Nora held her daughter’s gaze. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing. This is my friend Alex. Can we please have some privacy, Mom?”
Alex looked surprised. “I thought you were related to Jane,” he said to Hailey.
“Nope. Jane’s my mom’s boss.”
“Ahhh.”
Nora could see his mind working overtime, hopefully telling him to stop while he was behind. “Who are you?” Nora asked.
Alex pointed a finger at his chest. “Me?”
“Yes. You.”
“I—um—I’m Alex.”
“I got that part. How do you know Hailey?”
Hailey rolled her eyes. “We go to the same school.”
“How old are you?”
Alex’s smile appeared mischievous. “Seventeen.”
She was tempted to ask for his ID. He wore a light-colored hoodie beneath a dark jacket along with dark jeans and black-and-white canvas high-top sneakers. She was about to ask him where he lived when Hailey stopped her.
“Really, Mom?” Hailey asked. “We’re going to do the whole interrogation thing? Aren’t you hosting a party?”
Nora fought the urge to ground her daughter for being mouthy. “Hailey,” she said in a carefully controlled voice, “if Alex wants to stay, you’re both going to have to join the party.”
“You’re serious?”
“Perfectly. Don’t push me.” Nora made sure to leave the door wide open before she headed back to the party. The tension in her neck and shoulders made every muscle tight and achy. Hailey had said they were friends, and she hoped that was true, because she wasn’t ready for Hailey to bring home boys, especially boys with facial hair, tattoos, and mischievous smiles that said they’d been there, done that.
CHAPTER TEN
Nora sat in the driver’s seat of her Jeep Wagoneer. Tank was asleep in the back, and Trevor sat quietly in the passenger seat next to her. It was the day after the barbecue, and Nora thought it would be a good time to visit her parents. Yesterday’s get-together should have been a fun, relaxing day, but it had been exhausting. Nora hadn’t had a chance to talk to Hailey about her new friend Alex, since Hailey had been asleep when they left this morning. She didn’t believe the whole friend thing, and Alex didn’t seem like Hailey’s type. Once again, David had told Nora to relax. Hailey would be sixteen soon; starting to get interested in dating was part of the deal.
Nora’s thoughts drifted to her parents. Only a year ago, Mom and Dad had visited once a week. They enjoyed seeing the kids and liked to stay up-to-date with what they were doing. But other than Nora and David’s recent double-date night, Mom and Dad hardly ever made the hour and a half drive from their home anymore. Dad’s dementia, although still considered early stage, made traveling difficult, since he fatigued easily and was often overwhelmed by everyday activities.
Her parents lived in Whispering Pines, a small town, in a two-story house they had inherited from Nora’s grandparents. The house needed some work, but even as a fixer-upper, it was picturesque, set on a bluff overlooking a shimmering lake that extended more than a mile and a half. When Nora was a little girl, Dad used to take her to the house to see her grandparents. She and Dad would enjoy long rides on the pontoon, where they would fish from the deck while eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Nora recalled Dad talking about retiring at the lake house someday, but Mom used to argue she would never live there because it was too remote, too big, and too much work. When Nora was seventeen, a tragic accident changed everything—an event their family never talked about. The accident, followed by an economic downturn, forced her parents to sell everything they owned and move into her grandparents’ house. Her parents had lived in Whispering Pines ever since.
“Grandpa isn’t doing too well, is he?”
Nora thought about how her parents had always tried to protect her from every bad thing that happened in their lives. She didn’t want to do that to her kids. “He has dementia. I was going to tell you and your sister soon. It’s in the early stages.” Since Trevor’s near drowning, he’d worried about every little thing: afraid a skin rash might be some sort of rare disease, anxious about Tank’s whereabouts, and always making sure all the doors in the house were locked before he went to bed.
“He forgot my name last time I saw him.”
“What?” That surprised Nora, since her dad always called the kids by their correct names. The thought he might not recognize family members pointed at the possibility that his dementia was much more severe than she’d thought.
“Grandpa forgot who I was,” Trevor said.
“Are you sure?” Nora kept her gaze on the road as Trevor told her what had happened.
“The last time he was at the house, we were outside with Tank, and he told me not to worry about the accident. He said the doctors and nurses were doing everything they could. When I asked him what he was talking about, he said, ‘I’m sorry, Lucas, but I don’t want to talk about this anymore.’”
A cold chill washed over her. Hearing the name Lucas felt like a punch to the gut. It had been so long since anyone had said his name. Nora had still been in high school when her mom pulled Nora aside and told her it was best if they never mentioned Lucas again, since it only upset Dad.
“He was freaking me out,” Trevor went on. “I asked him who Lucas was, and he looked me in the eyes without blinking, and it made me feel as if he was looking right through me. Before I could run into the house to find Grandma, he snapped out of it and started asking me questions about school and stuff. I couldn’t believe it. When I asked him what my name was, he laughed and told me it wasn’t nice to make fun of my old grandpa.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know.” There was a long hesitation before he said, “You’ve been busy with your new job. I hardly ever see you anymore.”
Nora was stunned. And yet, she knew he was right. Her new job, and Jane in particular, had been keeping her busy. Not only at work but after work, too. Bringing in business and providing leadership was proving to be difficult when it seemed she was either in a meeting, having lunch with Jane, managing employees who worked directly under her, or staying late to chip away at her growing workload. Jane would still be pushing spa days on her, too, if Nora hadn’t put her foot down. She made sure Jane knew she appreciated the sentiment, but a day at the spa took away precious time with her family.
“I’m sorry,” Nora said. “I have been busy, but that’s no excuse. I want you to be able to talk to me . . . about anything.”
“It’s okay, Mom. It’s not that big of a deal. I’m fine.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him. All these days later, he’d brought it up, which meant he’d been thinking about it. “We have some time before we get to Whispering Pines. Why don’t you tell me what’s been going on in the life of Trevor Michael Harmon? How is school these days? Do you like your teachers? Are you still crushing on Tina?”
“No!” he said, as if she’d asked him to dip his hand in hot oil.