“I wish she’d told me.”
She kind of wished Penny had told him as well, because she could see how it was eating at him that he hadn’t known she was so ill.
“Come on.” She tugged on his hand. “Let’s get this taken care of and then I’ll get you home.”
Once all the paperwork was done, and staff that had looked after his grandmother had been by to give their condolences, she led him out to the rental car. Now the tricky part. She didn’t think he should be driving; he’d barely spoken in the last hour. And while she could drive, she didn’t actually have a license.
She bit her lip. He wouldn’t be pleased if he knew. But it was her turn to take care of him so she’d be making the decisions. Nervousness strummed inside her but she knew it was the right thing to do.
“Give me the key, Macca,” she said quietly as they reached the car.
“What?” He stared down at her.
“The keys, honey,” she said gently. The endearment just rolled off her tongue but it felt right.
He blinked then handed them over without argument. Yet another sign that he wasn’t up to taking care of himself right now. He was the type of guy that liked to be in control, including doing the driving. But he relinquished that control without a murmur.
She got him situated in the passenger seat, and grabbing the seat belt, she leaned over him to put it in. But he was so large that she lost her footing and fell against him.
“Oh shit, sorry.”
“Gigi? What are you doing?”
She stood up, blushing. She pushed her dark hair back behind her ears. “Sorry, I was trying to put your seat belt on but I slipped.”
He gave her a strange look. “I can do that.”
“Sure.” Flustered, she closed the door and moved around to the driver’s seat. She adjusted the seat and checked the mirrors. Slow and steady, Gigi. Don’t do anything to bring attention to yourself.
“You okay?” he asked her.
All right, she didn’t want him asking too many questions. Get yourself together, Gigi. She smiled at him. “Just been a while since I drove. I’m fine.”
She started up the car and carefully backed out of the spot. She might have taken a bit longer to get out than he would have, but he didn’t comment. They drove home in silence and when they parked the car, he just sat there, staring up at the beautiful house. She wondered what would happen to it now. She guessed it would get sold. That thought made her heart ache. Penny loved this old house.
“Come on,” she said to him gently. “I’ll make you some dinner.”
“I’m not hungry,” he told her. But he followed her out of the car and up to the house. He moved out towards the back porch and she hastily made them some cheese toasties. It wasn’t much, but he didn’t seem like he was hungry and neither was she if she was honest.
She put the plate of toasties on the outdoor table along with a pitcher of apple juice. Macca was standing at the edge of the porch, looking at the ocean glistening below.
“Honey, dinner is ready.”
“I’m not hungry.”
She bit her lip. She had no idea how to get him to sit and eat. He wouldn’t let her get away without eating if their roles were reversed. It was up to her to help him now.
She walked over to stand next to him. “Such a beautiful view.”
“I’ve missed it being away all these years,” he admitted.
“Please come sit. Try to eat. I made cheese toasties.”
“Cheese toasties?” He looked confused for a moment then his gaze cleared. “Grilled cheese. Been a while since I’ve heard them called toasties.”
She managed to tug him over to the table and got him to sit. She picked up one half of the toastie and blew on it before putting it on his plate.
“What did you just do?”