lungs and eyed the older man. “Look, Grandpa. You know I love and respect you, and I understand my leaving took its toll on you. But you’re the one who always encouraged me to follow my dreams. I did, and that’s ended.”
“Get kicked off the Tour for fighting again?”
He dropped his head at the well-deserved accusation and to painful knives of grief. “No. I made this choice myself. I did a lot of soul-searching while I was away from Crossroads. I found somethin’ I’m good at besides ridin’ bulls.”
He cocked a gray brow. “What’s that?”
He ran his fingers over the denim on his thigh. “You’re not gonna believe it, but I got to be friends with one of the chefs on the Tour. He taught me a lot about food, but I discovered that I have a talent for barbecue.”
“Oh? You bring any samples with ya?”
He chuckled. “Not today. But that’s why I’m back in Crossroads—to start up my own place.” A thousand miles of soul-searching on his drive here had given him that goal at least, even if he was clueless about how else to live his life.
“Crossroad’s already got a barbecue place.”
Nodding, he thought again about his choice. “That’s true, but mine would be different. They mostly sell chicken. I can do brisket and pulled pork and ribs.”
Grandpa sat back in his chair and folded his hands. “You’re serious, son?”
“I am. I thought about it a lot and from every angle. I didn’t spend much o’ my prize money, and I plan to sink it into the investment.”
“I hope you’re taking investors, because I want in.”
Leaning forward, he examined his grandpa for signs of lucidity. Mostly he was fine, but sometimes his mind slipped. Those times he couldn’t be trusted with driving or cooking or any number of homeowner issues that could end in catastrophe.
Right now, he saw nothing but the sharp wit in the man’s dark brown eyes, so much like his own and his father’s too.
“You’re serious, Grandpa?”
“If it means I get free ribs, then hell yeah, I’ll write you a check.”
Dom laughed and then he couldn’t resist anymore. He reached out and squeezed his grandpa’s hand. The bones still felt strong and solid under his, and he was glad of it. He was more than relieved to find that he hadn’t deteriorated so much in Dom’s absence.
“So you plan on stickin’ around Crossroads? You won me back easy enough, but I’m not so sure that pretty little nurse of yours will be the same.”
He removed his hand from his grandpa’s and looked down at his fingers. “I don’t expect she waited around for me.”
“She didn’t. She doesn’t work here anymore.”
Dom bolted up in his chair. “What?”
“She left over a month ago.”
All this time he really hadn’t expected Jada to hang around pining for his return, but hearing she gave up the work she loved? The hole in Dom’s chest carved out a little more, leaving him feeling hollow and empty.
He’d never stop in to visit Grandpa and run into the beautiful and witty blonde who captured his attention from day one. No wonder Grandpa appeared so sad too—with two people he relied on for company gone, he wouldn’t have known the same quality of life.
“I’m so sorry, Grandpa. For all of it.”
“You said yourself you had to go off and try. You did and now you’re back, and I won’t say I’m sorry to see your face.”
Dom shot him a crooked grin. “Glad to hear it.”
“I like the idea of you going into business for yourself. Always did try to talk you into the business end of a rodeo instead of the bulls. But you’re like any young man out to blaze his own path.”
That much was true. He shifted to his feet. “What do ya say about going down to the cafeteria and we’ll try to find something besides chicken.”
“I’m in. Unless it’s their meatloaf. Poor-ass substitute for my Ellen’s…” He stood and shuffled toward the door with all the energy Dom had always seen from him. He hoped that going forward, he could make up for some lost time with his grandfather, at least.
Jada was another story.
Was she okay? What would prompt her to leave the nursing home? She told him once that she couldn’t picture herself doing anything else, and yet she’d left. He’d love to drive to her house and sit down together like old times, talking and sharing dreams and passions about life.
He gave all that up when he left