Long Hard Fall Read online

  “Does Sissy know?”

  “Hannah hates it when you call her that, you know.” Another item he did wrong according to his mother. “No, not yet. I’d like to stay over and drive there tomorrow. St. Cloud is too far for today, but I want her to hear before the wildfire gossip spreads. I’m sure Allan will tell his whore and who knows who she’ll spill it to.”

  He didn’t flinch at her naming-calling. He couldn’t blame her and it was nothing new. “Is she from Moore?” His parents had moved far from Moore to Eden Prairie. Instead of getting away from all the drama, it had opened a new playing field for his dad.

  “No, but it’s a small world.”

  No, Mom had wanted to tell Cash in person. Cash could take the news. Sissy would collapse in tears like she always did when Mom and Dad fought.

  “I deserve better,” his mom said adamantly.

  “I know you do,” was Cash’s automatic response.

  A soft squeak of floorboard made them both swing around. Mom’s mouth fell open.

  Abbi’s eyes were wide. She took a step back as if she were going to run out the way she’d come. “I’m so sorry. I just need to grab my stuff.”

  She looked so apologetic he had to say something. “No problem, Abbi.”

  Abbi scurried into the kitchen and right back out with her tote. She breezed past Cash. “Call you tomorrow,” she said quietly as she passed.

  She’d interpreted the gravity of the situation and didn’t linger. At least he had that going for him. Awkwardness on top of all this angst might break his mom.

  “Who was that?” Mom asked. Her eyes watered again.

  He gave her his standard spiel of an army buddy’s sister.

  “Oh, Cash. Of all people, why get involved with Perry Daniels’s sister? Isn’t there another woman who hasn’t gone through what she has?” The disappointment in her voice usually washed off him, but not today.

  “I’m not Dad,” he said tightly. He should say they weren’t involved and get his mom off the topic, but her lectures weren’t welcome today.

  Her mouth flattened. “I didn’t say you were. But a girl who’s going through what she did doesn’t need a man who plays with her emotions.”

  She walked out on me, he wanted to say, but that’d reveal he and Abbi had already had relations. And when had he ever played with a girl’s emotions? Thanks to Mom, that was one thing he did really well. “We’re just talking. She wants to talk about her brother; I’m not going to send her packing.”

  He didn’t mention he’d already tried. No one could send Abbi away if she didn’t want to go. He nearly smiled at the thought but didn’t out of respect for his mom.

  He got the Mom stare for another second before she finally stood and gathered her pile of tissues. “Go do your chores. I’ll make some dinner.”

  He rubbed his eyes as he walked out of the house. Tomorrow morning, he’d have to sneak away without his mom knowing where he went. He’d gotten to a point where Monday mornings felt less like a duty and more like something to look forward to. After today, he’d need someone to talk to who knew his situation. But the horse ride with Abbi was enough to get him through the rest of the night with his mother and her tears.

  Chapter Seven

  Cash arrived at the Brown House Cafe shortly after nine in the morning. This was the best time. He missed the breakfast rush and Frankie could take her coffee break with him after having opened the diner and worked her ass off all morning.

  He picked one of his three usual booths. Always in Frankie’s section. He couldn’t find her, but maybe she was bustling around in the kitchen. Frankie didn’t quit moving even if he urged her to quit working herself into the ground.

  “Cash?”

  Abbi’s voice was a balm, overriding the flush of panic that he’d have to explain why he was here. “Morning, Abbi.”

  She slid in across from him. Her hair hung damp and she was in the jeans and sweater he’d recommended for riding. She must’ve done laundry at the hotel; she was wearing the sweater she’d gotten sick in. Still cute in it, too.

  “I’m not stalking you, I promise. The girl working the front desk of the hotel swore this was the best place to get an omelet.”

  “She wasn’t lying.” Cash smiled politely as he searched for Frankie. His smile vanished as one of the other servers bustled toward him.

  “Cash, are you here for Frankie?” Carol, a good friend of Frankie’s, stood barely above five feet tall with hair long gone gray.

