they neared Grady’s room, Lia spied a familiar figure emerging. “Hi, Abigail,” Lia said, as the distance between them lessened. “How is Grady doing today?”
For a moment the nurse looked startled that a stranger had called her by her name, but then she took a longer look at Lia and her eyes widened. “Lia! I didn’t recognize you out of costume.”
Lia gave an awkward chuckle and glanced at Ethan. “I’m not sure Grady will recognize me, either.”
“Mr. Grady will know who you are.” The nurse’s reassuring smile did little to ease Lia’s nerves. “There’s a keen mind locked up in there.” She glanced at Ethan and when he gave her a confirming nod, Abigail continued, “He’s going to be so glad you’ve come today. Your idea to encourage him to sing has worked wonders. He’s so excited to be able to communicate with people again.”
Beside her, Ethan radiated smug satisfaction.
“That’s great,” Lia said, delighted that her suggestion had produced a positive result.
“His family and all the staff are so thrilled that things started to turn around yesterday. He’s doing so much better that the doctor thinks he’ll be able to go in a few days.”
“Wow,” Lia murmured, “that’s wonderful news.”
“We’re so glad she showed up when she did,” Ethan declared. “She’s worked a miracle.”
“Please stop,” Lia protested, the praise making her uncomfortable. “The credit really should go to all of you who’ve been taking such good care of him this whole time.”
“There’s only so much medicine can do when the will to keep on living is gone,” the nurse said.
“Mind over matter,” Ethan said. “People don’t give it enough credit.”
“They certainly don’t,” Abigail agreed before heading down the hall toward the nurses’ station.
Ethan set his hand on Lia’s elbow and drew her into Grady’s hospital room. As soon as she stepped across the threshold, Lia was struck by the room’s buoyant energy. The first time she’d visited Grady Watts, he’d been an immobile lump beneath the covers, unconscious and unaware that she’d taken his hand and softly sung to him. Today as she stepped closer to the bed, she noticed that he was wide awake and eagerly watching her approach. The directness of his gaze reminded her of Paul and she shivered. Ethan had mentioned his grandfather had a sharp temper and forceful manner when crossed.
Grady wiggled his fingers and she took his hand. His dry skin stretched over bones knobby with arthritis. She gave his fingers a light squeeze, shocked at the rush of affection for someone she barely knew. Yet was that true?
Usually she moved on every couple months and rarely got tangled up in people’s lives. In this case, her accident extended her time in Charleston, leading to numerous massage sessions with Ethan where he’d spoken at length about his family. As the weeks turned into months, Lia had grown ever more invested in their stories until she almost felt like part of their circle.
“Hello, Grady,” Lia said, her voice warbling as affection tightened her throat. “It’s Lia. You probably didn’t recognize me without my costume. How are you feeling today? You look really good.”
Grady’s fingers pulsed against hers as he acknowledged her with two sung words. “Ava daughter.”
Ethan had explained how Grady had been desperate to reunite with his missing granddaughter before the stroke, even speculating that the patriarch’s illness had been brought on by the crushing disappointment of a recent dead end. Since then, Grady had brooded nonstop about what had become of her and the family’s failure to bring her back into the fold.
“That’s right, Grady,” Ethan said, beaming at Lia. His eyes held a wicked twinkle as he added, “Ava’s daughter has come home at last.”
Delighted by the news, Lia glanced at Ethan and noticed the way the handsome businessman was regarding her with purposeful intent. Her heart began hammering against her ribs as the import of what Ethan was saying struck her. She shifted her attention to the man lying in the hospital bed and she caught her breath to protest. But before she could voice her sharp denial, she saw the love shining in Grady’s eyes for her. No. Not for her. For his missing granddaughter.
Head spinning, Lia turned her full attention on Ethan. “What’s going on?”
“What’s going on is that Grady knows you’re his granddaughter.” Ethan gripped Lia’s elbow with long fingers while his eyes beseeched her to go along. “I explained how Paul located you through one of those genetic testing companies. It’s long been Grady’s dream to reunite you with your family. And now here you are.”
Lia’s mind reeled. The position Ethan had put her in was untenable, and to drag his brother into the mix was only going to create more drama. But the sheer joy in Grady’s eyes tied her tongue in knots. This could not be happening. She had to tell the truth. She wasn’t Ava Watts’s long-lost daughter. To claim that she was the missing Watts granddaughter would only lead to trouble.
“We need to talk about this,” Lia growled quietly at Ethan. She put her hand on Grady’s shoulder. “We’ll be right back.”
Leaving a confused Grady behind, Lia fled out into the hallway. To her relief, Ethan followed her. Worried that Grady might overhear their conversation, Lia grabbed Ethan’s arm and towed him down the hall toward the waiting area near the bank of elevators.
“Have you lost your mind?” she whispered as soon as they reached the empty family lounge. “How could you tell him I’m his granddaughter? And why put Paul in the middle of it? He’s going to be furious.”
“Grady came to that conclusion all by himself,” Ethan explained. “And the reason I gave Paul credit was to help repair the strained relationship between him and Grady.”
“Your brother will never go along with this.”
“He will when he sees the way Grady is recovering. Overnight his whole prognosis has changed. And it’s all because he believes you’re his granddaughter. It was his deepest desire to reunite with her and now he has a reason to live.”
“But I’m not his granddaughter. Why would he think I am? I don’t look like any of your family.” Lia’s heart twisted as she realized her protest might rouse Ethan’s angst over being adopted.
“You could be Ava’s daughter.” Ethan lifted his hands in a beseeching gesture. “We’ve been trying for years to find her with no luck. I told you that after my aunt died, her baby was adopted and the records were sealed. Believing you’re her has given Grady a reason to go on. Do you seriously want to go back in there and break his heart? He’s been so depressed since the stroke. In less than a week you’ve brought him back from the brink of death.”
Lia closed her eyes and spent several seconds listening to the pounding of her heart. This could not be happening. And yet it was.
“I just can’t do this.”
Besides being wrong, even if she agreed to a temporary stint as Grady Watts’s missing granddaughter, there was no way Paul was going to let her take on the role.
“You can,”
