Loyalty Card

“This place has what, three bathrooms?”

“Yeah. So?”

“So any place with more than one bathroom is rich.” She leans over and swipes the pink tampon box up. “Speaking of the bathroom, where is it?”

I point my finger down the hall. Gran waits until we hear the door close before leaning over. “Maybe it’s not so smart to be hooking up with a girl until you have everything settled back home. What if she discovers you know what?”

“It’ll be fine.” But a rock settles in my gut. What if my uncle did find us? Would Birdie be in danger? I surge to my feet. “I’ll get dinner ready.”

“Just think about it,” Gran calls after me.

There’s no point in thinking about it. I’m not going to stop pursuing Birdie. She’s the one. I just need to figure out the best way to get rid of my uncle, take back my company, and secure a future for my family. Easy, right? I curl my fingers into a fist, stare at the drywall for a long minute and then force myself to relax. It will be easy–as soon as I find the answers.

Chapter Eight

Birdie

What if she discovers you know what? Gran’s words bounce around in my head. Their house might be big but the walls are paper thin. What did that mean? I keep running her words over in my head, trying to figure out what they could be hiding. My eyes go to his hand as he dishes out my food for me. No ring, nor a mark of one, so he’s not married. I don’t see any pictures of kids around so I don’t think he has a child. This is going to drive me crazy.

“He made this all by himself,” Gran chimes in, breaking me from my internal mystery solving. I’m quickly learning that she has a wicked sense of humor. She enjoys playing around with her grandson but I know she’ll lie for him, too. It’s clear that these two are thick as thieves and loyal to one another.

I should leave. Well, I should have never come here to begin with. I’m not sure why I did, but just like I got into the truck and drove over here, I find myself picking up the fork and bringing a bite of stuffed shell to my mouth. I let out a small moan. This is wonderful. I don’t care who cooked it.

“He can clean too.” I give her a look. She cracks a smile that makes me smile back at her. Damn it. This old lady sure knows all the key points in persuading someone to date her grandson.

“Does he have a name?” I try again. Wait. Maybe there’s a reason he won’t give me his name. At first I thought he was joking around but maybe there is something more to it. What if they are in the witness protection program? Maybe they are on the run from the law. My mind immediately jumps to ten different scenarios.

“Nick,” he gives as he dishes out his grandmother a few of the shells next. He gives me a wink. “You want it on your TV tray?” he asks her. His name rolls off his tongue easily, letting me know that he’s telling the truth.

“This your way of telling me to get lost?” she throws back at him, making me laugh around the food that’s in my mouth.

“Never,” he says as he picks her plate up for her.

“Liar,” she mumbles as she stands. She shoots me a wink that is just like Nick’s. Both of them are adorable. Her words come back to me again as I watch Nick set her up in the living room to watch her show. He stops to kiss her on the top of the head. She reaches out and gives his arm a squeeze. Okay, maybe he’s not a serial killer but he is up to something. Why else would she have said that? He’d brushed off her words but she’d made sure she said them anyway. I think Gran is the type that will always push back. She doesn’t look like one that ever holds her tongue.

When I’d come out of the bathroom, both pretended everything was okay. I guess we were all a bunch of fakers because I’m not even on my period. I used that as an excuse to get away for a minute and collect my thoughts. I bought the tampons because they were on sale. I think I’ve gone temporarily insane. I’m not even sure why I’m here. I take another bite of my dinner because as long as I am here, I might as well finish this delicious meal. Nick comes back to the table after he gets his gran settled.

“You like it?” He smirks as he sits down. Probably noticing that the majority of my shells are missing.