  The way Carol asked him spiked his worry, but the way she ignored the woman across from him was downright troubling. He’d never brought someone with him in all the Mondays he’d met with Frankie. “What’s wrong?”

  Carol laid a hand on his shoulder. “She was admitted to the hospital last night.”

  Cash was already scooting out of the booth. Abbi was doing the same.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “We’re not sure, yet, but you let her know we’re thinking about her.”

  He pulled Carol in for a half hug. “Thanks for letting me know.”

  She patted him on the back. “Tell her I’m stopping by and forcing my help on her whether she likes it or not.”

  “Will do.”

  Abbi was on his heels as he left the cafe. “Who’s Frankie? And how’s your mom?”

  Cash should’ve realized that after last night, this morning would roll downhill quicker than shit in a rainstorm. He’d answered Abbi’s questions only because she appeared genuinely concerned, and dammit, his family drama was piling so high that it was nice to have someone to talk to. “Frankie’s like a grandmother to me.” Not a lie. “My mom and dad are getting divorced, so what you saw yesterday is pretty much how she’s doing.”

  Abbi went around to the passenger side of his pickup and he didn’t hesitate to let her in.

  “Aren’t you going to miss breakfast?” he asked as he backed out of his parking spot.

  “Yes, but the cafe will be here tomorrow. And the next day. You looked a little haggard when I arrived, but after you heard about the hospital…” She shrugged. “I didn’t want to leave you alone.”

  He looked like he felt and he didn’t care. If Abbi was coming with him—and he wanted her with him—he didn’t want to censor himself. He found himself spilling the history that he never talked about and that no one ever brought up. Not even his mom—she just constantly alluded to it.

  “Frankie is more than like my grandma.”

  Abbi’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.

  “My mom that you sort of met yesterday isn’t my birth mom.” He blew out a gusty breath and explained. “My dad cheated on her with Frankie’s daughter shortly after they were married. My birth mom didn’t want me, already had some other guy and wanted to move away, so she called Dad from the hospital and told him to pick me up or she was signing me over to the adoption agency. Frankie’s my grandma.”

  “Holy shit!” Abbi grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Her gesture reminded him of when he’d done the same thing in the combine when she’d been upset thinking about her brother.

  Had he ever spoken his personal details out loud?

  No, he hadn’t. It wasn’t necessary when living in a small town where everyone knew his business. Most days, he could pretend no one knew, or that no one cared, but they did. Whether it was whispers from the older ladies at church, or the knowing glances from Frankie’s crew at her work, his origins made great fodder for gossip.

  His cousins never mentioned it. To them, his mom was Aunt Patty, their aunt, and he was their cousin. His mom never mentioned it, either—directly. She was his mom. Period. He was her son. Period. But it didn’t mean his mom wouldn’t hold his dad’s and birth mom’s behavior over him.

  He knew Mom hadn’t meant to. She’d wanted to raise him right. Raise a gentleman, a man worthy of a woman’s love. The intended effect hadn’t happened. Instead, he avoided relationships to avoid becoming the man she feared.

  Abbi was watchi
ng him. He reluctantly withdrew his hand to navigate the roads.

  “Mom forgave Dad, at least that time, and raised me like her own.”

  “At least that time? Do you have more half siblings?”

  Discussing his family’s worst-kept secret left a sour taste in his mouth. It was freeing to openly talk about it—to a point. It was still about his dad, a man he looked up to, promiscuous ways aside. “Just my sister, Hannah, but she’s not from another woman. As far as I know, my dad often seeks company in someone else’s bed, but he hasn’t repeated the same mistake he made with me.”

  He fisted his hands around the wheel.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “He’s a good guy, but his strengths aren’t in being faithful to his wife.”

  “Where’s your birth mom?”

  “Dead, and before you say sorry, I never met her. Not that it isn’t terrible,” he added quickly. “I just never knew her and she never wanted me. But her death almost killed Frankie.”

  That was the real tragedy about his birth mom’s death. He couldn’t summon anything beyond ambivalence, but he had a huge family and a lot of support. Frankie was alone.

