The Men of Wesley Lake Box Set

Chapter 2-2

By the end of the first week, Graham felt like he was losing his mind. Mornings were fine, but once lunch was over, his dad rapidly declined. His symptoms grew worse as the sunset neared. In less than seven days, his father had broken three glasses, one dish, had lost the TV remote countless times—usually found in his dad’s room—and more granola cereal landed on the floor than in his dad’s bowl each morning.

Not to mention the number of times his dad had stepped outside onto the deck to watch the water. This was fine, but he always did it when Graham was either on the phone, in the bathroom or his room, or out front getting the mail. Not knowing his dad’s whereabouts had taken years off his own life. The first time he’d found the place empty, his heart had thundered in his ears, he was so scared. All he could picture was his dad walking into the lake and he’d wondered at his decision in bringing him out here.

As for his job? Not even a possibility. Less than two minutes of work completed in a week and he had deadlines. Graham was in over his head. Way over his head.

“I’m not sure what to do, Rebecca,” he admitted to his sister. “Until I lived with him, I had no idea he was this bad. I mean, yeah, I knew…but it’s like having a toddler.”

Her laugh came through the phone.

He frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“What do you know about toddlers, Graham? Come visit me and you can help me with the three I have under the age of four!”

Okay. Score one for his sister. “You’re right. I shouldn’t complain, but I can’t even do my job.”

“What about a home health care aide?”

“A what?”

She sighed and he could picture her rolling her pretty green eyes. “You can hire someone to come in and help during the days. A nurse. Or something like that.”

“Like a babysitter?” He wasn’t sure his dad would go for that.

“I guess you could say that, but they’re professional and help take care of the elderly.”

“Dad’s not elderly.”

“But he has Early-onset Alzheimer’s, so in many ways he’s like an elderly man.” She sighed. “I’m so sorry you’re dealing with him all alone, Graham.”

“Hey, it’s fine. I live here and I don’t have a family.” He didn’t want her worrying. Maybe he shouldn’t have called her to vent.

“You should have one, though,” she insisted. “You need to find a good man and settle down and be happy.”

Yeah, never going to happen. Graham had no intention of ever getting into a relationship. How could he? He’d never put a partner in a position to take care of him when he’d likely be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s one day. No way would he ever do that to anyone.

“I’m happy,” he told his sister.

“I pretend to believe that lie for now. But seriously, call his insurance company and see if they cover a home health aide. If they don’t, look up companies that do that and I’ll talk to Brent and see how much we can help with the cost.”

They talked a few more minutes, until his dad woke up from his nap and shuffled into the living room. He seemed surprised to see Graham standing there.

“Have a good nap, Dad?”

His dad shrugged. He looked a little unsure of his surroundings, so Graham placed his hand on his dad’s arm and steered him over and got him settled.

“Want a Diet Coke?”

His dad nodded, so Graham got him the soda, opening the can and setting it on the end table next to him.

“CNN?” It was the only thing his dad liked, but he asked anyway. Since his dad didn’t answer, he took it as a “yes” and turned on the news.

He sat at the opposite end of the sofa, his elbows on his knees. He couldn’t help wondering about what Rebecca had said. Had he lied? He liked his life, for the most part. Graham had good friends, loved his job, and there were plenty of men out there when he needed to scratch that itch. Although, he had to admit, he had a hard time getting S.G. out of his mind. God that man had been like a fantasy come true. Sexy, seemingly caring, and somehow knowing exactly what Graham had needed. For the first time in years, he’d actually considered exchanging numbers. But only for a moment, until he’d come to his senses.

The way S.G. had kissed him, though. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d been so turned on by a kiss. Usually kissing wasn’t always on the table for him. But the moment the man’s lips had touched Graham’s, his entire body had tingled.

But nothing he could do about it now. Even if he changed his mind about seeing S.G. again, he didn’t know his name. In his mind, he’d be forever Sexy Giant.

With his dad occupied, he took the time to pull out the insurance information and call about a home health aide. He had a hard time believing there were these angels on earth for hire.