“Jack, come on.” Elana stood and dusted off her jeans. She stuck her notepad and pencil back in her coat and waited for Jack to join her.
The dog finally lifted his dirt-filled nose out of the hole and stared at her.
“Come on, boy. Let’s go back to the house. I bet Nelson has a bone he’ll share with you.”
Jack’s ears stood at attention, and he jogged over to her.
“Sometimes I think you know exactly what I’m saying, Jack.” She rubbed the canine between the ears.
They walked in silence back to the house. She hadn’t felt that at peace in forever.
Smiling she stepped onto the porch just as her grandmother came running out the front door.
“I’ve been trying to call you, Elana. You didn’t answer.”
She cringed. “I left my phone in the truck. Sorry about that. Is everything okay?”
Grandma Cecilia shook her head. “No. Your father called me. He said since you’ve been ignoring his calls, he wanted to let me know that he was on his way here.”
Elana froze. “Father is coming to Montana?”
She slowly nodded her head. “And he’s bringing his attorney with him. To make me sign the papers to be committed to a nursing home.”
Elana felt the blood drain from her face. “He can’t force you into doing that. It’s not legal.”
Sadness and desperation etched into her grandmother’s face. “He said that I’m mentally unable to care for myself. And that he’s doing this for my own good. I can’t believe my own son is doing this to me. I don’t even recognize him anymore.”
Elana’s fingers tightened into fists. “It’s not right. None of this is right.”
Her grandmother turned and headed back into the house, looking like a defeated woman.
Elana turned and ran to the truck. Opening the back door, she grabbed her phone.
She listened to every missed call from her father. He said he was on his way to Montana to settle things once and for all.
Elana let out a frustrated scream which made Jack bark.
She looked down at her dog. “I can’t let this happen, Jack. This will destroy her.”
Jack cocked his head and stared at her.
Steeling her resolve, she marched back into the house.
CHAPTER34
Grandma Cecilia had locked herself in the upstairs bedroom, refusing to talk to Elana. She would only allow Ronald to come in the room.
Sitting by the door, she jumped up when Ronald came out.
“I need to talk to her,” Elana insisted.
Ronald shook his head slowly. “I’m afraid Cecilia is too upset to talk. She looks so worried.” Ronald narrowed his eyes. “If her son thinks he’s going to come into my house and take Cecilia away from me, he’s got another thing coming.”
Elana shook her head. “I can’t believe he thinks he can do this. This is his own mother.” Elana swallowed. “When Father found out I was going on this trip with Grandma Cecilia, he was okay with it. He told me that once she got here, she would realize that she had been catfished by someone who only wanted her money. That’s why he thinks he is protecting her. It must be.”
Ronald snorted. “Elana, you have a good heart. But I’m afraid your father isn’t telling you everything.”
Elana stilled. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. “What do you mean?”
