Risky Rockstar: A Hero Club Novel, стр. 86
I smile my thanks to Keller and make my way up the path, wondering if the reason for him sticking around is that he doesn’t have much faith in me getting through to Kade.
“Hayley?” I turn to face Keller, shielding my eyes from the sun. “Thanks for what you did for Kade. You saved his ass—we all need to lick your feet for that one.”
I scrunch my nose. “I’ll settle for the ride.”
He laughs and I continue up the path. I open the door to the reception, and a lady with blonde hair cut in a bob and a kind smile looks up from her book. I see she’s reading After Always by Lindsay Becs.
“Hi there. Is it possible to see Marty Tennick?”
She smiles. “You know Marty?”
I decide to appeal to her romance girl. “I know his grandson. I heard he’s here. I’m actually kind of here to make a grand apology.”
Her smile widens. “Go straight down the hall, turn left at the end of the hallway. It’s the third door on your right.”
I head in the direction of Kade’s grandfather’s room, my palms sweaty from nerves. As I turn left per Lana’s directions, I hear the sound of glass shattering and a huge commotion. A lady using a walker jolts, and I reach out to steady her, before walking a few more feet to where the noise is coming from. The moment I see Kade, my chest constricts. God, he’s so perfect. He runs a hand through his disheveled hair and stares at the spaghetti sliding down the wall, his eyes troubled at the sauce making an ugly red stain on the wall and the floor. He hasn’t noticed me yet, so I take a few tentative steps inside the room.
“Kade?” He looks up, his brows pinched and eyes troubled.
“Hayley?”
Pops starts ranting and yelling about someone called Millicent; his hands fly to his dark hair and he starts tugging at the strands. Kade walks over to his grandfather, but Pops shoves his chest, roaring at him to stay back. He hurls insults at Kade while Kade tries desperately to reach out to him and offer some comfort.
“No!” Pops screams. “You took her from me. You took her away. I need you to get her back.”
“Pops, it’s me, Kade. Your grandson. No one took her from you. She—”
“Liar! They told you to say that. You always say that. Who the hell are you anyway? Get out! You need to get out!” Pops takes a step toward Kade, his finger jutting out accusingly. “What did you do to her?”
“Pops, please,” Kade pleads with his grandfather, and tears spring to my eyes at how Kade’s voice cracks with pain.
Pops puts his foot down on the spaghetti and slips, careening over to the side. Kade and I both leap forward at once, but I manage to reach him a millisecond before Kade does. My arms shoot out and wrap around Pops’ waist. He looks at me in surprise, fear and anger on his face seconds before a smile beams across his features. “There you are, Millicent. Where did you go? I thought they took you from me.”
Kade pinches his nose and pivots on his heels. Resting his hands on the window ledge, he hangs his head. “I…”
Shit, what do I do here?
“Did you go for a walk in the garden, my love? The Steller’s jays are back. Did you see that?”
I smile at him and decide to go with it. “I did. It’s so beautiful out there. Would you like to go for a walk with me, Marty?”
He offers me his elbow. “You know I could never say no to you.”
I look at Kade, mouthing, “Is it okay?” I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing here, but I figure getting him outside so they can clean his room might be a good thing, and if he thinks I’m Millicent, I should probably go for it.
He swallows down his emotion and nods his head so slightly I almost miss it.
I walk Kade’s grandfather out to the garden. There’s a beautiful koi pond with a wooden bridge stretching across it, and we sit on the nearby bench. I shoot a quick text to Keller to tell him I’m fine and he can go. I don’t know how long this is going to take, and I don’t want him waiting for me.
“Remember when Kade made that for us?” Pops looks at me, confused for a bit, and then back at the bridge. “Kade was supposed to come through today. I wonder what held him up?” I swallow the lump in my throat, thinking how hard it must be for Kade when his grandfather forgets who he is. I can’t imagine anything worse.
Marty points out the different birds feeding from the feeder. The whole time his arm is linked in mine, and occasionally he smiles at me and it’s so much like Kade’s smile it makes my heart ache. The longer we sit here, the calmer Marty becomes. Eventually, Kade and an orderly come out.
Marty looks up at Kade. “This kind young lady sat with me while I was looking at the birds. Where were you, son?”
Kade’s smile is a mix of relief and pain, and my throat aches from unshed emotion. This must be incredibly painful for Kade to see—his grandfather being all over the place. Marty looks at Kade, then me. Kade’s pain-filled smile pulls tighter as he looks at his grandfather. “I was helping Lana fix a hinge on her desk cupboard.”
Marty smiles at me. There’s so much pride in his eyes. “That’s my boy. Always helping everyone out. I forget, is today your first day here? I’ve never seen you around before.”
I smile shyly at Marty. “I’m just here visiting someone.”
Marty stands, and I stand with him. He pats my hand. “Well, I best