condition. In the same way, Ethan’s brother had neatly avoided dealing with Grady’s disappointment after Paul chose a career in law enforcement over joining Watts Shipping and eventually taking his place at the helm of the family business. Nor had Paul understood Ethan’s conflicted emotions at being the second choice to take up the reins.
While Ethan recognized that he was the best brother to head the family company, he wanted to secure the job based on his skills, not because Paul refused the position. Also, it wasn’t just his pride at issue. Ethan was adopted and in a city as preoccupied with lineage as Charleston, not knowing who his people were became a toxic substance eating away at his peace of mind.
Although no one had ever made him feel as if he didn’t belong, in every Watts family photo, Ethan’s dark brown hair and eyes made him stand out like a goose among swans. Not wishing to cause any of his family undue pain, he kept his feelings buried, but more and more lately they’d bubbled up and tainted his relationship with Paul.
He’d shared some of his angst with Lia. She was a good listener. Attentive. Nonjudgmental. Empathetic. Sure, she was a little quirky. But Ethan found her eccentricities charming. That Paul viewed them as suspect made Ethan all the more determined to defend her.
Clamping down on his disquiet, Ethan reentered his grandfather’s hospital room and noted that Grady’s eyes were open and sharp with dismay. Had he heard the brothers arguing in the hallway? Although Grady never shied away from confrontation, before the stroke, he’d confided to Ethan that he was troubled by his estrangement from Paul and also the growing tension between the brothers. Ethan knew Paul was equally frustrated with the rift, but none of them had taken any steps to overcome the years of distance.
“Sorry about earlier,” Ethan murmured, settling into the chair between Grady’s bed and the window. “You know how Paul can get.”
He didn’t expect Grady to answer. In the weeks following the stroke, Grady had made some progress with the paralysis. He still couldn’t walk or write, but he’d regained the ability to move his arm, leg and fingers. It wasn’t so much his body that had failed him, but his willingness to fight.
Grady’s lips worked, but he couldn’t form the words for what he wanted to express. For the first time in weeks this seemed to frustrate him.
“He worries about you,” Ethan continued. “Seeing Lia here was a bit of a shock.” He couldn’t suppress a grin. “Did you like her Rapunzel costume? The kids down on the pediatric floor really loved her.”
Grady started to hum a toneless tune Ethan didn’t recognize. And then all at once he sang a word.
“Ava.”
Ethan was shocked that Grady had spoken—or rather sung—his daughter’s name. “You mean Lia,” he said, wondering how his grandfather could’ve confused his daughter for Lia. Blonde and green-eyed Ava Watts bore no resemblance to Lia, with her dark hair and hazel eyes. Then Ethan frowned. Had Lia ever come to visit as herself or was she always in costume? Maybe Grady thought she was blonde. And then there was the age difference. If Ava had lived, she’d be in her forties. Of course, the stroke had messed with the left side of Grady’s brain where logic and reason held court. Maybe he was actually mixed up.
Ava had been eighteen when she’d run away to New York City. The family had lost track of her shortly thereafter. And it wasn’t until five years after that that they found out she’d died, leaving behind an infant daughter. The child had been adopted, but they’d never been able to discover anything more because the files had been sealed.
“Ava...baby,” Grady clarified, singing the two words. How had he learned to do that?
“You think Lia is Ava’s daughter?” While Grady nodded as enthusiastically as his condition allowed, Ethan’s stunned brain slowly wrapped itself around this development. Grady was obviously grasping at thin air. With each year that passed he’d grown more obsessed with finding his missing granddaughter.
“Ava’s daughter is here?” Constance Watts asked from the doorway. “Where? How?”
Ethan turned to his mother, about to explain what was going on, when his grandfather’s fingers bit down hard on Ethan’s wrist, drawing his attention back to the man in the bed. Grady’s gaze bore the fierce determination of old, sending joy flooding through Ethan. What he wouldn’t give to have his grandfather healthy and happy again.
“Ethan?” his mother prompted, coming to stand beside him.
“Lia...” Grady sang again, more agitated now as he tried to make himself understood.
“Lia?” Constance stared at her father-in-law, and then glanced at her son for clarification. “Who is Lia?”
But when the answer came, it was Grady who spoke up. “Ava...baby.”
After her run-in with Paul Watts the day before, the last place Lia expected to find herself was seated beside Ethan in his bright blue Mercedes roadster on the way to the hospital to visit his grandfather. Overhead, clouds dappled the dazzling February sky. Around them the sweet scent of honeysuckle and crab apple blossoms mingled with the sound of church bells coming from the Cathedral of Saint Luke and Saint Paul. It was a glorious day for driving with the top down, but this was no joyride.
“I’m really not sure this is the best idea,” Lia said, shuddering as she pictured her last encounter with Paul Watts. “Your brother was pretty clear that he didn’t want me anywhere near your grandfather.”
“Paul’s occupation makes him suspicious,” Ethan said. “And Grady’s illness has made him even more edgy. Add to that the fact that he doesn’t like surprises and that explains why he overreacted at finding a stranger visiting his grandfather.” Ethan shot her a wry grin packed with boyish charm. “And you were dressed like Rapunzel so that had to throw him off, as well.”
Lia rolled her eyes, unmoved by his attempt to lull her into giving up her argument. “Are you sure Paul will be okay with me visiting?”
She craved Ethan’s reassurance. No one had ever treated her with the level of suspicion Paul Watts had shown.
“He wants Grady to get better just like the rest of us.”
“That’s not the same thing as being okay with my visiting,” she pointed out, the churning in her stomach made worse by Ethan’s evasion. Paul’s bad opinion of her bothered Lia more than she liked to admit.
“Look, Paul’s not in town at the moment so you don’t need to worry about running into him. You just visit Grady a few more times and be the ray of sunshine that will enable him to improve and by the time Paul gets back, Grady will be on the mend and Paul will realize it was all due to you.”
“I think you’re overestimating my abilities,” she demurred, even as Ethan’s praise warmed her. Each time she’d visited Grady she held his hand and sung to him, pouring healing energy into his frail body.
“Trust me,” Ethan declared, taking his espresso-colored eyes off the road and shooting a brief glance her way. “I’m not overestimating anything. Your visits have been transformative.”
“But I’ve only been to see him four times,” Lia murmured, determined to voice caution. If Ethan gave her all the credit for his grandfather’s improvement,
