Golden Lies - Barbara Freethy [90]
"Riley? I didn't know you were coming here." Nan entered the room with a vase of fresh flowers in her hands. "You should have told me. We could have driven over together."
"I didn't know until this morning."
She leaned over and kissed Ned on the cheek. "Hi, honey. I love you."
Ned pulled away from her, his gaze focused on the television. Riley saw the hurt in her eyes and wished he could take the pain away. "He asked about you. Talked about your beautiful legs."
"He did? Really?"
"Yes. He was sort of clear for a couple of minutes."
"Did you come here to ask him about the hang-up calls, about whether he was trying to call the house?" Nan asked.
"I didn't get a chance. I think the hang-up calls were someone casing the house, to see if you were home or not. The next thing we need to do is get you an unlisted number."
"If you do that, I'll start to feel invisible. It's bad enough getting old. I don't want to disappear, too."
"That could never happen."
"Did your grandpa say anything else?" Nan asked.
"I asked him about Wallace Hathaway, Paige's grandfather. When I was going through your photos, I saw a picture of Grandpa in a security uniform posing in front of Hathaway's store with Wallace Hathaway."
"I don't remember a picture like that. But I hardly ever look at those old photos."
"Grandpa must have worked at the store."
"Well, yes, he did, when we were first married. Didn't I tell you that?"
"No, you didn't."
"It was a long time ago. And he worked at so many stores in those early days; I could hardly keep track. I was too busy having a baby and making a home."
"Did you ever meet Wallace Hathaway?"
"Good heavens, no. I would have remembered that, Riley. He's quite famous in San Francisco. But your grandfather was a security guard. He didn't spend time with the Hathaways."
"Grandpa mentioned someone named Wally. Did you ever hear him talk about a Wally?"
She pondered that. "I know your grandfather flew with someone named Wally in the war. I don't think it was Wallace Hathaway, though. He talked about Wally like he was a friend. If Wallace Hathaway was Wally, I think he would have mentioned that to me at some point."
"You're right. Wally is probably somebody completely different. I doubt a Hathaway would ever let himself be called Wally."
She smiled. "How was your evening with Paige'?"
"Too short."
"I'm sorry I interrupted."
"It was probably for the best." He glanced over at his grandfather, whose eyes had drifted shut. "Looks like he's going to sleep for a while."
She nodded. "I'll just leave the flowers and hope they cheer him up."
"I'll walk you to your car."
"Good-bye, Ned," she said quietly and kissed him on the cheek once again.
Riley drew in a sharp breath of air, feeling as if he'd been punched in the stomach. The look in her eyes when she gazed at her husband just about undid him. The only real love he'd ever seen in his life had been between these two people. Even now, it was still there, at least on his grandmother's part.
"He squeezed my hand," she said, her eyes bright, drawing Riley's gaze down to their hands clasped together. "I think he knows it's me."
"I'm sure he does."
"I feel better. I can go now." She squeezed Ned's hand again. "I'll be back soon."
Riley was glad she didn't say anything as they left the room. He didn't know why he felt so choked up. He'd come here before. He'd seen how bad it was. He knew it wasn't going to get better. So why was it still getting to him?
Paige, he thought with annoyance. It was her fault. He'd been living a nice emotion-free existence up until a few days ago. She'd knocked down some of his walls, and he needed to get them back up fast. He didn't want to feel like this, like there was a pain in his heart. He didn't even want to admit he had a heart or that it could break again.
"I'm going back to clean the house," Nan said when they reached her car, parked just a few spots down from his own. "You made a good start on putting things right. I can finish the rest."
"I'll come stay with you tonight."
"No. I'm a big girl,