“Well, maybe I looked at her laptop when she was in the bathroom. Okay, I snooped,” Cassidy snapped after Eve just kept staring. “But I wanted to make sure she was all right.”
Eve wasn’t a proponent of snooping, but it was hard to scold Cassidy for doing it when it involved something this important. And when Cassidy cared so much about Tessie. Eve didn’t want Tessie dropping out of college. Just the opposite. She thought staying in school would help her daughter regain her focus.
“I guess Tessie didn’t want to take me up on the offer to have someone drive her to Austin for her classes.” Though the driver was on call to do that.
“Nothing on the laptop about that, but she did have the note with the driver’s phone number on her desk.”
Good. Eve had been afraid Tessie would just put it in the trash and then demand to use her own car to get to Austin. But Eve wasn’t handing over the car keys until Tessie had proved she could be trusted.
“What would you have done if Tessie hadn’t come home with you?” Cassidy asked.
In the moment that Eve had made the demand, she’d been so angry that she hadn’t thought out the consequences had Tessie refused. Eve probably would have ended up saying and doing something she would have regretted. Heck, she still might. But sometimes parenting just plain sucked, and you had to put your foot down.
“If Tessie hadn’t come home, I would have cut her off financially. No car. No tuition. No credit card.”
Cassidy made a sound of surprise. “You could have gone through with that?”
“To save her, yes.”
Thankfully, though, it hadn’t come down to that. Of course, they weren’t out of the woods yet. Tessie could be upstairs seething and plotting to do something else stupid. If that happened, Eve would also have to make changes to the trust fund she’d set up for Tessie. She’d arranged it so Tessie would get it on her twenty-first birthday, a little over three years from now, but Tessie wouldn’t see a dime of it unless she straightened up.
Eve heard the sound of a vehicle, and she nearly pulled a leg muscle hurrying to the window to see who it was. She hadn’t realized just how much she was hoping it would be Lawson until the disappointment washed over her. But she couldn’t wallow for long because she was apparently about to have some company.
Cassidy hurried to the window, choking on the gulp of Coke she’d just had. “Oh, God. That’s Lucian Granger.”
Yes, it was. He stepped from his truck, the movement and fall breeze causing his untucked shirt to whip a little like the cape of a superhero. Or more like a scary Swaron warrior. Unlike a Swaron warrior, though, Lucian was wearing jeans, cowboy boots and a black Stetson.
“Oh, God,” Cassidy repeated. “I don’t want to meet him when I look like this.”
Apparently, like this was no makeup, puke stains on her shirt and peeling purple toenail polish. She ran off, spilling little blobs of Coke as she darted out of the office and up the stairs.
Lucian was on the phone, his expression as intense as ever, but he went to the passenger side of the truck, and he opened the door in a fluid stride that caused his shirt to flutter again.
Regina stepped out.
Eve groaned. She liked Regina well enough, and she wanted to find out how the woman was after her stay in the hospital, but since she’d had Lucian bring her, this could mean trouble. As in the kind of trouble that could happen if Lawson had told his mom about Tessie.
Eve definitely didn’t need Regina showing up to see her granddaughter when the granddaughter was still in the dark about her Granger relatives.
Because Eve didn’t want the doorbell to wake Aiden, she hurried to the door, holding her index finger to her mouth when she let Regina in.
“The baby’s asleep,” Eve whispered.
“Oh.” Regina nodded, smiled.
Lucian did neither of those things, but he must have heard her because he stayed on the porch to continue his call.
“Would you like something to drink?” Eve asked, still whispering.
“No, thanks. I just got sprung from the hospital and wanted to come by and check on you.”
Considering that Regina was glancing in the rooms off the foyer and the stairs, that might not be the truth. She could be looking for Tessie. Or maybe Lawson.
Eve gently took her by the arm so she could hopefully lead her into the family room. “How are you feeling?”
Regina didn’t budge, but she did glance over her shoulder at Lucian. “I keep looking for vampire marks on my neck to make sure Dracula’s not doing a little blood sucking when I’m asleep. I’m exhausted. But don’t tell Lawson, Dylan or Lily Rose. You can tell Lucian. He won’t hear you because he won’t get off the phone.”
Regina said that last part a lot louder, no doubt loud enough for Lucian to hear, and then she gave Eve a weak smile. Actually, the weak part applied to the rest of her, too, and Eve suddenly felt guilty for not wanting this visit. It had to be important for Regina to use what little energy she had to come here.
“Lucian’s having a problem with a newspaper or something,” Regina went on. “He’s muttering bad words and fussing at people, so he might be out there awhile.” She turned back to Eve. “I was wondering if your daughter was around. I wanted to meet her.”
Bingo. Lawson had told his mom that she had a granddaughter. Eve wasn’t exactly happy about that, but she couldn’t fault him. He might have needed to talk to someone about it, and Regina had drawn that particular task.
Eve was about to tell Regina that it wasn’t a good time to visit Tessie. Not a lie, either. But before Eve could say anything, she heard the footsteps on the stairs. She thought maybe it was Cassidy, but it was Tessie. Not in pj’s and looking sleepy, either. She was wearing normal clothes—jeans, flip-flops and a top.
Tessie didn’t smile, but then, she also didn’t grunt, shrug or do anything else to communicate how sullen and filled with teenage angst she was.
“I heard someone drive up,” Tessie said. She looked past them at Lucian. “I thought it was Lawson.”
“No. That’s his brother,” Regina volunteered. With Eve trailing along right beside her, Regina went closer to Tessie. “But I’m Lawson’s mother.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Tessie actually sounded, well, pleasant, but Eve knew that all was not well yet.
Regina was studying Tessie, and Tessie was studying her. The kind of studying someone might do if they were trying to recall how and when they’d met.
Or why the person looked familiar.
“I heard you’re a student at Wellsmore,” Regina went on. “I didn’t go to college myself, but Lawson’s father went. Lucian, too, for a short while.” She tipped her head toward him, but Lucian was so engrossed in his phone call that he never even glanced their way.
Tessie nodded. Then paused. “Would you like some tea or something?”
Heck. Tessie sounded like her normal, often sweet self. Which meant there could be some trouble brewing.
“I’d love some tea,” Regina said, gushing. Obviously, the woman had gotten thirsty in the past ninety seconds since Eve had asked her about that drink.