Free The Sweetheart Secret by Shirley Jump Page A

to see a girl with an appetite. Nothing more annoying than those salad-only girls. Colt’s grandma, now that was a woman who could eat. And cook.” Earl leaned in toward Daisy, his pale blue eyes assessing her. “Can you cook? Because Colt sure can’t. A man could starve to death in this house.”
    â€œQuit exaggerating, Grandpa. You’re not starving,” Colt said, as he walked back into the room and tucked his phone away. “I serve plenty of healthy food around here, but you choose not to eat it.”
    â€œWhich is another way of asking a man to starve.” Earl scowled.
    Tension stiffened Colt’s stance. “I’m just trying to take care of you.”
    â€œI don’t need anyone to do a goddamn thing for me.” Earl started to get to his feet, then his face paled, a tremor shook his body, and he reached for the edge of the table. In an instant, Colt was there, with one hand under Earl’s elbow, and another on his back. Earl jerked away from Colt’s touch. “You know what would make me feel better? You, leaving me the hell alone. You hover over me like I’m some kind of invalid.”
    â€œGrandpa, I’m not trying to hover. You have some issues—”
    â€œWhat I have is a pain in the ass grandson who thinks he knows it all just because he’s got an MD next to his name. Goddamn doctors do nothing but make people sicker.” Earl pushed off from the table then crossed to the sink. Sweat beaded on his brow and his breath came in shaky bursts.
    Concern filled Colt’s features and erased all traces of irritation. He stood there, looking lost and frustrated, one hand on the back of the chair, one extended out, as if he could reach his grandfather, now several feet away. Daisy ached to soothe the waters somehow, to make it easier for Colt.
    Only because she wanted him in a good mood before she talked to him about the loan. Not because that worried look in his face softened something deep inside of Daisy. Something that transported her back, back, back in time, to the days when she and Colt had found common ground in escaping the disappointments behind their own front doors.
    In the old days, she would have grabbed Colt by the hand, and dashed away from their responsibilities. They would have bought a six-pack of PBR with a fake ID, climbed the fence for the private beach, built a little fire in the cove beside the dunes, and whiled away the hours until the moon marched across the sky and the sun began to crest again.
    But this wasn’t the old days, and she suspected
Doctor
Colt wasn’t one for fake IDs or trespassing anymore.
    â€œGrandpa, why don’t you sit down?” Colt said. “I’ll clean up.”
    â€œI’m not a baby. I can clean up my own damned messes.” Earl gripped the edge of the sink with one hand, and shooed Colt away with the other.
    Daisy bit back a smile. She recognized that stubborn spirit. Apparently a few things were passed down in the Harper DNA.
    Frustration and concern filled Colt’s eyes. Daisy decided to step in, even if it meant Colt ended up hating her later, not thanking her.
    â€œHey, Earl, why don’t you and I knock out these dishes?” Daisy said. “Save Colt the trouble and the dishpan hands. Afterward, maybe we could sit on the porch and talk some smack about that crazy neighbor next door.” Before Earl could protest, Daisy slipped into place beside him, turned on the water, and squirted some soap over the dishes. She handed Earl a dish towel. “Here, you dry. And don’t complain one bit, because I’m doing the hard part.”
    â€œOkay, okay. How can I turn down an offer like that from a pretty woman like you?” Earl grinned, then leaned one hip against the counter. He made it look like a nonchalant move, as if he didn’t need the extra support. After a while, the tension in his face eased and the color returned to his