him not to when he spent so much time with Danny and Jesse, my brother. Danny’s grandma Mable considered him another son and he never said he was sorry or sent her food or flowers or anything.”
When the first plate is warmed, he switches it out for the second one before even saying a word. “Can you really fault him for that, Piper? People take death in different ways.”
Is he really taking Carter’s side? “You’re not wrong, but it’s still messed up. He could have done something, sent anything, to know he was thinking of Mable.”
“Mable or you?”
I blink.
Easton puts the plate of warm food on the counter in front of me. “Has Mable ever brought it up? Said she was upset with this guy?”
“Well…” No, she hasn’t. But Mable was never good at any type of confrontation. Sometimes I worried about people walking all over her because she was too nice. Then again, she never let people get away with too much if it meant enough to her.
He grabs me a fork. “Seems like you’re being hard on him for no reason. I’m sure it sucked for you, but did he really do anything warranting a grudge?”
I play with my food. “Maybe.”
He makes a noise but says nothing else. Instead, he grabs the second plate from the microwave and moves the stool over to where mine is.
“Ainsley,” I call, giving him a grateful smile. He just tips his head and puts the rest of the casserole away. “Come get some dinner.”
She comes in and looks at East before seeing the food next to me. Climbing onto the stool, she plops down and picks up the fork.
Before East can walk out, I stop him. “I know you’re right about everything. But Danny meant a lot to me and he deserved better.”
His jaw ticks, but he nods before walking out of the room. I listen to his footsteps creaking up the stairs, then his door open and close.
Turning to Ainsley, I nudge her arm. “Eat up, please. I want to go over the alphabet and spelling words with you after dinner and then you can play more.”
She makes a face.
I roll my eyes. “Don’t pout. Your teacher said you’re doing well with your alphabet, so it’s just getting used to using them in words. She said one of the projects involves coloring.”
Ainsley pierces a piece of chicken, bringing it to her lips. Sometimes it’s hard to hold back my frown when she shuts down. I want to know how she likes school, what she’s learning, instead of hearing about her performance from her teacher.
But I know I can’t force her to talk.
“Hey, Ains?”
She looks up at me through her thick lashes—the same ones she got from her father. I always envied those.
“I love you. You know that, right?”
Her lips tilt up as she nods.
“Good.”
Her hand reaches out and taps mine.
It’s her way of saying I love you, too.
Chapter Seven
After signing in at the registration desk and being greeted by the same speckled-haired nurses who usually works when I stop by Sunny Acres Nursing Home, I turn and note the empty waiting room. My lips twitch as I take a seat close to the doors leading back to the patient’s rooms, wondering where everyone else’s families are. Do they not get visitors?
When my name is called by Glenda, a sweet dark-skinned woman who typically fills me in on everything Mable related, I stand and give her a light hug. “No Ainsley today?”
I shrug loosely. “I wasn’t sure if Mable would be up for it. It was kind of a spontaneous decision to pop in, and when I called on my way here…”
She nods in understanding, a strand of black hair falling from the updo it’s in. “She’s been okay this week—lucid. In fact, she was just asking about you two this morning.”
That puts a smile on my face. We walk back, past familiar rooms full of other elderly residents until I make it to Mable’s in the far corner. Sometimes we hang out in the common room, but most times we just chat in hers where it’s quieter.
As soon as we walk in, Mable’s eyes brighten. “Piper, my dear!” My heart squeezes when she stands and wraps me in her thin arms. I want to hug her tightly but I’m always afraid this woman, the one who’s always known how I felt about her grandson, would break. “I missed you. Where’s our favorite little one?”