Playing For Her Heart - Megan Erickson Page 0,48

his eyes and balled his hands on his knees. He wished Ethan would go to therapy or do something to help him deal with what happened. Instead the guy threw himself into work and generally avoided all human interaction.

If this continued, he was going to have to stage an intervention. He followed Ethan into the kitchen, realizing that calling Ethan an asshole wasn’t the way to go.

Ethan stood at the sink, staring out the back window with his arms crossed.

“I’m sorry I called you an asshole. And for other things that I’m sure I still owe you apologies for,” Grant said.

Ethan’s lips twitched. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. You didn’t deserve that.”

An apology from Ethan was not unheard of but still kinda rare. Grant took the olive branch. “It’s no problem, I was prodding.”

Ethan sighed and opened a kitchen drawer. He rummaged around for a couple of seconds and then pulled out a pad of paper. He scribbled on it and then handed it to Grant. “This is where my parents live.”

Grant frowned at it. “Why are you giving this to me?”

Ethan raised his eyebrows. “So you can go after Chloe.”

“Y-you think she wants me there?”

Ethan leaned on the counter. “It’s got to be hard for her there. And I’m sure she’s doing her very best to handle it. But there’s nothing wrong with showing up and telling her that you’re there for her. Sometimes my parents…aren’t so good with words. They think they’re saying the right thing but it’s really the exact wrong thing.” Ethan stared at his hand, braced on the counter. “I think maybe we all want to know that the person we care about cares just as much.”

Grant flicked the paper in his fingers. It was a three-hour drive, and he’d have to get a hotel room nearby. He didn’t want to assume he could stay at the Talley’s. “Can you watch Sydney overnight?”

“I’ll come over and sleep on your couch. Movie night or something.”

“Sydney would like that.”

“Great, now go pack and rescue my sister.”

Grant grinned.

Sydney’s eyes were huge.

Grant rarely talked about his dating life with his daughter, because he kept it separate from her. He hadn’t introduced a woman to her in years, and they both seemed okay with the arrangement.

But there was too much to this situation with Chloe. She was Ethan’s sister, and no matter what happened, Grant couldn’t deny that he cared about Chloe and always would, in one way or another.

So he’d come clean and told Sydney that he’d dated Chloe a few times. Sydney’s response was accurate. “Oh my God, Dad, does Ethan know? He’ll kill you!” Her voice was edging higher, her hands on either side of her cheeks like McCauley Caulkin in Home Alone.

He laughed as he pulled his duffel bag out of the back of his closet. “Yeah, he knows.”

She stared at it as he tossed it on the bed. “Where are you going?”

“Ethan’s coming over to watch you tonight,” he said, as he pulled a couple of T-shirts out of his drawer. “I’m heading out to try to convince Chloe that I’m a model boyfriend.”

Sydney’s less-than-hopeful expression was not comforting.

“What’s that look for? I can be very persuasive.”

His daughter bit her lip. “I don’t know. I get the impression Miss Talley can see through all your tricks.”

“I resent that you’re calling my charm tricks.”

Sydney flopped onto the bed. “I’m excited to hang out with Ethan. Movie night?”

“He mentioned that.”

“He’s less grumpy when it’s just him and me.”

Grant paused, and then he resumed packing. He’d noticed the way Ethan warmed up around his daughter, too. Did she remind him of Samantha? “He likes you a lot, Sydney.”

She popped up quickly. “Do I have time to make cookies for you to take to Chloe? Where are you going anyway?”

“I’m going to visit her at her parents’, and I’d love to take some of your cookies.”

Sydney clapped her hands together and ran out of the room. “I’ll bake fast!” she yelled over her shoulder.

Grant chuckled and continued to pack. Every once in a while, a wave of indecision would wash over him. Was he making the right choice to go after Chloe? Maybe Ethan was sending him to his doom on purpose? But no, that was mean and while Ethan was a reclusive bastard, he wasn’t a spiteful jerk.

And Grant liked the idea of reaching out to Chloe. He got that she needed to deal with her issues on her own; she’d already done an amazing job telling