Page 38 of About that Fling (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #2)
Beth was waiting on the doorstep before they even got all the way up the walk.
Her hot pink pixie cut frizzed in the Seattle drizzle, and she’d gotten a tiny silver nose ring since the last time he’d seen her.
She stood barefoot and slender in jeans and a bright blue tank top smiling as they came up the walk.
The instant he got within range, she hurled herself at him, engulfing him in a hug that smelled like sunshine and old books and the floral perfume their mother used to wear.
“Hey, doofus! Long time, no see.” She squeezed him hard, then released him. “Now get out of my way. I need to meet the new woman in your life.”
He turned to see Jenna extending a polite hand, but Beth pulled her into a hug.
“Please, no handshakes.” She squeezed Jenna so tightly Adam heard her spine crack. “We’re a hugging family.”
Adam stepped aside to give them space, while Jenna laughed and hugged back with equal fierceness. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“I’ve heard almost nothing about you.” She drew back to glare at Adam. “My brother’s communication skills leave something to be desired. We message each other a dozen times a day over Words with Friends, but I have no idea what you do for work or for fun or even what your last name is.”
He watched Jenna’s shoulders relax, and she met Beth’s grin with one of her own. “Full name Jenna McArthur, and I’m the chief relations officer for Belmont Health System. For fun, I read spy novels, practice target shooting, and drink copious amounts of good wine. Here.”
She reached into her handbag and pulled out a bottle with a label Adam recognized. She handed it to his sister with a reverence other women might reserve for religious artifacts. “It’s one of my favorite Oregon wineries. Sunridge Vineyards makes the best Pinot Noir.”
“Thank you.” Beth looked enthralled. “You’ve been there?”
“Yes.” She bit her lip and Adam watched her wrestling with something. Some detail she might want to hide. Her gaze flicked to his for an instant. Then he watched Jenna draw back her shoulders.
“I went there with Mia—yes, that Mia,” she said when Beth looked surprised.
“I don’t want any secrets between us because that sucks, so I’ll just say it up front that she’s a very dear friend of mine and no, she doesn’t know about Adam and me.
” Pausing, she took a deep breath. “Sorry. I should have just lead with, ‘hello, nice to meet you.’”
Adam held his breath as he stared at his sister. He couldn’t possibly guess how Beth might respond, but he wished he could tell her what a big deal this was. That Jenna’s straightforward decision to lay her cards out on the table was a truly rare gift.
Then a slow smile spread over Beth’s face. “Damn, girl.” She laughed and hugged Jenna again. “You sure know how to make an entrance.”
“Right, well, yes.” She darted another glance at Adam. “I’ve been working on being more . . . open.”
“I appreciate it,” Beth said. “Sounds like a fucked-up situation all around.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Adam muttered.
“I look forward to hearing more about it.” Beth turned and walked into the house, waving them to follow. “Bathroom’s down that hall if you need it. Want to drive together to Nana and Gramps’s place?”
“That sounds good,” Adam said, resting his hand in the middle of Jenna’s back as he guided her into the living room. “Would you mind if we headed over right away? I’d like to get there as soon as visiting hours start.”
“I’ll just grab my keys,” Beth called. “Jenna can ride up front with me.”
“What, you don’t want some brother-sister bonding time?”
“Nope. I’ve bonded plenty with your annoying ass.” Beth grinned as she led them out to her bright orange MINI Cooper. “Now I need to get to know Jenna better.”
The two women chatted all the way to the west side of Seattle, and by the time they reached the assisted living facility, it was clear they’d become fast friends.
Adam watched from the backseat, feeling equal parts relief and nostalgia.
It had never been like this with Mia and Beth, not even before the affair.
There had always been something stiff in their interactions.
Something guarded and even a little competitive, though he could never figure out which of them set that tone.
No matter how many courses he took in counseling and human behavior, there was no accounting for chemistry.
He’d wondered sometimes how Mia and Jenna had become so close after only two years of friendship. Now, seeing how quickly his sister connected with her, he didn’t wonder anymore. Jenna was easy to love quickly and fiercely.
Love .
He’d said the word to her yesterday in the car, and watched her eyes widen.
That’s what I love about you , he’d told her, and he meant it. But he meant more than that, and he wondered if she knew.
“Here we are,” Beth said, pulling into a parking spot. “How much did Adam tell you about what to expect?”
