Page 21 of Honey Bee Library (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #7)

When he didn’t answer right away, I peeked over at him.

His hand was wrapped around the steering wheel as he stared at the road, his jaw muscles tight.

Just when I’d resigned myself to thinking that I’d royally screwed up everything, he glanced over at me once more.

“You want to know?” His expression was daring as he stared at me.

Part of me wanted to shake my head and tell him no.

I feared what getting to know him would do to me.

When I thought Cole was just some rich guy coming in to take over my diner, I could hate him.

But if there was more to him? A depth that explained why he’d suddenly appeared and turned my life on its head?

I was certain I wouldn’t be able to come back from that.

I was getting in deeper than I wanted, especially when I knew the inevitable outcome of all of this was Cole walking away from Harmony…forever.

But the words didn’t come. Instead, I just nodded and whispered, “Okay.”

He held my gaze before he nodded and flipped on his blinker. After a quick stop at a drive-through to get me a hamburger, we got back on the highway. The car was quiet while Cole drove about twenty minutes down the road. He slowed as he took a left into the parking lot of a large building.

Affixed to the side of it was a sign that read, Seabreeze Memory Lodge . Confused, I glanced over at him, but he didn’t look at me. Instead, he parked and turned off the engine. I unbuckled but paused when Cole didn’t move to get out. We sat in silence for a moment before he turned to face me.

“Come with me?” he whispered.

I nodded. “Okay.” Then I glanced back at Jasper. “What about?—”

“He can come, too.”

I motioned for Jasper to get out of Cole’s car, and thankfully, he didn’t protest. I gathered my drink cup and empty to-go bag before I pulled open the passenger door and climbed out.

Jasper and I stayed a pace behind Cole as he walked across the parking lot and through the sliding doors that led inside.

We waited while Cole spoke to the receptionist, who smiled at me after Cole signed us in. I gave her a soft smile as Cole waved for us to follow him. We headed down the hallway to the left and then stopped as Cole lingered outside the last door.

I wasn’t sure how long we stood there. I could tell that Cole was struggling, but I didn’t know who we were here to see or why.

So I just held onto Jasper, who was starting to get antsy from waiting.

Cole finally reached out and rested his hand on the doorknob.

Just when I thought he was going to turn it, the door suddenly opened from the inside.

Startled, Cole stepped back, so Jasper and I did as well. A nurse was exiting the room and didn’t see us until she had stepped out, pulling the door shut behind her.

“Whoa,” she said, her eyes as wide as saucers. “Are you here to see Georgianna?”

Cole nodded.

The nurse glanced between me and Cole. “We just got her settled. She’s ready when you are.”

When Cole didn’t say anything, she turned her attention to me. She looked expectant, so I just smiled and said, “Thank you.”

That seemed to appease her. She nodded and brought the clipboard she was carrying up to rest at her side before she hurried down the hallway.

Now alone, I glanced over at Cole, who was staring at the door again.

Thankfully, he didn’t linger long. We only waited for a few seconds before he turned the doorknob and pushed open the door.

The room was dark. The sun peeking through the cracks in the drawn shades was the only light in the room.

I kept Jasper’s back pressed to me in an effort to keep him from sprinting off as we followed Cole deeper into the room.

A frail, elderly woman lay on a bed with her eyes closed.

Her face was bruised, and her arm was wrapped in a sling at her chest. I heard Cole suck in his breath, and when I glanced over, my heart ached at the pain etched on his face.

“Gran,” he whispered as he approached the bed. His hand found hers and he held onto it.

She must have heard him because her eyes fluttered open. The glassy look she gave him reminded me of Harold’s grandmother when she was suffering from dementia. “Leonard?” she asked as she tried to sit up straighter in the bed. But with one bandaged arm, she couldn’t quite get the right leverage.

“Gran, Gran.” Cole leaned forward and wrapped his hands around her shoulders. “It’s me, Cole.”

I was starting to put the pieces together. This woman obviously had a form of dementia and thought that Cole was someone else.

“No, no, you’re Leonard,” she said as she shook her head, but stopped fighting him to sit up.

