Harper pulled her smallest bag from the closet. She could do nothing about its shabbiness, the splitting seam or the rickety wheel. With a sigh, she turned to study her wardrobe.
She’d need a dress for the party. Knowing Derrick’s friends, she’d need something at least a little dressy. She didn’t have a lot of options, but she found a pretty skirt and a peasant top that seemed suitable for a party on the beach. Derrick had bought both for her shortly after she’d moved. She added a pair of strappy sandals to go with that outfit. After throwing her bathing suit and cover-up in the bag, she added a couple pairs of shorts and a pair of patterned capris, a few of her nicer T-shirts, and her ugliest pajamas—just in case she was tempted to break her own rules.
She freshened her makeup, gathered her toiletries, and added them to the suitcase.
When the suitcase was zipped—no easy task considering the shape it was in—she opened her bedroom door to find Red sitting on the chair she’d put at the top of the stairs, a place for him to rest after climbing to the second floor.
She froze. “Are you all right?”
“Course.” He glanced toward the back staircase, at the bottom of which Derrick was probably pacing, waiting for her. He lowered his voice. “I’ve been thinking… Can I talk to you for a second?”
She backed into her bedroom, and Red stepped just far enough inside to close the door. He hadn’t been in her room since the day he’d showed her to it when she moved there, but this was his house, and he was practically family. “What’s up?”
He rubbed his bald head. “Got the feeling you weren’t excited about this trip.”
“It’ll be fun.”
He studied her a moment. “Something tells me it won’t.”
Hadn’t he just urged her to go? “What’s that mean?”
He stared past her, out the window to the sunshiny day beyond. Took a deep breath and blew it out. Then, he focused on her. “I love my grandson. But… I don’t know. I’m afraid…” He half-smiled. “Maybe I just don’t want you to go.”
She stepped toward him. “I can stay. If it makes you nervous—”
“Nothing like that.” He waved her words away. “Just… Don’t let Derrick talk you into anything. I know how you kids are these days, and I’m not judging. I’m just saying, that boy of mine, he doesn’t have the best…” He seemed to falter, then shrugged. “Morals, I guess. His father didn’t, either. Good man, my son, but he made a lot of mistakes. Derrick has, too. He’s a decent kid, and I know he cares about you. But don’t you let him talk you into anything you don’t want to do.”
That this man she’d only known for a couple of months would haul himself up the stairs to say this to her… Her eyes tingled, and she stepped closer. She set her hand over his where he leaned on her bureau. “If Derrick’s half the man you are, any woman would be lucky to have him.”
The man’s cheeks reddened. “Just saying, you don’t owe that boy nothing. He brought you out here for this job, but I hired you, I pay you, and I decide if you stay or go.” His bushy eyebrows pushed up on his forehead. “You understand what I’m saying?”
“Thank you.” She kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand. “I love you, too.”
“Bah.” His cheeks turned an even darker shade. He huffed out the door. The sweet, grouchy, beautiful old man. He’d meant every word, and so had she.