She smiled demurely, then shoved another oversized chunk of muffin in her mouth until her cheeks bulged.
“Thank fuck,” Greyson said, jogging into the room and reaching for Molly.
“That’s a naughty word, Daddy,” Molly said.
“You can tell your mom on me later. Where did you go?” He knelt down, taking her face in both his hands and checking her over for obvious injuries.
Molly seemed completely unfazed by this whole ordeal. She just popped another bite of muffin in her mouth, then pointed at me. “Miss Harper made me a muffin.”
Greyson stared at her. “Miss Harper lives across the street, Molly. You know better. You never go near the road without me.”
“I can run faster than the cars drive here, Daddy. I already tried it. It’s not scary, really.”
Zack came from the stairs with Billy at his side. “You got her? Where was she?”
“Sorry,” I said. “I promise I didn’t put her up to this. Unless feeding her baked goods in the first place counts.”
“Sorry for the bother,” Greyson said, but he was hardly looking at me. He was still looking over Molly as if he expected to find a missing limb at any moment.
“Well,” I said. “Maybe I’ll see you guys tomorrow at the Night of Lights?”
I wasn’t sure if he heard me, so I made an awkward, small sound and let myself out.
When I was crossing the road back to my place, I realized I was very much hoping to see Greyson tomorrow night. And why did I have such a strong urge to watch him eat one of my cupcakes?
I stopped outside my building and swallowed hard. The image of him biting into my cupcake wouldn’t leave my brain. I even saw a little spot of white frosting on his lower lip and imagined reaching up to flirtatiously wipe it away with–
No. Nope. I shook my head and yanked the door open. I definitely didn’t imagine him licking the frosting from my finger as I climbed the stairs. I absolutely didn’t hear the imaginary version of him tell me I was the greatest cook he’d ever laid eyes on.
I sighed. Right then and there, I needed to get this under control.
I closed my eyes and made a solemn vow to myself. I would not fall for the guy who was only in town for three months. That story only ended one way, and it definitely wasn’t the sort that began with “Once Upon a Time.”
7
GREYSON
I hated the way hospitals smelled. I lingered in the lobby, knowing the smell would only become more distinct the deeper I went. Zack was at my side and the kids were back at the inn with his lone employee, Crystal. He swore she was responsible, even if she was a pain in his ass.
Fairhope didn’t have a fully equipped hospital, so Grandpa was being treated at Colorado General, which was almost an hour’s drive from town.
Zack gave me a significant look, then squeezed my shoulder. “You good?”
“I’m fine,” I said, but my voice sounded wooden. I pushed down the flood of unpleasant memories that the smell dredged up and walked deeper. We told the woman at the desk who we were here to see and rode an elevator up to his floor.
Last time I’d seen our grandpa, he was portly, smiling, and bustling around his inn to get coffee for everybody who came through the door. So it was a shock to find him lying on the hospital bed looking gaunt and so tired.
He didn’t see us at first, and when he noticed us, he seemed to force some of his usual cheer into his features.
“My boys!” he laughed. Even his voice sounded more like a shadow of its normal self. His words brought on a fit of coughing, and each racking cough felt like it punched me straight in the heart.
I smiled, though. “Hey gramps. Zack told me I should come see you before you kick the bucket.” I tried my best to keep my voice light, even if my chest felt like it was caving in to see him like this.
He lifted his arm to look at the wires and tubes taped there. “You wish. They’ve got me wired up like the bionic man. I’m not dying, just getting stronger.” He stifled a few coughs that didn’t sound quite as painful as the first round.
“How long till they let you out of here?”
“Any day now,” he said lightly, but the nurse had come in to check his chart as we were speaking.
She glared at him.
He held his palms up in response, grinning. “Two weeks. Maybe three,” he said. “They’ve got me loaded with meds to get this infection out of my lungs. Guess I caught a nasty bout of it this time, but I’ll be good before long.”
“Greyson already met Harper,” Zack cut in, as if wanting to change the subject.