Page 88 of Kiss the Girl

THIRTEEN

For two days, things had been sad and, oddly, happy at the same time.

And it was confusing the hell out of her.

Georgia Bishop had created a visitation schedule that shouldn’t have worked. After all, it was the middle of the week and people were coming all day long when they’d normally be at their jobs. With every new group of people who showed up, Savannah had to wonder what they all did for a living that they would take time out of their day to come and see a relative who had basically shunned them all years ago.

And while they were all there, no one talked about his absence from their lives or anything negative about the time he’d been gone. Instead, they shared memories or told Cash about some of their big life events. Everyone brought photo albums, music played in the hospital room, and there was a constant abundance of fresh food and drinks. It was almost like a party except…that just couldn’t be right.

When Savannah walked into Cash’s room on that third morning, she couldn’t believe all the framed pictures scattered around. Every single person had contributed to them—there were wedding pictures and baby pictures and holiday ones. All the people who had been coming to visit were represented in the dozens of photos on all the surfaces. What must it be like to know that this many people took the time out to come and not only share their time, but their memories with you? It was like no one wanted him to be alone at the end of the day, so they left a little something of themselves behind to keep him company.

It didn’t seem real—like her brain couldn’t quite comprehend this level of almost unconditional love.

And it wasn’t just toward him, the Coleman family—immediate and extended—were embracing her as well and it was a little unnerving.

Everyone who came to visit Cash seemed to specifically make time to talk to her too. She’d been hugged more in the last two days than she had in her entire life! Grace had been fussing over her and making sure she was eating and getting enough sleep. Whenever she came up to the hospital, she seemed to make a point of sitting with Savannah and asking how she was doing and if she needed anything.

Then, yesterday, while they were talking, she mentioned how she hadn’t had an oil change on her car since before she left Seattle. The next thing she knew, Grace had Dominic on the phone and he had insisted on looking at it himself. As a matter of fact, he had her car at his repair shop right now giving it a tune up and oil change—free of charge. When she asked him why he would do something like that, he had shrugged and told her it’s what family does.

Which was why Savannah had no idea. She never really had a family—at least, not like this.

Last night she had mentioned to Jackson how much his mother and Dominic seemed to be looking out for her; he treated it like it was no big deal.

“That’s what parents do,” he told her.

Which sounded suspiciously similar to Dominic’s response this morning.

Could it really be like this?

“It’s like being dropped in the middle of some Hallmark-esque town,” she mumbled.

“Hand me that silver frame in the corner,” Cash said quietly, making her jump. “Sorry.”

“I thought you were sleeping,” she said, her hand firmly pressed against her pounding heart. “You scared me.”

“Yeah, well…I’ll have plenty of time to sleep soon enough.” He pointed to the picture he wanted.

Picking it up, Savannah looked at it and smiled. It was Cash and his sons when they were all little. It looked like a sunny day, and the boys were all shirtless and dirty and grinning from ear to ear. She handed it to him.

“The boys used to love to help me wash the car,” he told her as he studied the picture. “At least that’s what they used to tell me. In reality, they loved turning the hose on everything in sight and then making mud puddles in Grace’s flower beds. Then they’d splash in them until they were covered in mud.” He chuckled. “Most of the time, Grace would bring out the soap and shampoo and we’d hose them down outside before letting them in the house.”

Sitting down on the chair beside the bed, she smiled. “That’s a sweet memory.”

He held up the frame toward her. “Jackson had just lost his first tooth. Check out that smile.”

She did and it made her smile more. “He looks very proud of himself.”

“Oh, yeah. To him, it meant he was big like his brothers. He was always in a rush to catch up to them.” Placing the photo on his bedside tray, he studied it for a moment longer before giving Savannah his full attention. “How are you doing, Savi? I’m worried about you.”

“Me?” she repeated with a small laugh. “Why?”

He chuckled again. “Because I’m not going to be here much longer and I’m allowed to worry and make sure you’re going to be okay.”

Rolling her eyes, she groaned. “You know I hate when you say stuff like that.”

“Not saying it won’t make it any less true,” he reasoned. “That first day in the hospital, you were very quiet and withdrawn, but the last two days, I saw you were a little more relaxed. Everything okay?”

“I would think if I look like I’m more relaxed that it was obvious that I was okay.” The instant the words were out, she knew Cash would latch on to her avoidance tactic.