  “What happened?” Abbi’s presence washed over him. His anxiety over Frankie would’ve chewed him up on the way to the hospital, and even though the subject was an ever-healing wound, having Abbi here made it bearable. He was terribly glad she’d come with him.

  “Suicide. The guy she left with was an over-controlling bastard. Frankie ran herself dry trying to help my—Holly—get away, but she must’ve felt trapped. I guess I was only five when she killed herself.”

  Abbi probably noticed his quick switch, but he tried not to refer to Holly as his mom. She’d birthed him, but Mom was his mom.

  “I’m still really sorry. Have you and Frankie been close your whole life?”

  He wished, and he had serious regrets that they hadn’t been. “Actually, no. She found me when I was eighteen and told me about Holly. Thought I should know because Mom and Dad told her they refused to talk to me about her, which meant they didn’t want Frankie around, either. She waited until I was old enough to decide for myself. After that, I started stopping in at the cafe now and again. My parents, of course, avoid the place.”

  “That’s so sad. You didn’t know you had another grandma in town?”

  He maneuvered into the hospital parking lot. “No. I never gave Holly much thought. By the time they told me Mom had adopted me, it mattered, but it didn’t.”

  Maybe he’d buy that line himself one day. It’d fucked him up. And then he’d gotten over it. Mostly. Until he was eighteen and Frankie had caught him gassing up his pickup one night before finding a bonfire and some girls to party with.

  Forget the girls. That night, he’d drunk whatever he could get his hands on and gotten shit-faced. Not long after that, Dillon had spouted off about enlisting and there was Cash’s ass next to him, raising his right hand and swearing an oath of enlistment for the army.

  He and Abbi rushed into the hospital and inquired about the room number at the front desk. Abbi had claimed his hand somewhere en route.

  “Frankie?” the matronly receptionist asked.

  “Frances Samuelson,” Cash answered, grateful he knew that much about his own grandmother.

  “Room 205.” She leaned over the desk and pointed down the hall. “Catch the elevator at the end of the hall, and once you get off, the room will be on your left.”

  He thanked her and took off, towing Abbi behind him.

  ***

  Abbi clutched Cash’s hand. Distress pinched the corners of his eyes as they rode the elevator up.

  The story of his life was tragic. Her parents were a pain in her ass, but her dad had showered her mom with romantic gestures. Did he still? Abbi would have to remind him, make sure he was keeping the love alive after Perry’s death.

  When they stepped onto the second floor, warmth surrounded her. It felt good after being outside in the chill with just a sweatshirt, but if she had to work here all day, she’d suffer heat exhaustion. The temperature hike must be for the patients’ benefit.

  They located room 205 and Cash peeked inside. She waited to follow his lead. She’d expected a grandmotherly woman, but a lady with graying blond hair rested on the bed. She was probably a little shorter than her and slender, like she’d run her ass off at her serving job her whole life. Lines of stress and worry marred her ruddy skin. The sound of a blood-pressure machine filled the room. Abbi followed the cord on the cuff around Frankie’s arm to a large standalone machine. The screen of the machine was littered with numbers.

  Frankie’s pale brows rose in surprise. “Cash, what a surprise.” Her gaze touched on Abbi and her eyes brightened. Frankie shifted in an attempt to cover herself, but two cords draped out of the neck of her hospital gown.

  “Hey, Frankie. I hope you don’t mind that I brought a friend, although I don’t think I could’ve stopped her.” Cash gave Frankie his award-winning smile. “This is Abbi Daniels.”

  Oh my… His dazzling smile was totally a cover. Abbi remembered it from the night they’d met. It’s what had made her practically beg him to drive her back to her room. Had it been genuine, or a way to fool the ladies that he was only good for one night?

  She might have intruded, but she didn’t regret it. Getting to know him was worth it. “I happened to be at the cafe when Cash heard you were in here. I kind of gave him no choice but to bring me.”

  “That’s fine.” Frankie pushed a button to raise the head of her bed. “I’m afraid they’re overreacting anyway.”

