Page 1 of Honey Bee Library (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #7)

Cole

The hushed voices from the nurses and CNAs around us made my skin crawl. They stood in small clusters, keeping their conversations low so no one could hear what they were saying.

I closed my eyes and tipped my face toward the ceiling, praying that when I opened them, I would be anywhere but here. I secretly hoped that this entire experience was nothing more than a bad dream and I was moments away from waking up.

“Mr. Watkins?” a soft voice asked, pulling me from my thoughts and forcing my eyes open.

An older woman who looked to be about fifty was standing in front of me.

She had black-rimmed glasses perched on the tip of her nose, and her greying hair was pulled up into a loose bun on the top of her head.

She was wearing a floral set of scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck.

Her expression was gentle as she glanced between Dad and me.

I felt defeated. My prayers had gone unanswered.

No amount of wishing or praying could change my situation.

I was sitting in the lobby of Seabreeze Memory Lodge with Gran to the left of me and Dad to the right.

The reality of our situation slammed into me like a brick wall.

Dad and I had made the decision a week ago to find a different solution for Gran.

It was no longer safe for her to go unsupervised.

She needed around-the-clock care, and we were unable to provide that for her.

Dementia was a cruel disease, and we were moments away from admitting defeat. Time was no longer on our side and the dark cloud of reality hung over me. It was a sobering thought to realize that Seabreeze Memory Lodge was going to be the last place Gran would live.

“Yes,” Dad and I answered at the same time.

I glanced over to see him meet my gaze. He nodded and extended his hand. “Go ahead, Cole,” he said. “You’re her guardian.”

Even though Gran wasn’t Dad’s mom—she was my maternal grandmother—she was his mother in every other sense of the word.

After my mom left when I was five, Gran and Dad worked together to raise me.

She was there for him through his three marriages and subsequent divorces.

She was there for me through high school, college, and every business deal I made after.

I didn’t have a memory from my childhood that didn’t include her.

We were a family, even if it was a tad unconventional.

“Okay, Mr. Watkins,” the nurse said as she directed her attention to me.

“My name is Faith, and I’ve been assigned to be your grandmother’s primary caregiver.

We have the paperwork filled out for Ms. Georgianna.

If you don’t have any more questions, I can show you to her room and help get her settled. ”

I swallowed against the emotions that had cemented themselves to my throat. “Um, sure,” I said, my body feeling numb as I pressed down on the armrests and stood.

“Great,” she said.

Gran was the only one who didn’t move. She was busy staring out the window to her left. I leaned forward and grabbed her hand. “Come on, Gran,” I said, my voice soft as I waited for her to respond.

She slowly turned to look at me. I watched as it took a few seconds for her gaze to focus. Recognition passed across her face as her lips tipped up into a smile. “Leonard?” she asked as she reached out and cupped my cheek with her hand. “Is that you, Leonard?”

This had become a daily occurrence. Her thinking that I was my grandpa who’d passed away twenty-five years ago. “Gran, it’s me. Cole,” I said as I reached up and took her hand from my face and held it. “I’m your grandson.”

She knit her eyebrows together as she yanked her hand away from me. “No, no. I don’t have a grandson.” Her voice rose with agitation. “My husband is Leonard. Can you get him? Where’s Leonard?”

I hated this disease. If I could fix it, I would.

“Ms. Georgianna, why don’t you come with me?

Maybe we’ll run into Leonard on our way to see your new room.

” Faith reached out and grasped Gran’s hand.

When she motioned for Gran to stand, Gran obeyed.

Faith must have had magical powers because all of the agitation that had been building inside of Gran’s body suddenly dissipated, and Faith was able to lead her down the hallway.

Dad and I followed behind them. I kept my gaze down, unable to bring myself to see exactly where Gran was going to live.

I wanted to keep her with me, but my house had too many doors and I wasn’t able to protect her like I wanted to.

She’d gotten out too many times, and I couldn’t risk the finite time I had left with her.

I needed to know she was safe, and Seabreeze Memory Lodge was the best place for her.

Once we got to her room, I kept to the far corners of her adapted apartment.

I watched as Faith led her around, talking softly as she pointed out different features.

I knew the descriptions were more for us than Gran—I doubted she would even remember what was said—but I liked how Faith included her.

I knew she was trying to help Gran feel as comfortable and independent as she could.

Fifteen minutes later, Gran was pulling at the comforter and humming to herself. She was ready for bed. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I was grateful when Faith took the lead and approached Dad and me.

“If you’re okay, we’ll take it from here.

We have her dinner coming in ten minutes, then it’s shower and bed.

” She reached out and patted my arm. “Go. Let her get settled in. I’ll text you if anything changes, and feel free to text me with any questions.

” She reached into the front pocket of her scrubs and pulled out a business card. “She’s in good hands.”

I pulled out my wallet and stuck her card into one of the sleeves. “Thanks,” I said as I returned it to my back pocket. “I really appreciate it.”

