All It Takes (Romancing Manhattan 2)

At the end of the day, I get paid the same, whether my client is the rightful owner or not.

“Ew.” She makes a face and holds a piece of paper up between her finger and thumb. “I think there’s a dead roach on this.”

“What is it?”

“A memo that has nothing to do with our case.”

“Just throw it away then.”

She stares at me like I just suggested she burn the house down.

“I can’t throw anything away.”

“It has a dead roach on it, Sienna. Throw it away.”

She frowns and takes the paper into the kitchen to toss it, just as my phone rings again.

“Hey, Gabs.”

“Uncle Quinn.” She’s crying, and my whole body is instantly on high alert. “I think you should come to Grandma’s house.”

“What’s going on, baby?”

“I tried to call Daddy, but he didn’t answer.”

“It’s okay, what’s wrong? Is Grandma okay?”

Sienna’s already grabbing her purse and keys, watching me with wide blue eyes.

“She’s not hurt,” Gabby says, sniffling. “But she’s acting weird. She keeps calling me Darcy. Why does she think I’m Mom?”

I rub my hand down my face. “I don’t know, baby. It’s just a mistake. You do look a lot like your mama.”

“No, she’s confused when I tell her she said the wrong name. It’s scaring me.”

“Okay, I’m on my way over right now. It’ll take about a half hour for me to get there. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, she’s watching TV now and I went to my room.”

“I’ll be there very soon, Gabs. Don’t worry.”

I hang up and Sienna’s ready to leave with me, which makes me pause.

“You don’t have to come with me.”

“Uh, yeah I do. I’m not going to let you go alone. You’re worried, and if you need something, I’ll be with you.”

I frown, but before I can say anything, she takes my hand in hers.

“Hey, let’s go. It’s going to be okay.”

I nod and lead her out to my car and hurry toward my mom’s place.

“She’s been acting weird lately,” I say as I shift gears and change lanes. “Last week, she called me Finn. She said my father had called, and he’s been dead for five years.”

Sienna lays her hand on my thigh. “Take a deep breath, Quinn. Seriously, you can’t do anyone any good if we don’t get there in one piece.”

I look down at the speedometer and cringe, easing off the gas.

“Sorry, it’s a habit.”

“It’s okay. There has to be an explanation for your mom’s confusion.”

“Alzheimer’s,” I reply grimly.

“You don’t know that. It could be a lot of things.”

“One thing I do know is, she shouldn’t be taking Gabby to Hawaii on her own. No way.”

“Let’s deal with what’s happening today before you take on the next month of activities. I’m not saying this isn’t serious, because it certainly is, but there could be several explanations.”

I nod and take a deep breath. I feel better having Sienna with me. I would normally have already called an ambulance to come get her, and my anxiety would be through the roof. I am worried, but I’m not freaking out.

“Thanks for coming with me.”

“Of course.”

We make it to Mom’s house in twenty-five minutes. We walk inside without knocking, and I find Mom watching TV in the living room, with Gabby sitting at the kitchen table, looking at her phone.

“What are you doing here?” Mom asks.

“Well, we thought we’d come by because Gabby called and said you were a little confused today,” I reply as I sit next to Mom. She frowns and glances over at Gabby.

“I’m not confused, Darcy.”

Sienna and I exchange looks, and Gabby immediately breaks down in tears.

“Gabby, why don’t you and I go into the kitchen and let Quinn and your grandmother talk?”

Gabby leads Sienna out of the room, and I turn the TV off, getting Mom’s attention.

“What in the world is everyone fretting over?”

“You called her Darcy,” I reply and take Mom’s hand in mine. “It upset her, Mom.”

“I’m sure I didn’t do that, Finn.”

“Quinn.”

She frowns at me.

“That’s what I said.”

“No, you called me Finn. Mom, this confusion is getting worse, and I think you should see your doctor about it. Monday.”

“I have an appointment on Monday,” she says with a sigh. “I’ll tell him about it.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, because you make a big deal out of nothing at all, and I’m a grown woman. I can go to the doctor without a chaperone.”

“This is serious, Mom. Gabby was crying because you scared her. And you’re scaring me.”

She cups my cheek. “Oh, my sweet boy. You don’t need to worry so much. I’ll be just fine. Now, I’ll write it down that I need to talk to the doctor about this at my appointment on Thursday.”

“Monday,” I correct her, and she nods.

“That’s right, Monday.”

“I’ll try to get some time off on Monday so I can take Mom to the doctor. I don’t trust that she’ll remember to talk to him about this, and it’s clearly getting much worse.”