Page 28 of Asher

“Lexie, Marlowe just got here, and she’s probably tired, so don’t drag her away. She just got out of the hospital today.”

“You been sick?” Lexie stopped steering, her eyes wide with wonder. “What’d you have? Tonsillitis? Pneumonia? De-men-cha?”

Marlowe couldn’t suppress a smile. “My goodness, you know a lot of big words.” Maybe that book wasn’t a child’s version. “Ihurt my nose, back, and feet, that’s all. And it’s very nice to meet you, Lexie.”

“Who hit you in your eye?”

Marlowe brushed the question off. “Don’t worry about me. Maybe I’ll read with you later, would that be okay?”

“Sure! I love to read!”

“Sweetheart, why don’t you help Grandpa into the playroom? Go very slow, and I’ll get Bradley,” Kelsey said, as she deftly cleared the table and put the few dishes in the sink. Which was a modern marvel of hammered bronze metal that looked more like an antique than a modern sink. The matching gooseneck faucet gracing the counter had a handle like an old-fashioned pump. Everywhere Marlowe looked, she saw wealth. Every appliance looked brand new. Not a ragged thing in sight. Nothing worn out, battered, or broken.

She bowed her head, needing to leave. She would’ve if Kelsey hadn’t touched her shoulder and said, “You need to sit down. Here. Let me hold this chair and—”

“No,” snapped out of Marlowe’s mouth, as Lexie rolled another walker, this one with bright pink tennis balls instead of wheels, over to her grandfather. “I’m not a cripple.”

Lexie stopped and cocked her head.

“Good, because I never said you were,” Kelsey answered just as kindly as ever. “But I know a woman at the end of her rope when I see one. Now sit down before you fall down.” She pulled a chair out from the table and pointed a stern finger at the seat.

“Oh, oh. Mama’s mad at you,” Lexie whispered. “You’re gonna have to stand in the corner.”

Marlowe wasn’t expecting that firm command from this delicate woman or the warning from her adorable daughter, so she did as she was told. She sat.

“She’s just tired, Mama,” Lexie explained. “Maybe she needs a nap like Bradley and Grandpa always do.”

Great, just great. Now she’d made Lexie feel bad. Sucking in a bellyful of regret, Marlowe nodded at the little girl. “I think you’re right. I am tired. But I promise I’ll come read with you after I talk with your mom a while.”

“Well, okay, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I promise I’ll read very softly if you do, and maybe you’ll fall asleep like Bradley does.”

Could there be a sweeter child than this one? Chastised, Marlowe said, “Thank you.”

Kelsey kissed her daughter’s head as Lexie led her grandfather down the hall.

“You should be proud,” Marlowe whispered. “You’ve raised a very mature little girl.”

“She takes after her mom,” Judy said. Setting Marlowe’s walker out of the way, she took the chair beside her. Libby sat next to Kelsey, and weren’t they just like four busybody housewives about to gossip over coffee?

Right on cue, Kelsey asked. “Would anyone like coffee? I made a cinnamon crunch coffee cake to go with it this morning. Any takers?”

Marlowe’s eyes were still on Lexie and her grandfather. The little girl jabbered with every halting step he took down the hallway. The scene was almost otherworldly. A tiny elf of a child takingcare of a grumpy, stooped, older man, who did nothing but groan and growl in response to everything she said. He didn’t look anything like Alex.

Judy held up a finger. “Just coffee for me. No, you stay seated. I’ll serve. You go get Bradley. Marlowe? Libby? Coffee, cake, or something else?”

“Coffee’s fine, thanks,” Marlowe replied, as Kelsey followed Lexie and Grandpa down the same hallway.

“Nothing for me,” Libby answered. “Already had a cup and one’s my limit. That’s the playroom Lexie is steering her grandpa into, Marlowe. It’s childproof.”

“And grandfather proof,” Judy added. “Kelsey’s just making sure he gets settled into his chair, instead of beside it. Lexie can usually handle him, but he’s a cantankerous old fart on his best days. Sometimes he hurts her feelings. Alzheimer’s is a challenge to live with.”

“And yet he lives here? With Alex and his family?” Marlowe asked.

Judy nodded. “Kelsey wouldn’t have it any other way, now that she’s back on her feet.”

“Asher said someone shot her last fall?”

“Yes, and for a while, we were afraid we’d lose her.”

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