She paused. I could feel her gaze as she studied me. “You’re doing the right thing,” she said with a soft smile.

I swallowed. “Doesn’t feel that way. I just...” My voice trailed off as I stared at Gran before dropping my gaze to the floor. “I just wish I had more time with her.”

“We all do. Time is a cruel mistress.” She paused. “Can I give you a few suggestions that might make this easier?”

“Please.”

“Find things that were a part of her life back when Leonard was around. You never know what might jog her memory. I can’t guarantee anything, but she’s still in there. I don’t want to give you false hope, but hope, even if it’s small, is important.”

That wasn’t the first time I’d heard that advice. Her doctors had told us the same. It was just hard to hear that I wasn’t important enough to bring her back. I cleared my throat and nodded. “Thanks.”

She reached out and patted my arm again. “Of course. And welcome to the family.”

Gran started complaining, so Faith gave us one last smile and a nod before she hurried over to comfort Gran.

I glanced at Dad, who nodded, and we both walked out of the room.

It felt surreal, walking out of that place knowing that we were leaving Gran behind.

Part of me wanted to turn around and head back in to get her.

She was family. You don’t leave family behind.

We were fifteen minutes down the road when Dad declared that he was hungry.

It was then that I realized I was famished as well.

We settled on a local hamburger joint, and I took a left to head in its direction.

Once I found a parking spot, I lingered in the car for a moment so I could text Maddie to let her know I was stopping to get dinner and that I was still planning on being at Obsidian later.

I trusted my assistant to make sure that the club opened on time.

She sent me back a salute emoji as I opened the car door and climbed out.

The restaurant was in full dinner mode when we pulled open the front door. We slipped in behind the groups of people that were lingering by the door, waiting for the hostess to seat them. Thankfully, the wait wasn’t too long, and we were seated fifteen minutes later.

We both ordered quickly and handed the menus to the waitress. A few minutes later, our drinks were dropped off, and Dad and I kept quiet as we sipped on our sodas and glanced around.

“I have a confession to make,” Dad finally said, drawing my attention over to him. He was fiddling with his straw.

I frowned. “Okay.” Dad’s tone was ominous, and I wasn’t sure how many more surprises I could take.

He shifted in his seat and removed something from his back pocket. A folded-up piece of paper. “I want you to have this.” He slid the paper across the table and left it right in front of me.

“What is this?” I asked as I picked up the paper and unfolded it.

It looked like some sort of hand-written contract.

“I, Doug Gentlesman, acknowledge that Nicholas Watkins is the rightful co-owner of the Harmony Island Diner, a.k.a. The Sunny Side Up Diner. He won it in a hand of poker.” There were two signatures and a date at the bottom.

I glanced up at him. “What is this?” I asked again.

Even though I’d read the words, none of them were making any sort of sense to me.

“I found some of your mother’s old diaries in your grandmother’s attic before we sold the house.

She wrote about your grandparents bringing her to some small island town called Harmony Island when she was a kid.

She talked about the diner there, that it was a place that brought her peace.

” He scrubbed his face. “I thought she might be there.”

“At the diner?”

“In Harmony.”

“Ah.”

“When I got there, I went to the diner, but I didn’t see her.

I spent a few days in town, found a little underground gambling circle.

When I met Doug, I knew what I needed to do.

If we wanted a chance to find your mom again, I needed to make sure that Doug didn’t gamble his diner away.

It’s our only connection to her.” He reached forward and tapped the paper. “The diner is half ours.”

My emotions were on high alert now. I’d never spoken about Mom this much with Dad, and I’d never been this close to something that had been important to her. I was already emotionally raw from dropping off Gran. What Dad was saying was almost too much for me to process.

“What did Faith say? Bring something to Gran that’s from the time period she’s stuck in?” Dad leaned back and folded his arms. “What if that thing is…your mom.” The last two words were barely a whisper.

I stared hard at the contract as if it held answers to the questions I wasn’t sure I was ready to ask. Was my mom still alive? Did she frequent the diner? Could I find her? Would it help Gran?

So much pain was wrapped up in my past, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to face any of it.

But I didn’t have the time to process my feelings.

Every day Gran’s condition got worse. If I wanted a chance to see my grandmother again before she passed, I needed to do everything in my power to make it happen.

There was going to come a time when the window of opportunity would close. Forever.

“So, what am I supposed to do?”

The waitress delivered our food. Thankfully, she seemed to sense that she was interrupting an important conversation, so she didn’t linger. She dropped off our food, quickly checked that it matched our order, and then hurried off to help another table.

I was grateful for the reprieve. It gave me enough time to process everything Dad had told me. By the time my dinner was halfway consumed, I was ready to talk.

“What’s the town called?” I asked as I picked up my soda and took a drink.

“Harmony Island. It’s off the coast of North Carolina.”

I nodded as I committed it to memory. Then I wiped my hands on my napkin, folded the contract, and slid it into my back pocket. I returned to my plate and took another bite of my burger.

After I swallowed, I nodded. “I’ll head there tomorrow.”