Page 62 of Stronger Than Blood
Kalinda chuckled. “Child, I was cooking biscuits before I even started school. My mama had me on a stool at three or four, learning how to make them.”
“You can tell. Oh, and I usually hate grits, but dang, these are—”
“Buttery?” I said.
“Amazing,” he corrected, then leaned over and bumped me playfully.
When we finished eating, Mick and I cleaned up and put things away so Granny would come home to a clean house. I knew how much she loved that.
Chapter forty-two
Mick
“Okay, well, I’m going to go get Granny and bring her back. Do I need to pick anything else up before we get here?”
Kalinda shook her head. “No, you bought more food than we can eat in a month, and I noticed the garden is brimming with produce, so we’ve got plenty to do and eat from there. Just go get your grandmother and bring her home.”
I smiled and jumped up, kissing Kalinda’s cheek and then kissing Rory on the mouth before I dashed out of the house. I was so ready to have her back home. Back where we could keep an eye on her, and knowing how much she loved being home, well, I could barely contain my excitement.
There were a few complications with her discharge. First, the doctor needed to see her; then they had paperwork; then they didn’t have one of her prescriptions… Well, I suppose they were typical issues surrounding discharges from a medical facility. Soon enough, though, we were on our way.
“Granny, you’re quiet. Everything okay?” I asked.
She didn’t look at me but reached over and took my hand. When she didn’t respond, I grew concerned. I quickly took myeyes off the road and glanced at her to see a tear streaming down her face. “Granny, what’s wrong?” I asked, alarmed.
“Ssh, nothing’s wrong, I-I just thought I’d die in that place. I didn’t think I’d get to go home.”
“Fuck,” I said, then clapped my free hand over my mouth and looked wide-eyed at Granny, who gave me a stern look, then laughed.
“Exactly,” she finally said.
She held my hand until we pulled down the rough, windy road that led to her house. I pulled my car around so she could go straight to the front door, and her belongings could be easily taken in. I opened her door and helped her out, noticing how unsteady she still was.
We walked slowly up the stairs, where she could use her other hand to hold onto the rail, and easily made it to the front door. When I went to open it, though, the damned thing was stuck. I felt a cold sweat come across me and knew instantly the entity was trying to prevent us from coming in.
“Get the hell away from that door!” Granny yelled, and when she reached for the handle, it turned and opened as easily as could.
When we entered, we saw a stunned Kalinda and Rory standing on the other side. “Um, sorry… We couldn’t get it open.”
“Jackass ain’t keeping me out of my house… not then and sure as hell not now. Been too damned long as it is.”
I glanced warily around the room before we went in, then helped Granny use her walker to get through the door and find her favorite chair next to the fireplace. “Well, looks like you’ve done some redecorating while I’ve been away,” she said, tongue in cheek.
Chapter forty-three
Rory
Isent out my feelers to see if I could detect any remaining energy in the room from the evil entity that’d just tried to keep Ida from coming in. For the life of me, I couldn’t detect a thing. That was good. Not that I could depend on my gift for detecting things or not. Still, I suspected Ida’s no-nonsense way had sent the jackass packing… at least for now.
“Just to accommodate our favorite patient,” Kalinda said, bringing me back to the present.
“Well, I’m not gonna be a patient in my own home. Here, I’m just myself. But what smells so good? I haven’t had anything decent to eat since I got stuck in that hospital, but it smells plumb heavenly in here.”
“Ready to eat?” Kalinda asked, and Granny nodded, a smile crossing her face. Mostly, Kalinda had warmed up leftovers from last night, but Granny was happy as could be with them. Of course, most of the food she ate was the fruit of her own labor, so I’m sure she was happy with it.
After we’d eaten on trays in the living room, I finished unloading the car. Ida watched her favorite shows, then quicklybegan to tire. We got her tucked into bed, and when Kalinda kicked us out, saying she needed bonding time with Ida, I followed Mick over to his apartment. “You okay?” I asked when we were alone together.
“Yeah, overwhelmed with the day, but good.”
