Page 123 of Capturing You

“Of course I remember. You brought a guest to see me. Was she with…with these people?”

He pictured Grandmother waving toward the nurse. Hopefully, the woman wasn’t easily offended.

He had no idea how much he’d be paying her nurses, but he figured they deserved every penny and more.

“No, ma’am. Brooklynn is a friend of mine, or was. Do you remember what you told her?”

That brought a long beat of silence. “I-I don’t remember much.” The belligerence was gone as she added, “The doctor told me I fell asleep?”

“You had a little memory loss. I think you referred to me as Forbes, maybe called me your grandson. She figured out who I really am and that I’d been lying to her.”

“Oh. Oh, dear.”

Like earlier, at the retirement home, his strong, regal grandmother sounded very much the opposite.

“It’s okay.” Though it wasn’t yet, he spoke with a soothing tone. “I’m trying to find her now and make it right.”

“We can’t let anyone know the truth. Tell her how you look like your cousin and I confuse you two?—”

“I’m not lying to Brooklynn again. She knows the truth, and I’m not going to?—”

“Have you forgotten…?” He heard shuffling, then a door closing. “You could be in danger.”

“Brooklynn Wright didn’t kill our family, Gran. She’s younger than I am.”

“Her folks?—”

“Even if her parents were involved—which I highly doubt—she didn’t tell them where she was or anything about me. And she won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

Brooklynn had texted him hours before, promising to keep his secrets. He believed her.

“What would you have me do, Grandmother? Assassinate her?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

He took a breath to temper his voice. “Brooklynn knows who I am, and I’m not sorry. I’m not going to lie to her. She’s too smart to fall for more lies from me, even if I could find her. Which I can’t, so this conversation is pointless.”

Suddenly, Forbes remembered Brooklynn’s theory about him, that he only spoke in paragraphs when he got angry or passionate.

He’d definitely given his grandmother a paragraph-full.

“Sorry, Gran. I didn’t mean?—”

“You have feelings for her.”

Not a question, so he didn’t feel compelled to answer.

After a moment, she said, “All right, then. If you trust her, I trust her. Find her and tell her how you feel.”

Just like that?

“Really?”

“You were bound to meet somebody someday, and you’re not the kind of man to keep secrets from those you love. If this woman means something to you, then tell her the truth.”

Wow. He’d expected more pushback. He’d expected Grandmother to want to know everything about her. That she trusted Forbes’s judgment that much both surprised and pleased him.