A defeated expression passed over Cole’s face as he nodded. “You’re right, I’m Leonard,” he whispered.

Jasper started wiggling next to me, so I slipped my phone out of my purse and put on a cartoon for him to watch. He snatched my phone from my hand and hurried over to the armchair in the corner. With him now preoccupied, I moved to lean against the wall while Cole talked to his grandmother.

She was muttering and struggling to keep her thoughts together. I could tell that she knew she loved the man who was sitting on the edge of the bed, but she was struggling to remember what kind of love that was.

Cole was amazing with her. He didn’t try to keep her on topic, he allowed the conversation to ebb and flow as she spoke. No wonder Cole was so good with Jasper. He had experience so close to home.

I straightened and shifted my weight, and that movement seemed to garner his grandmother’s attention. Her gaze slipped from Cole to me, and a light of recognition passed through her gaze.

“Bethany?” she whispered, emotions permeating her words.

I blinked, not sure what to do. I pushed off the wall and looked at Cole, who was now watching me.

“That’s not Bethany, Gran. That’s my…friend. Willow.”

Georgianna’s eyes were wide as she glanced over at Cole. I could see her attempt to process what he’d just said. “That’s Bethany,” she repeated as she lifted her small, frail hand to point at me.

“That’s Willow, my friend.”

Not wanting to upset his grandmother, I crossed the space between us, and wrapped her hand between mine. From the few interactions I’d had with Harold’s grandmother, I knew it was best to just go along with them instead of trying to correct.

“Hi, Georgianna,” I said, keeping my voice low and smooth. “It’s been so long.” I offered her a soft smile.

Her gaze was trained on me as I waited for her to respond. Then, slowly, her panicked expression softened as she sunk back into her pillows. “Why haven’t you come to see me?” A tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I didn’t know who Bethany was, but she wasn’t a good person if she was abandoning Georgianna like that. “I’m here now,” I said.

She studied me, her hand squeezing mine every few seconds.

“How’s my grandson?” she asked as she stared straight ahead.

“Cole?” Was that who she was talking about?

“Cole,” she whispered.

I glanced over my shoulder to see that Cole had his hands shoved into the front pockets of his pants. His jaw was tight and his eyebrows were drawn together as he stared at his grandmother. She didn’t know who he was. My heart ached for him.

“Cole is good,” I said, turning my gaze back to her. “He loves you and wishes he could be here.” I squeezed her hand.

She closed her eyes. “He’s such a good boy. I miss him so much.”

I glanced back at Cole once more, knowing that the next few words were probably the truest words I had spoken to date. “He misses you, too.”

Georgianna didn’t open her eyes again. After a few minutes of just sitting there in silence, her heavy breaths filled the air and I knew she was done for now. I slowly slipped my hand out of hers and stood, not sure what to say or where to look.

Cole was staring at his grandmother as I approached him. I wanted to show my support but wasn’t sure how, so I settled on resting my fingers on his forearm.

“It’s probably best if we leave her to sleep,” I whispered.

Cole snapped his gaze over to me. It took a moment for him to register that I’d spoken.

“We should probably let her sleep,” I repeated now that I had his full attention.

“Okay,” he whispered.

I dropped my hand and walked over to Jasper. He started to complain, but I told him he could keep watching if he stayed quiet, and that seemed acceptable enough. He twisted his body so his feet could drop to the floor and then stood and made his way out to the hall.

As I passed by Cole, who was still standing at the foot of his grandmother’s bed, he grabbed my hand in his. His long fingers wrapped around mine and he squeezed.

I didn’t pull my hand back. Instead, I shifted my fingers so they threaded through his. I let him linger for a moment longer, staring at his sleeping grandmother, before I glanced up at him.

“Ready?” I asked.

His gaze dipped down to meet mine. He studied me before he slowly nodded.

It wasn’t until we were in the car, driving away from the memory care unit that I broke the silence between us.

“Who is Bethany?” I asked.

Cole had his wrist resting on the steering wheel. He glanced over at me before returning his gaze to the road.

“My mom.”