“I know your grandmother is in the last stages of Alzheimer’s, and that your grandfather barely leaves her side,” Jenna said. “Not even when the nurses come to tend to her.”
Beth nodded and reached for the door handle. “There’s a good chance Nana won’t wake up at all. She’s been sleeping a lot lately, and honestly, that’s better. Before this, she went through a real combative stage.”
“Does she recognize you?”
Beth shook her head, and Adam watched her features pinch with sadness. “Not usually. Not anymore. When she’s lucid these days, she doesn’t even seem to know who Gramps is, though she does perk up a little when he sits by her bed and plays Beatles songs on his guitar.”
Adam swallowed hard and pushed the passenger seat forward, clambering over it to emerge from his sister’s clown car into the drizzly morning air.
They filed through the front door together, stopping to sign in at the front desk.
Beth signed first, then Jenna. Adam looked at her signature, feeling an odd swell of pride when he saw she’d written “lady friend” in the relationship field.
Beth led the way down a corridor bathed in fluorescent light and the cloying pine scent of cleaner. She stopped in a doorway at the end of the hall and knocked loudly before trooping in.
“Hi, Gramps! Look who’s here to see you!”
Noticing Jenna’s hesitation, Adam stepped past her and into the cramped little room. He watched Gramps’s eyes go wide with surprise, then delight. As the old man struggled to get to his feet, Adam hurried to his side.
“Don’t get up, I can hug you right where you are.”
He wrapped his arms around Gramps, surprised at how bony he felt.
He wore a faded Chicago Cubs sweatshirt that Adam remembered buying him for Christmas ten years ago.
His pants were baggy enough to fall off his hips if he stood up, so it was probably best to keep the old man sitting.
Drawing back, Adam glanced at the hospital bed where Nana lay.
She seemed peaceful enough, though her face was creased in a frown.
“Good to see you, son,” Gramps said, and Adam turned back to see Beth smothering him in a hug. “Bethy said you were bringing someone with you?”
“I did.” He turned to wave Jenna into the room. She took a few timid steps forward to stand beside him, and Adam felt his heart twist with affection for every damn person in this tiny room.
“Gramps, meet Jenna,” he said. “Jenna, meet Gramps and Nana, also known as Floyd and Edie.”
Jenna smiled and took a step toward Gramps. She seemed to hesitate, and he saw her rub her palm against her thigh, readying herself to offer a handshake. Instead, she stooped down and wrapped her arms around the old man’s bony shoulders.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“Call me Gramps, everyone does. Even the nurses and doctors.”
“Gramps,” she said, trying out the word as she drew back from the hug and stood upright again. “I see you’re a Cubs fan? My grandfather took me to see them play at Wrigley years ago.”
“Wrinkly ears?” He scrubbed his hands down his face, frowning. “Sure, I’ve got wrinkly ears, wrinkly cheeks, wrinkly jowls. That’s what happens when you get old.”
Jenna blinked, her mouth dropping open in horror. “No—I—Wrigley Field. Um, baseball? Adam told me in the car you’re a fan of the game.”
The old man grinned. “Oh yeah? What else did he tell you about me?”
“He said you worked as a lumberjack for forty years and that you’re very good with your hands.
” She smiled, warming up a bit. “He also said you love dogs—that you had some really great ones when Adam and Beth were growing up.” She pointed to a framed photo on the end table beside him.
“That must be Shaggy on the grass next to you in that photo?”
Gramps raised a bushy eyebrow. “Saggy ass? Well, missy, you’re getting a little personal now. An old man can’t help it if things start to droop a little bit here and there as he gets older. ’Course Edie never had any complaints in that department.”
Adam stifled a laugh and turned away, leaving them to get acquainted. He edged over to his grandmother’s bedside. She looked small and pale, as though she might blow away if he sneezed on her. Not that sneezing on old people was ever a good idea. He’d done enough jobs in healthcare to know that.
His brain was drifting to absurdity, so he reached out and squeezed Nana’s hand. It felt bony and frail, and there was no sign of recognition from her at all.
“Hey, Nana—it’s me, Adam.”
No response. He stroked his finger over the back of her hand, tracing the knuckles and thin bones. Did she even know he was here? The nurses had warned him she’d been unresponsive all week, but still. He’d hoped for some sign.
Behind him, Jenna was still trying to connect with Gramps. “I’ve always wanted a dog myself, but we had cats growing up. A big Maine Coon named Sugarbear and a sweet little black-and-white tuxedo kitty we called Spot.”