Page 7 of Lovestrung

His presence made me hyperaware and I blinked when the sound of Gramps chuckling reached my ears, breaking me free of my trance. Looking at him sitting on a high chair at the kitchen island, his wheelchair next to him, was all I needed to remind me to become unstuck.

Quickly, I walked to his side and hugged him.

“Hey, Gramps.” I released my hold on him and leaned my hip against the island. “How was your day?”

“Ack, the same as usual.” He shrugged and then looked at Ethan manning the stove. “Ethan dropping by was the highlight of my day.”

I glanced briefly at Ethan, not allowing my eyes to linger at the way his black T-shirt stretched across his lean muscles.

“I didn’t know you were coming, Ethan,” I raised my voice when he poured something in the wok that made the oil sizzle and crackle.

“Thought it had been too long since I was last here.”

“It’s a long drive all the way from Blacksburg to have dinner,” I mused. I tilted my head, puzzled that he didn’t look at me, but shrugged it off when he didn’t say anything else.

“It’s good to see you,” I said instead before turning my attention back on Gramps. “I’ll go set the table for us.”

“I take it your date didn’t go so well since you’re home already?” he smirked.

I sighed and shook my head.

“Your assumption is correct, Gramps.”

He smiled at me and took my hand, squeezing it lightly.

“I’m glad you’re home.”

Loud snoring from the corner of the kitchen made me chuckle and I went to greet Bernie who was lying on his back – as usual – all four paws in the air, and I bent down to rub his belly.

“Looks like our evening walk will have to wait, hey, big boy?” I crooned when he sighed, tongue lolling out of his big mouth.

“Dinner will be ready soon,” Ethan said.

I craned my neck to look up at him from my crouched position. He looked down, a frown between his eyes that I couldn’t understand. I wanted to be brave enough to stand up, go to him, and erase the line with my thumb while joking that if he didn’t stop with the frowning, it’d be perpetually inked on his skin.

The old Pippa would’ve done that.

Now? Not exactly.

“Whatever you’re cooking smells delicious,” I answered softly and straightened up.

Leaving it at that, I quickly washed my hands at the sink next to him and then went about setting the table. As I walked between the kitchen and the dining room, I couldn’t help but hear the low frustration in Gramps’ voice grow whenever he asked Ethan a question and mostly got monosyllabic answers.

“Do you want me to help you down, Gramps?” I asked when I came back to the kitchen a last time.

Ethan was already next to Gramps, easing him into his wheelchair.

“No need. I’ve got him.”

My eyes lingered on his arms around Gramps’s shoulders, and I could literally feel the way my heart melted at the care he took with the patriarch of our family.

Stupid, traitorous heart.

“Thank you.”

Ethan just nodded and went back to the stove. Mesmerized, I watched him sprinkle some seasoning into the wok. Now that my initial shock at seeing him had worn off, I was starting to get a little annoyed at the fact that he still refused to look at me. How weird was that?

Stubborn, I refused to put up with it for much longer.