Page 117 of Wilds of the Heart

Answers.

We both needed to mend our broken hearts, and there was something about this woman and this lake that made that possible.

But the other part of me worried that Tim had something hidden that I never wanted to find out, and it started with a woman named Tracy and a key to who knows what.

I let out a sigh and made my way to the porch, where Grandma Millie opened her arms for me next and motioned for her famous hug.

The moment her arms wrapped around me, it felt like I was seventeen again, and she was assuring me that going back home to my parents’ would be okay.

I closed my eyes and hugged her back, smelling the lavender and rose that were so very familiar.

“It’s good to see you, my little Grace.” She hugged me again before stepping back. “You look good. Tired but good.”

“I think you’re being extra kind because I feel like a mess.”

“Ah, nonsense.” She winked at me and turned to my daughter. “Anyone who has this angel for a daughter isn’t anywhere near a mess.”

Izzy beamed, and I saw the little girl I’d grown to miss.

“Now, let’s get you to your rooms.” Grandma Millie clapped her hands before reaching the storm door and holding it open for us to go inside.

“I just assumed Izzy and I would share the guest room.”

Grandma Millie chuckled and shook her head. “When you’re fifteen, it’s okay to want space. So, Izzy has the guest room, and you have my bedroom.” She wandered down the hall to the kitchen.

The thought that I’d be displacing a woman nearing ninety for the next three months didn’t sit well with me. While Izzy looked relieved, I followed Grandma Millie.

“That’s really sweet of you, but I can’t chase you out of your own room.”

Izzy came into the sun-filled kitchen behind me. The bright white cabinets and pale yellow walls were exactly as I’d always remembered.

“Oh, sweetie. I’m rarely here any longer. I found a man.”

My eyes widened as Izzy stifled a laugh.

“A man?” My brows rose. “You found a man?”

In a town this small, it wasn’t easy to do.

She wiggled her white brows and nodded. “How do you think I got my shutters painted?”

Izzy’s hands flew to her mouth. “Grandma.”

“I second that,” I teased, startled to see a vivid sparkle in her gaze.

Izzy grinned and patted my back. “And you thought we’d help Grandma through her own grief. I think she helped herself.”

Grandma Millie nodded. “Just because I can’t remember where I put my keys half the time doesn’t mean I can’t remember where a man’s—”

I laughed, cutting her off. “Okay, then. Your bedroom it is.”

“Anyway, Grace.” She smiled.” You and Izzy can have the run of the place. As I said, I rarely spend that much time here now. Oh, and I got your old bicycle all tuned up. New tires, chains, whatever it was that Steve at the bike shop said it needed. I thought Izzy or you might like to be able to take it out to the lake like you used to.”

My grandma’s thoughtfulness always amazed me, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on her kindness when I just found out my grandma had already found a man.

I fully understood that curiosity killed the cat, but I needed answers.

Grandma Millie poured us all a glass of her famous lavender lemonade.

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