Chapter Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Seven
After Luke leaves, I make sure all the doors and sliders are locked then I arm the alarm system. Tired and emotionally drained, I spend a lot of the night tossing and turning, planning exactly what I’m going to say to Martin when I tell him off and fire him, while listening for an intruder.
I don’t get much sleep, but I wake to the heavenly aroma of freshly brewed coffee. When I open my eyes, rays of sunshine slat through the shutters. Throwing off the covers, I stretch and yawn, then make a quick pit stop in the bathroom before heading down to the kitchen. There, Grand places a mug of coffee in my hands and motions me toward a barstool at the counter.
“Scrambled or over easy?” she asks as I practically inhale those first lovely sips.
“Scrambled.”
“With spinach or feta?”
“Both.”
“Bagel or whole wheat toast?”
“Hmmmm…toast. With lots of butter.”
“Done!”
I start to stand to help, but Grand waves me back into my seat. Then she heads to the refrigerator and starts pulling out ingredients.
I stare out the open kitchen window. The blue sky is still streaked with wispy white clouds. A light breeze stirs the palms bracketing the cobblestone street that stretches between two rows of pastel town houses.
“God, it’s beautiful here,” I say.
“It is, isn’t it?”
“How’d you sleep, Grand?” I ask as she unwraps a stick of butter then begins cracking eggs.
“Like a rock. You?”
“More like a pebble bouncing down a cliff. Things just kept rolling around in my head. Between thinking about the job and money I threw away and building up the nerve to fire Marty, I barely slept.”
“Well, I have no doubt you did the right and honorable thing in turning down that Lift business.”
“Thanks.” I take another long, lovely sip of coffee that doesn’t quite dispel my unease. “Unfortunately, my decision doesn’t feel quite as clear-cut today as it did in the moment.”
“They rarely do, dear. When I look back on my relationship with Phillip and how I let it derail me and my plans, I don’t know what I was thinking. But I’m proud of you for taking a stand.”
Grand places a finger under my chin and lifts it gently so that our gazes meet. “I have complete faith that you’ll get back on your feet and figure things out. In the meantime, you have Harley’s on the weekends and story time and potential acting lessons at the bookstore. And I have absolutely no doubt that you’ll have plenty of acting opportunities once people start forgetting about the whole Cassie Everheart drama and you have someone new representing you. But no matter what, there’ll always be a place for you wherever I live. ‘Mi casa es su casa,’?” as they say. “No matter where that casa is.”
I reach over and wrap my arms around her. “Thanks, Grand. You’re the best.”
“I feel exactly the same way about you.” She shivers slightly. “Now, all we have to do is make sure that home is never at Buffington Arms.”
I nod my agreement. “I’m with you.”
When we’ve finished our breakfast and drunk as much coffee as we can hold, we do some light housekeeping and a bit of laundry. Then we take a lovely stroll around the complex, greeting people who are out enjoying the weather or walking their dogs.
“I just love how friendly everyone is here,” Grand says after a woman she met at a mah-jongg lesson smiles and waves as she drives by.
When we get back to Grand’s town house, we carry glasses of ice water out to the main-floor balcony and settle at the table to watch the boats go by. Grand is the first to spot the three dolphins just beyond the seawall while I try, unsuccessfully, to capture them with my cell phone camera. I’ve been attempting this since I arrived and I’m always just seconds too late to get a shot before they dive.
Grand points to bubbles that appear just a few yards farther out that indicate the dolphins are about to surface again. “They say if there are three, it’s a mother, father, and baby. If it’s only two, the father is off somewhere else. And if it’s alone, it’s a male.”
I look at my grandmother. She looks as relaxed as I feel in this moment. Seconds later our dolphin watch is interrupted when my phone shrieks out the Psycho ringtone.
“I feel so wonderfully relaxed. Maybe we can call her back a little later…”
I wince as I drop the call. I love my mother, but she and relaxation are rarely used in the same sentence.
I’m just starting to unclench when Mom calls back.
“You really need to replace that ringtone before your mother accidentally hears it,” Grand says.
I inhale then exhale but it just keeps ringing. “Hi, Mom,” I say as I answer.
“Are you and your grandmother all right?” Her tone is urgent.
“Yes, of course. What’s wrong?”
“Is she there with you now?” She sounds increasingly frantic.
“Yes.”
“Put me on speaker. I need to talk to both of you.”
My heart kicks up a beat as I do what she’s asked. “We’re listening.”
“I came to check on your house this morning, Mother,” she says in a rush. “I wanted to make sure everything was okay and that your mail was being forwarded and not just sitting in the box.” The breath she draws is loud and shaky. “But when I got here, the front door was ajar and the security system had been disarmed. Whoever was inside made a huge mess in your house and your studio. They were clearly searching for something.”
“Oh no. You shouldn’t have gone in. Are you sure they’re gone?” Grand says.
“I haven’t seen or heard movement of any kind since I got here. The police are on the way. So is Sean. Right now, I’m standing next to the open front door waiting for them.”
Grand and I stare at each other. I give her a “we need to tell her” look.
Grand shakes her head. “Could you tell what they were looking for, Natalie?” she asks, her voice shaking.
When I’m sure I’ve got Grand’s full attention, I mouth, “You need to tell her right now.”
There’s another too long silence. Finally, Grand says, “Please be careful, Natalie. I should be able to get a flight up late this afternoon.”
“No,” my mother says. “I can handle it. And I don’t want you to have to see it this way.” I hear her blow out a breath. “Sean and I will put things to rights. Then I’ll have Maritza come in and do a thorough cleaning.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Grand says almost formally. “I appreciate it. Please don’t—”
This is when I not so gently take my phone out of Grand’s reach and say quite clearly, “There have been several break-ins down here, too. Someone wants something they believe Grand has, and I have no doubt the break-in up there is connected to what’s going on down here.” I come as close to glaring at my grandmother as I’m capable of.
“Good God. What on earth have you gotten yourself involved in, Mother?”
“Don’t you worry about me,” Grand says. “I’m fine and so is Sydney. Luke is looking out for us.”
“It’s true, Mom. Luke’s been great and I know he’s still in touch with friends on the police force up there. I’m going to ask him to reach out to them on Grand’s behalf. Maybe they can figure this out together.”
“All right.” My mother’s voice becomes slightly less shaky. “But you need to be careful and keep an eye on her at all times until I can get back down there.”