  “Really?”

  At Cash’s disbelieving tone, Frankie flushed. “It was just a dizzy spell.”

  “Did you topple over this morning before you started your shift?” Cash disengaged his hand and sat down in one of the two chairs by Frankie’s bed. “What’s going on, Frankie?”

  Frankie tugged gently on the cords attached to her. “They’re looking at my heart. Took a gallon of blood in the ER, and a doctor who looks like he should be in preschool admitted me. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  “Uh-huh. They gotta be thorough.”

  A middle-aged nurse breezed in and stopped when she spied them. “Oh, hey Cash. Um…I need to check Frankie’s vitals, if you don’t mind stepping out.”

  Frankie waved the request off. “It’s fine. Not like there’s any such thing as privacy in this place.”

  The nurse smiled. “We make sure you get your money’s worth.”

  She tucked her stethoscope in her ears and listened to Frankie’s heart and breathing. While she typed her stats into the computer, she glanced at Cash. “How’s it going? I hear your mom’s in town. I think she’s going to stop by.”

  Cash stiffened but recovered. If Abbi weren’t sitting so close, she might not have noticed. Cash said, “I think she misses working with you guys.”

  “Well, we miss her. I hope I catch her when she’s here.” The nurse finished the exam and ambled out.

  Frankie studied Cash with her brows drawn together. “Is it okay that you’re here?”

  Abbi expected the toothpaste-commercial grin, but his small smile was more of an attempt at reassurance.

  “I’m an adult and you’re my grandmother. Speaking of, what do you need done while you’re in here?”

  Frankie brushed him off like she had the nurse. “You don’t need to worry yourself about me.”

  “I’m not worried,” he replied smoothly, “but your cats might be.”

  That got Frankie’s attention. Her hand flew to her temples. “Oh no. Dutchie is going to be beside herself when I don’t come home. Baron might pretend not to care, but he’ll make me pay for being gone.”

  “Gimme your key and we’ll stop by and feed them.”

  Satisfaction rippled through Abbi at his use of “we.” Until her phone vibrated. She glanced at the screen. Damn, Ellis and his shit timing.

  He’d tried calling the previous night and all morning and she’d ign
ored him. Texting was his new attempt, but she wasn’t going to read it in front of Cash.

  Cash lifted a brow as if to ask if everything was all right. She shot him a little smile.

  “You sure you don’t mind?” Frankie motioned for her purse on the cart next to the bed. Cash handed it off and she dug out a key. “This one’s my spare. Why don’t you keep it, in case I ever lose my own key or my entire purse. You know where I live, right?”

  “Of course.” His grandmother shouldn’t have to ask him that, but their relationship hadn’t been typical.

  They stood and he bent to give her a hug. From the shocked but pleased look on Frankie’s face, it wasn’t a common occurrence. Frankie’s hospital episode must’ve bothered him more than Abbi had realized.

  Cash searched out Abbi’s hand and they walked out together.

  “Aw, shit,” he breathed.

  Abbi followed his gaze. At the nurse’s station, his mom was laughing with three other nurses and aides.

  Patty glanced down the hall and her eyes brightened with delight that her son was there, then concern that her son was in the hospital.

  Abbi tightened her grip around Cash’s hand. He needed it now more than ever.

  His mom met them at the elevators. “What are you doing here?”

  “Frankie’s having some health issues and they’re checking her out.” His grip was solid iron. Her fingers might be turning white.

  Patty drew herself to her full height; her face became a mask. “Oh? And she’s doing okay?” Her voice could’ve rivaled a robot’s.

  “Seems to be. We’ll know after some results come back.”

  Another we. Abbi didn’t know the dynamics between Cash and his mother, but she suspected it was incredibly significant that he was here.

  Patty eyed them both. “I…I didn’t realize you two knew…”

  Abbi wanted to loosen the collar of her sweater at the tension rippling between mother and son.

  “I meet with her every Monday. Have been for a couple years, Mom. And we wrote back and forth when I was in the army.”

  Patty’s brows had risen higher with each sentence. “I see.”