my attention at the mattress. I wanted a soft landing if I fell, and that’s what happened when I heard a voice. It was deep, gravelly, and full of annoyance.
A shot of terror coursed through me as I jerked my head, and that was when I finally landed with a thump, bouncing on the bed with enough force that the headboard rattled against the wall.
“What are you doing?” Grandpa poked his head inside my bedroom without knocking.
I was so glad to be on solid ground that I didn’t bother admonishing him. “I ... what?” I stammered as I blew my hair out of my eyes. I could only imagine how I looked.
“Are you hungover again?” His eyes were speculative as they looked me over.
“Of course not.” That seemed like the right answer, though it wasn’t really true. I was most definitely hungover. My throbbing head was proof of that. The weird dream — and it had to be a dream, because there was no other explanation — took precedence over everything else. “Why would you ask that?”
“You look like you’re hungover.”
I made a face and combed my fingers through my hair. “How would you know?”
“Please.” He rolled his eyes. “I’ve raised five children and ... however many grandchildren.”
I seized onto the only part of the statement that was likely to derail him. “You don’t know how many grandchildren you have?”
“Too many.” He pursed his lips. “Were you out with Hunter?”
I wanted to scream. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because you look ... different. You have a glow about you.”
That’s because I dreamt of floating over my bed and decided to do the dog paddle until I woke up. Relating that to him would probably only make me look worse.
“If you must know, I was with Sebastian Donovan last night. He walked me home.”
Grandpa continued to stare.
“Aren’t you going to give me grief for being out late with a man?” I challenged. “Where’s all the ‘Did you do something dirty’ talk now?”
He shook his head. “You can hang out with that man as late as you want. Nobody will give you grief about it.”
I frowned. “And why is that?”
“You know.”
I waited, expecting him to say something derogatory. When he didn’t, I looked at him in a new light. “Well, thank you for not saying anything nasty.”
“Why would I say something nasty?”
“You’re not known for holding your tongue on certain subjects.”
“Probably not,” he agreed. “That boy, though ... he’s been through enough. He’s harmless, and he’s always been a good customer. I think it’s good that you’re hanging around with him. It’s better than being alone.”
Grandfather could always take me by surprise, no matter how old I was. “Well ... great. I think we’ll be spending a lot of time together, so that will be good.”
“Uh-huh.” Grandpa shook his head and moved to the door. “Get up. You’re running late for work.”
That couldn’t be right. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand, cringing when I realized he was right. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I can be ready for work in fifteen minutes.”
“You should’ve been ready for work fifteen minutes ago,” he pointed out.
“I overslept.” In the annals of lame excuses, that was right at the top.
“You might not oversleep if you went to bed at a reasonable hour — and stopped drinking when you have to work the next day. I know you’re going through a lot and have yet to come to grips with the way your life trajectory has changed, but you have to get it together. I’m willing to help you, but you have to be willing to help yourself.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’ve got it. There’s no need to be a pain.”
“Then don’t be late for work again. That’s the one thing I can’t stand.”
I already knew that. Oddly enough, he was lax on most rules. He was a stickler about washing our hands after using the restroom and showing up on time, but other than that he was pretty easygoing.
“I’m sorry.” I meant it. “It won’t happen again. I just ... it was a weird night.”
Grandpa arched an eyebrow. “Hunter?”
I couldn’t swallow the growl that escaped. “Will you stop asking that? He’s not the be all and end all of my world.”
“If you say so.” Grandpa was blasé as he moved through the door. “You have twenty minutes.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Then you have to take breakfast to David. He’s running the gas station today.”
I frowned. “You know I hate the gas station. We agreed when I came to