“Tell Phil I really appreciate what he did, making sure my friend had all those medicines at cost and getting all the home care equipment.”
“That was easy. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Will do. Love you.”
“Right back at ya.”
The sound of the screen door slamming startled him. He jerked his head as he stuffed his cell in his back pocket. “Hey, you. When did you get here?” He smiled as Paget stepped into the house. “You’re back early.”
“Not by much.” She set her backpack by the door and kicked off her cowboy boots. “I just need to go splash some cold water on my face, and then you can go.”
“I’m in no rush.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Take all the time you need. I’ll bring this out to your dad and make you a whiskey sour before I head off to the bar. Oh, and there’s spaghetti pie in the oven. Your father pulled out your mom’s recipe book. I’m not the greatest cook, but I tried.”
“Neither was my mother.” Paget patted his forearm. “Thanks for staying today. I’m hoping the agency figures this home health care stuff out soon. My dad needs consistency.”
“Listen. Don’t sweat it. It’s not a big deal.” And it really wasn’t. Boone would rather spend his day with Henry, that way he could do research. He owed it to every person who died at the hands of that supplement.
And anyone his ex-wife might hurt in the future.
She snagged one of the pieces of bread.
“Hey. That was for me.”
She shrugged. “I’ll be down in fifteen.” She kicked up her back leg and raced up the stairs.
God, he hoped she was going to let him sneak over tonight. Since her father had come home, she’d kept him at an arm’s length when it came to sex. They’d actually only made love twice in the last few weeks. Of course, it was kind of hard to find the time with their opposing schedules and taking care of her dad, but still, she didn’t really try to create the time, and he was starting to take it personally.
He raced back into the kitchen and quickly whipped up her favorite cocktail. He poured himself a scotch and made Henry a small drink. It wouldn’t kill the man, and he wasn’t taking any medications that would cause an interaction at this point. Boone used his hip to push open the door and set the tray down on the table in front of Henry. “Nice surprise to have her home early.”
“Does that mean you’re running off to the bar?”
“Not right away.” Boone made himself comfortable, stretching his feet out and crossing them at the ankles. He raised his glass. “I really don’t need to get to work until after the dinner rush, unless someone calls me.”
“Maybe I should go take a nap so you and my daughter can have some alone time.”
Boone choked on his scotch. “That’s not necessary.”
“I see the way you two have been looking at each other.” Henry waved his finger. “And I saw you tiptoeing down the steps the other morning with no shirt on, so don’t tell me nothing is going on like my daughter tried to tell me this morning.”
Boone took an ice cube in his mouth and chewed while he contemplated his response. He didn’t want to insult the man, but he also wanted to show respect for Paget and her feelings. This conversation had to be handled with kid gloves or he’d end up in the doghouse with his girlfriend.
And her father would probably kick him to the curb.
“You’re being awfully quiet.” Henry tapped his good hand on the table.
“I’m searching for the right words that won’t get me in trouble.”
Henry chuckled. “I like that you’re honest, but I’ve seen a change in you and my little girl since my ssssstroke. I want to know what’s going on.”
“I’m not exactly sure we know,” Boone said. “I’m a wounded soul who doesn’t trust women, and your daughter is fiercely independent and can’t stand it when she has to rely on another person. That puts us both in a conundrum.”
“She doesn’t understand that there is a difference between sharing your life and being dependent.” Henry waved his hand. “She thinks that merging a bank account would make her less than a whole person, and when you add my financial problems and the fact that we’ve never discussed them, well, I’ve created a monster.” Henry turned. The left side of his face continued to droop. “I know you bought her cabin, and I’m painfully aware that she knows about all the bills I’ve accumulated before and after her mother’s death.”
Boone took a large gulp of the golden-brown liquid. He was sure he didn’t know half of it, but he wasn’t surprised that Henry knew most of it. “How did you find out about my purchase? It wasn’t bought under my name.”
Henry took his handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his brow. His hand shook, so it took a little longer than normal. “Please tell me if she’s heading down the stairs. My hearing isn’t what it used to be.”
“Sure thing.” Boone was pleased with how much better Henry’s speech had become. Now it was a matter of getting his body back on the right track, but with his age, a full recovery was iffy at best.
“I tried to keep the financial issues from her, but I knew that would be impossible. I tried to buy myself some time when I took out the loan. I don’t know if she told you about her mother’s illness.”
“She mentioned it, but she didn’t get into the details.”
“My wife had a rare cancer, and we tried all sorts of experimental treatments, which cost a lot of money, and the final one was working. Some salesperson talked us into this miracle supplement, telling us it would boost her immune system, but instead it gave her a heart attack.”
Boone took another gulp of his scotch, only this swallow wasn’t smooth. It was bitter and it burned. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
Henry nodded, waving a shaky hand. “Molly was feeling really good, and things were looking up until they weren’t. I went into a bit of a depression after she died. I blamed myself. And then Paget went off, blaming this company and the woman who owns it. I was working on a plan to get myself out of this financial mess, but I up and had myself a stroke. When I found out Paget sold her cabin, I thought maybe one of the Whiskey siblings bought it, but I quickly found out that wasn’t true.”
Boone set his glass down a little too harshly.
“No one in the Whiskey family told me it was you. I figured that out for myself, and JB just confirmed it for me, but he didn’t tell me.” Henry sipped his drink. “That JB is a good man. I tried to fix him up with Paget, but she wasn’t interested.”
“I would have to agree that JB is a stand-up guy. I’m glad Paget didn’t want to date him,” Boone said. “But please, don’t tell her I bought the cabin. Not yet. I have every intention of selling it back.”
“Oh. I knew you were a smart one because you can’t give it to her. That would just piss her off.”
“And we don’t want to do that.” Boone chuckled, but quickly turned serious. “I don’t want to be disrespectful, but I think you should know she’s been doing some interesting things to help with the—”