Page 65 of Where the Heart Is

Gran and Gramps didn’t just have a relationship, they were married, and with age came supposed wisdom. But now that she’d seen Gramps happy and Gran flustered, should she be dabbling in matchmaking? She’d thought reminding them of the past might rekindle feelings, but what if they’d already done that and were reeling from it?

‘I’m not surprised you’re edgy, Gran. It must be hard dealing with what happened in the past and everything that’s now being dredged up. But for what it’s worth, I think it’s great you and Gramps are getting along after all you’ve both been through, and I reckon just play it by ear for now.’

Gran tweaked her nose, like she used to when Mila was a kid. ‘Who made you so wise?’

‘You did, considering you raised me.’

The twinkle in Gran’s eyes faded. ‘Have you heard from your parents recently?’

Mila shook her head, quelling the familiar surge of resentment that surfaced whenever she thought about her folks—which wasn’t very often, by choice. ‘Nope. It’s been a few months. You?’

‘About the same.’

Addy never badmouthed her son, but Mila thought Cam was lousy with family. He might not acknowledge his kids very often, but his parents were ageing, and he should keep in touch more often.

Keen to change the subject, Mila said, ‘Anyway, what I wanted to talk to you about was giving me a hand planning a B & S ball.’

Addy brightened, before her excitement faded. ‘I’d love to, but I won’t be around long enough.’

‘Actually, Phil’s hosting it on his property next week.’

‘Next week?’ Addy’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘How on earth does he expect to pull together a ball on such short notice?’

‘By coercing others, like you and me, to help.’

Astute as ever, Gran said, ‘Is this because his reputation is in tatters after he ditched you at the altar?’

‘It wasn’t quite at the altar.’

Addy waved away the clarification. ‘Regardless, I bet townsfolk can’t stop pointing the finger at him and he’s sick of looking like the bad guy.’

‘Yeah, that’s about right. So, will you help?’

‘Sure. It’ll give me something to do while I wait for …’ Addy trailed off, her gaze oddly guilty as it slid sideways.

‘For?’ Mila prompted.

Addy blinked rapidly. ‘For my car to be fixed.’

Once again, when Addy couldn’t look her in the eye, Mila had a feeling her gran was lying.

CHAPTER

39

Sawyer had never seen his sister drunk.

He’d been six when she’d finished school and moved out, the last of his sisters to abandon him. Though that was unfair. With the large age gap between him and his siblings, what had he expected? All the Manns couldn’t wait to escape the overbearing presence of their father and the tolerant silence of their mother as soon as they finished school.

He hadn’t missed Jocelyn and Phoebe as much as Allison, because they’d been sixteen and fourteen when he’d been born and already firmly entrenched in teen life: boys, boys, and boys. At twelve, Alli had more patience and had mothered him all through toddlerhood and beyond. He’d been distraught when she’d left home, a six-year old all alone with parents who existed in frigid silence—when his father wasn’t abusing his mother, that is.

So to see Alli grinning like a loon after three espresso martinis made him equal parts happy and wary: happy she’d had an opportunity to relax, wary that Mick wouldn’t like coming home to a tipsy wife.

‘The kids should be home any minute,’ she said, ending on a hiccup, and giggled. ‘Lucky, I got a friend to drop them off.’ She held up two fingers in front of her face and squinted. ‘I think I’m hammered.’

‘Maybe you should’ve had more espresso, less martini?’ he said, with a grin, and she giggled again, a girlish sound at odds with the weary expression she’d worn earlier.

‘I never cut loose.’ She snorted. ‘I’ll have a coffee now. Want one?’

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