“I know,” I replied when his voice trailed off.
“If anyone can get through to him, it’s you.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said, losing my appetite. “I think he’d prefer I wasn’t here at all.”
“If you weren’t here, he wouldn’t be either.”
My mouth fell. “Of course he would be.”
Liam yawned as he pushed his barely touched plate aside. “I’m tired, Max. Would you mind sending Mrs. Fredrich in with my pain relief?”
“Certainly,” he replied, disappearing out the door.
I stood and moved my plate to the side table. “Would you like some Reiki?” I asked, sensing his heightened pain.
“Save it for Adam. He needs it more than me tonight.”
With a tight smile, I moved away as Mrs. Fredrich entered to take his vitals. “I’ll let you rest, Liam. Thank you for the lovely dinner.”
“It’s always a pleasure with you, Cassidy.” His hazel eyes swirled with green. “I’ll see you at first light.”
Light poured out of Adam’s room as I made my way down the hall. I hovered in the hallway, between our doors, not knowing which way to turn. Left, to the safety of my bedroom, or right, into the devil’s lair, where Adam sat hunched over his desk, staring at his laptop.
His head rose but didn’t turn. “What is it, Cassidy?”
I jumped. “Oh, um… I was hoping we could talk.”
Adam’s shoulders lowered as he picked up a freshly poured whiskey and tipped it into his mouth. “You can come in,” he said, rotating his chair to face me. “I won’t bite.”
I stood motionless in the doorway. “Are you sure about that?”
“Probably not in the way you like.” He sniggered into his glass before taking another sip.
Exhaling my annoyance and the memory of his teeth grazing my most sensitive parts, I stepped inside. “Look, I know you’re angry with me…and rightfully so…but please don’t leave like that again. Liam really looks forward to your visits.”
“Just Liam?”
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. “And the rest of your family.”
His jaw twitched as his gaze challenged mine. “Was there anything else, Cassidy? I have work to do.”
“No.” I turned to leave before whirling back in a fluster. “I mean, yes. Would you like some Reiki?”
“Is that Gramps’ idea or yours?”
“His,” I said abruptly. “But you’re clearly not sleeping very well, and I can help with that.”
His brow lifted. “The same way you helped last time?”
“Argh, forget it.” I turned for the door.
“Does Gramps know you left your son to look after him?”
Anger tore through me as I spun around. “You make it sound like I abandoned him!”
“Well, didn’t you?” Adam folded his arms.
“He’s with my dad!”