Page 66 of Where You Go (Whisper Lake 5)

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“Areyou sure you’re okay? I can meet you there.”

Liv could hear the worry in Grady’s voice. It had been there since her meltdown on the couch a month ago. “I’m fine. I promise.”

The line was silent, and Liv knew that Grady was contemplating calling into work, which was not going to happen. He’d been driving up to see her every day off he had, and sometimes even coming on days he worked. He’d helped her with Grandad, staying with him so she could run errands and just take showers and walks. He’d even sent her, Anna, and Rasha to a spa for the day.

When he’d told her he loved her and wanted to be with her, those weren’t just words. His actions had backed it up.

“You’ve done enough, I’m fine. I’m going to get Grandad settled and then we can have dinner at Lanterns later.”

A thrill ran through her at the thought of meeting him for dinner at the same spot that their fake relationship had started. She couldn’t believe that had only been three months ago. She felt like she’d known Grady forever. She couldn’t remember what life was like before he was in it, and she didn’t want to.

“Okay, fine. But call me if that changes.”

“I will,” she agreed.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Liv hung up the phone and took the earbuds out of her ears. The past twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind. She’d gotten a call yesterday that a bed had opened up at Well Brook for her grandad, and thanks to the man who she’d only known three months and couldn’t imagine her life without, she could actually afford it.

When she woke up the morning after she’d fallen asleep in Grady’s arms crying her eyes out, he told her that he’d contacted a friend of his from Los Angeles who was an agent at CAA and sent him Liv’s books. She’d thanked him but hadn’t really given it that much thought. She’d been too busy being mortified at her breakdown the night before.

But that call he’d made had changed her life. His friend contacted her a week later and told her that he’d shopped her series around and if she was interested the Rogues of Riverglen series would be optioned by a major streaming service. The deal had been enough for her to afford the best care money could buy, and in this case, that was Well Brook.

So many emotions were fighting for top billing as she drove down the long, picturesque drive lined with large oak trees. She was so relieved and happy that her grandad was going to be safe in the care of the Well Brook staff. She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty that it had come to this. She’d wanted to care for him at his home, but that just wasn’t possible.

Liv didn’t know what the speed limit was on the long drive, but she found herself creeping along at a snail’s pace of about five miles an hour until finally rolling to a stop in front of the entrance. She turned and looked at her grandad who had been asleep for the past four hours. He hadn’t even made it out of the city limits before he’d been sawing logs.

Thankfully, today had been a good day so far. He was lucid, alert and knew exactly what was going on. He’d told her that he was looking forward to coming to Well Brook and that he wanted her to sell the house. She’d been planning on doing that already, but it was nice to know that she was doing so with his blessing.

Over their last breakfast together in the home that she’d grown up in, she realized that he felt just as guilty as she did. He told her that he didn’t want her to spend her best years caring for an “old fart.” He wanted her to live life to the fullest, because that’s the only way to be a truly great writer. He wanted her to love with abandon, and take risks, and always follow her heart. But that was before he’d fallen asleep. There was a good chance that he’d be disoriented after his nap.

Liv knew that this was going to be like ripping off a Band-Aid. It was going to hurt but the faster she got it over with, the better. She grabbed her purse and got out of the car. Before she made it around to the passenger side door, a woman dressed in slacks came out to meet her.

“Hi Olive, I’m Paige.”

Liv had been emailing back and forth with Paige getting everything in order.

“Hi Paige, nice to put a face to a name,” Liv smiled widely. The woman was much younger than she would have expected from her emails. She had to be in her twenties at the most with wild curly hair that fell down to her waist, a honey-kissed complexion, and bright blue eyes that were surrounded by dark, long lashes. Liv made a mental note of her features to use for reference for future characters.

Taking a deep breath, Liv opened the door and shook her grandad’s shoulder lightly. “Grandad, we’re here.”

“Huh, what?” He sat straight up but was yanked back by his seatbelt as he looked around wildly.

“Hi, Mr. St. Claire. I’m Paige.” Paige moved around Liv and unhooked her grandad’s seatbelt. Liv was so out of it; she’d totally forgotten to do that before waking him up. “Welcome to Well Brook. We’ve got everything set up for you.”

“Oh, okay.”

Liv watched as Paige helped her grandad out of the car. Once he was standing, Liv grabbed his cane from the back seat. She handed it to him and he took it, which was a good sign. When he was having a bad spell, he usually refused.

She walked behind her grandad and Paige as they chatted about the weather and the horses and a feeling came over her of rightness. All the guilt and worry and anxiety she’d felt disappeared, and she knew that everything was going to be okay. And she had one man to thank for that…Grady Caldwell aka Hot Cop. And when she saw him later tonight, she planned on showing him exactly how much she appreciated him.

* * *

Grady felt his palms dampen as his truck rolled down the oak lined drive to Well Brook. He had another surprise planned for Liv, this one was even bigger than showing up and telling her that he loved her and wanted to be with her.

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