Page 85 of Moonlit Colorado

“Oh, this man and his flattery.” Jasmine’s eyes twinkled. “But I’m assuming you know about that, Grace.”

I nodded. “Believe me, I do.”

“Izzy’s in the sitting room. She’s in fine form today. You can go on in. I see you’ve brought her favorite?”

“Yep, and extra for you.”

Jasmine shook her head. “You’re hell on my blood sugar,” she muttered. “Go on.”

Dane’s hand slid back into mine. He hesitated for a split second, a cloud passing over his features. Then we walked through the doorway into the next room. “Hey, Mom. How are you this morning?”

A woman in her sixties with thick, gray-blond hair sat on the couch. She wore light-blue pants, a turtleneck, and a cardigan draped over her shoulders. She arched one sculpted eyebrow. “I’m all right, but they insist on keeping it colder than a witch’s butthole in winter around here.”

I snorted a shocked laugh, and Dane grinned. “I’ll see about turning up the thermostat. Mom, this is Grace O’Neal. And Grace, this is Isadora Knightly. Izzy to her friends.”

She grasped my hand. “I can’t promise to remember your name. The old memory isn’t what it once was.” Her manicured finger tapped against her temple. “But I can promise to try.”

“That’s all any of us can do, right?” I sat in the chair across from her.

“I like those glasses. They make you look smart. That’s good. You’ll keep us on our toes.”

“I can promise to try,” I said, and she laughed, pointing a finger at me.

“A sense of humor too. Thank goodness. Hardly anyone else around here has one of those.”

Dane set the tarts and the plates on the coffee table, lowering himself gently onto the couch beside his mom. I mostly stayed quiet as Dane chatted with her. It was hard to tell if she recognized him exactly, but she seemed to be enjoying herself. Especially when he served the tarts.

She continued with her sharp quips too, and I could imagine how this woman had the determination to win Olympic medals and climb mountains. It wasn’t fair that a disease was causing Izzy’s mind to fail her.

Yet watching Dane with her… It was a whole new side of him that made me admire the man even more.

After an hour, Jasmine came in. “Sorry to break up the party, but Miss Izzy is probably getting tired.”

Izzy huffed. “You would think I had important places to be with the schedule they keep me on.”

Jasmine chuckled. “Two more minutes.” She left the room.

Dane sat forward, elbows on his knees. “Mom, today is Kip’s wedding. I don’t know if he had a chance to come by and see you lately, but I’m sure he wishes you could be there.”

“That sounds nice.” She did seem like she was tiring out. Her gaze had started to lose focus.

But after Dane said he loved her and kissed her cheek, she looked straight into his eyes.

“Your brother’s been having a terrible time. They’ve…they’ve been…”

“You meanKip? Has he been here to see you?” Izzy didn’t respond. Dane reached for her hand. “Mom, has Kip been here? Did he say something to you?”

“There’s a lady who helps me sometimes. Could you ask her to come in here? I’m tired.”

Dane sat back, emotions playing across his face before they vanished. Like he was pulling a mask into place. “Sure, Mom. I’ll go get Jasmine.” He lifted his chin at me. “We’d better head out.”

TWENTY-FIVE

Dane

I likedto think I was a logical guy. Not overly driven by emotion. But right now, both my head and my heart were all over the place.

What had my mom meant when she’d mentioned my brother? Had she known what she was saying, or had she been thinking of something from the past? Something entirely unrelated?

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