Whitney felt her heart melt a little at that. Yes, Didi was fun now too. She got a little confused and the fun happened at strange times of day, but it was definitely still entertaining.

Whitney gave him a smile she was sure looked wobbly. It felt wobbly. “I’m glad you think so.”

He simply nodded. He was looking at her but the smile was gone. Now he was watching her.

She drew in a deep breath. “So the margaritas were real. Mostly. What about the trolls? She said she killed three.”

He nodded. “Also true.”

“Warriors of Easton?”

He nodded again.

“Did you let her win or is she a natural?”

“Henry just told her she was winning and she believed him. He would have let her but it’s hard to do that.”

Whitney felt her eyes go round. “Henry? Your brother was here?”

“Yes. Though the first time they played was at Mom’s.”

“Your mom’s? You took Didi to your mom’s house?”

“After yoga. We went for dinner.”

Whitney straightened away from the counter, staring at him. “The mashed potatoes were your mother’s?”

He smiled slightly at that. “Didi ate a lot of mashed potatoes.”

“She said you made them.”

“I peeled them.” He lifted a shoulder. “She was in the living room with Henry killing trolls. I was in the kitchen. I don’t mind her thinking I made the best mashed potatoes of her life though. Goes along with the margaritas.”

Whitney stared at him. “You took my grandmother to your mother’s house for dinner.” She was still processing that. Clearly.

“We’ve eaten there every night,” he said. “We all have dinner at Mom’s once a week anyway. Sometimes I’m there more often. Mostly because I’m staying with Zoe and Aiden and they get disgustingly romantic. But yeah, we’ve been there each night this week.”

“Who’s we all?” For some reason Whitney felt very tense suddenly.

It had never occurred to her that Cam might take Didi to his mother’s house. Why would that have ever occurred to her? Their families had been sworn enemies forever. At least for all of their lives. Actually, for all of their parents’ lives too. The fallout between Didi and Letty had happened before either woman had been married or had children.

“My sister, Aiden, Dax and Jane, Josie and Grant.” Cam shrugged. “Everyone.”

Whitney felt her stomach clench. Wow. That really was everyone. Didi had not just gone into the lion’s den, but the lions had invited a few tigers and panthers over too.

Okay, that wasn’t fair. It was a huge overreaction as a matter of fact. Didi was clearly fine. She was in great spirits. And the mashed potatoes had practically rocked her world.

But she’d spent the evening with the McCafferys? That was bizzare. A few days with Cam and already everything was turned all around.

If Whitney’s family were still in town…

But they weren’t. And even if they were, it would have been easy enough to hide this from them. They never paid much attention to what Whitney and Didi did.

Still, this felt very strange.

She frowned at Cam. “I don’t love this.”

He frowned back. “Why not?”

“Because her cognitive issues are private,” Whitney said. “The fact that she needs help is private. We don’t want the entire town to know.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You had help coming in.”

“We had Katherine sign a nondisclosure. Everyone thought she was just cooking and cleaning. And she was doing those things, so it wasn’t a total lie.”

“And what are people going to think about me being here?”

“That we’re dating,” Whitney said. “Isn’t that the story? That’s what you and Didi came up with at the bakery, I thought. I thought she thought that we’ve been together all this time and now that you’re back in town and my family is gone, we’re no longer keeping it a secret.”

His jaw ticked for a moment, but then he nodded. “That’s what she thinks. At least sometimes.”

“So the rest of the town can think that.”

“You’re fine with that?”

“Better that than them thinking she’s got dementia.”

“So us being together is at least better than a horrible, progressive neurologic disease,” he said. “Got it.”

Whitney pulled a breath in through her nose. “Now that Hot Cakes is in new hands, speculation about the business and what might happen is less of an issue. It never would have actually been an issue, but people didn’t know that my family didn’t let Didi have much to do with the company after the first few years. Didi was always the face of the company. People might have worried about what would happen if she was sick. Now that’s not a problem. But her condition is private. I’d like to keep it private and preserve her dignity as long as possible.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Cam said, scowling. “It’s not her fault, or yours, that this is happening. Alzheimer’s is a terrible, unfair condition that is indiscriminate in who it affects. In fact, it might be a great thing if people knew she had it. Show others who are going through it that no matter how much status and money you have, this disease can still hit. We could use it to increase awareness. Do some fund-raising for—”

“No.” Whitney crossed her arms, her chest tight. “No, Cam. We’ve donated money to research. We’ve donated money to Sunny Orchard. We’ve done all of that. We don’t need to make it public.”

“Then just to show some solidarity with other families who are going through shit,” he said. “Jane’s dad has a neurologic condition that has him living at Sunny Orchard. You and Jane could talk about how it feels to watch a loved one go through something like that.”

“No.” Whitney shook her head adamantly.

Jane Kemper was a strong, smart, no-bullshit person. Whitney liked Jane. But they had nothing in common. Jane was, frankly, more than a little intimidating.

“This is private,” Whitney went on. “Didi has always been someone who kept to herself, who kept things within our family, and I don’t think she’s in a state where she can make a decision about going public now. And we can’t make that decision for her.”

Cam’s jaw tightened again and he took a breath. “Did she keep to herself or did your grandpa keep her to herself?”

The tightness in her chest increased and she had to swallow twice before she said, “That’s none of your business.”

“Isn’t it?” he moved around the edge of the counter.

Whitney felt her heart rate increase as he got closer. It wasn’t fear. Her brain recognized that. But that was what the surge of adrenaline felt like.

“Fine. It’s one thing for you to know what’s going on with her,” Whitney said. “You’re my boss.”

His frown was deep and swift. “Stop fucking saying that.”

She lifted her chin. “It’s true. And, yes, eventually you’ll all have to know because things will deteriorate with her health and I might have to miss work and might have to adjust deadlines. But that’s all the more reason for me to get things in place and going well before that happens.”