He still woke before sunrise every morning.
Two winters earlier, he’d undergone hip replacement surgery and had used a wooden cane ever since.
He moved slowly now, but his determination hadn’t changed.
Kaylee adored him.
She had spent countless summer afternoons following him around the farm. He taught her to drive his old Ford pickup across an empty field when she was eleven.
That was the same year Ryan stopped calling.
“Grandpa walks pretty slowly these days,” I reminded her.
“I know.”
“The gym is large.”
“I don’t care, Mom.”
She looked directly into my eyes.
“I want him.”
Then she added something that surprised me.
“And can he walk with me by himself? Just Grandpa?”
I swallowed.
Part of me wanted to accompany her.
But this wasn’t about me.
“Of course, sweetheart.”
The following morning, I called Mrs. Larson, the school’s activities director.
I’d originally submitted Kaylee’s senior-night form listing Travis and me as her escorts.
