Page 40 of Long Hard Fall

He glanced at the picture of Holly on her graduation day. She was blond and blue-eyed, too. He looked and acted like his dad, and he shared his birth mom’s nose and smile.

“Yeah,” was all he said. Whenever he thought of Holly, he didn’t get angry or resentful. He brimmed with sadness, not for himself, but for a young woman who went through life so unhappy that she had to end it herself.

“I’m sorry. Are you okay?” Abbi touched his face.

His brows drew down. “Yeah. Why?”

“You seem sad. Do you ever wonder…?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think about it, honestly. She didn’t want me.” That came out harsher than intended. “Maybe she did and was too overwhelmed.” He shrugged. “She had problems.” That was as much as he ever let himself think about it.

“You feel sorry for her?”

He blew out a breath. “I do. But…” He swallowed. God, was he really going to say this? “I wonder sometimes if my lack of emotion when it comes to my birth mother stems from not wanting to hurt Mom by thinking about her. So, I try to just hope that she found some peace in life, and I really do know that she did the best thing she could for me. Life with her would’ve been…turbulent.”

She cupped his face in both hands; he stared into her shimmering hazel eyes. “You have such a good heart for the people around you who’ve hurt you.”

Hurt him? “What do you mean?”

“You haven’t done a damn thing wrong, but all the adults in your life have swept you along in their personal drama. Yet you worry about them and care for them.” She brushed her lips against his.

When she pulled away, he expected her face to be full of sympathy, steeled himself for it, but her small smile was almost shy.

Keys jiggled in the front door. They both turned to face it, not knowing what to expect.

Frankie trudged in, wearing her black work shirt and black slacks. The clothing she’d worn to the hospital.

He rushed to her side. “You busted out. Why didn’t you call?”

She jumped, her hand flying to her heart. Dear lord, he wasn’t giving his grandma a heart attack, was he?

“Cash, hello. Oh, and Abbi.” She relaxed, her expression pleased. “I can see my darlings were well cared for. You didn’t have to stop by today, too.”

“We wanted to.” He guided her to a chair. “How’d you get home?”

“Called a cab.” Frankie settled into a chair with a sigh that said she didn’t want to move any time soon.

“Why the hell did you do that?” There was no heat in his words. Frankie was too damn independent and too intent not to intrude in Cash’s life, she would’ve never entertained the idea of asking him for help.

While Frankie got settled, Abbi went into the kitchen. Since they had a moment of privacy, he decided to make sure Frankie knew she’d never be intruding.

“Look, I told Mom and Dad that I see and talk to you regularly. So don’t worry that contacting me will upset anything. We’re family.”

Surprise flitted through her face and her eyes glistened. She patted his hand. “You’re such a good boy. I was so upset at myself for passing out Monday morning because it meant I missed my time with you.”

“Well, then,” he drawled, “we may have to implement a weekly dinner night.” He smirked at Abbi as she exited the kitchen with a glass of water for Frankie. “I hear I cook a mean fish fillet.”

Abbi handed the glass off to Frankie. His grandma seemed both pleased and uncomfortable with the attention.

“He mans a wicked grill, too.” Abbi sat on the couch, probably so it didn’t seem like they were hovering over her.

He sat next to her. “If you’re back at work next week, we’ll set a date.”

Frankie’s eyes softened the way Gram’s did when he and his cousins did something sweet. It was the first time he’d compared Frankie to Gram. Frankie was Frankie, technically his grandma, but she’d been at arm’s length for the last few years. Almost nonexistent before that. Gram was the stereotypical grandmother. She’d diapered him, chased after him, shamelessly spoiled him. He even lived in her old house.

Now, as the three of them chatted and talked about doctor’s orders and going back to work and the history of the fat cats roaming around and what plants did the best indoors, Frankie was more than his birth mom’s mom. She was his family.

They walked out of Frankie’s place to Cash’s truck. The cool autumn breeze wasn’t unpleasant and the sun was still warm enough to ward off the worst of the chill.

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