopper?”
“I’ve never visited the place before,” she said. “But I doubt it… I hate that thing.”
“I’ll make sure it’s somewhere on site in case you need to leave in a hurry.”
“You can’t park your helicopter on someone else’s lawn.”
He scoffed. “You have been on this earth almost thirty years. Are you going to tell me you haven’t yet learned money will buy you almost anything?”
“Almost,” she said, fixating on the empty table. “Almost anything.”
Silence passed for a few moments. “Freya,” he said, his softening voice probing. “What’s in your mind?”
“Nothing, I… there’s this guy that I…”
More silence. “Freya?”
Forcing a smile, she couldn’t be anything but happy. “I’ll call you next week, we’ll set something up.”
