Chapter 46 Healing is Hell on the Appetite
forty-six
healing is hell on the appetite
Liam
“What do you mean?” Maya whispered, her voice barely audible
Nana sighed, rolling her eyes. “When I kick the bucket. When I die. When I shuffle off this mortal coil and go to meet my maker. I’m leaving the store to you, Maya. Why run off now, when you’ll just have to come back once I’m dead?”
Maya blinked rapidly, as though she’d misheard. “I don’t understand.”
Nana waved a dismissive hand. “This is what I’ve been trying to talk to you about. It’s why I went to meet with my lawyer a few weeks ago. I needed to get my affairs in order before my memory gets much worse. Bishop’s Books is yours. And the building will be split equally between you and Liam.”
My head snapped up when she said my name. “It will?”
Nana rarely surprised me—her participation in the alien porn book club notwithstanding—but this? This was something I’d never expected.
“Me?” I repeated, blinking at her. “Why would you leave any of it to me?” Maya had been right all along. I hadn’t been around much these last few years. Nana shouldn’t leave me anything, especially nothing as substantial as a building.
Nana tilted her head as though I’d asked if aliens really could do it better. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because I didn’t visit. I haven’t been here for you. I don’t deserve it. You should sell it. Take the money and spend it on the vacation of a lifetime.”
“Bullshit,” Nana said matter-of-factly, leaving no room for argument.
“What is with everyone not understanding what it means to go out and be an adult? First Maya, and now you. Kids grow up and leave home. That is a normal thing. Sometimes circumstances make for less frequent visits than we’d like, but that’s a normal thing too.
It doesn’t mean you don’t love me.” She shook her head, disappointment rolling off her in waves.
“No. You’re both wrong. It’s my building, and I get to decide what happens to it when I die.
And I say it goes to you and Maya.” Nana grinned, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
“And if you two decide not to take it, I’ll leave it to Harold. ”
Maya shook her head furiously. “It should all go to Liam. The bookstore and the building. He’s your grandson.
I’m some down-on-her-luck woman you found on the side of the road.
I’m not special. And besides, I failed you.
If anyone doesn’t deserve it, it’s me.” Her face twisted with guilt.
“You shouldn’t even want to look at me. Not after you nearly died last night. ”
Nana scoffed and fixed Maya with a pointed look. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. And I’ve spent hours just this last week debating the viability of the reproductive anatomy of a fictional alien race.” She flicked a hand, waving that thought away.
Maya’s lips twitched, but she fought her smile.
“Listen to me, Maya,” Nana continued, her voice gentler now.
“You’ve done an incredible job taking care of me, but I should never have let it go on this long.
I hired you to run the store, not to be my nursemaid.
” Then, in true Nana fashion, she derailed the moment.
“But that’s neither here nor there. You’re inheriting this place when I bite the green weenie—and not a fun green weenie, like the one on the hero from that spicy swamp monster romance we read last year for book club, but the actual green weenie of death. ”
Maya opened her mouth, no doubt to argue, but Nana steamrolled right over her.
“Besides, who’s going to run the store when I’m in the nursing home?
Liam? He’s good for lifting things, and he could probably figure out the register, but I doubt he could operate that amazing coffee gizmo you brought in.
The entire town would go into caffeine withdrawal the moment you left. ”
She leaned in, dropping her voice to a stage whisper. “And between you and me, I have serious doubts about his ability to run the book club.”
Maya raised an eyebrow, her smile threatening to break through her control.
“Don’t give me that look. You know I’m right. He can’t even handle the Patterson’s racy annotating.” She sighed dramatically. “I don’t know where I failed him. The poor boy is such a prude.”
“Hey,” I protested, crossing my arms.
“It’s true.” Nana patted my shoulder. “Plus, you have that weak stomach. A little birdie told me all about how you fainted dead away when Harold left one of his surprise sculptures at the back door.”
“In my defence,” I muttered, adjusting my glasses to distract me from my sudden queasiness, “no one expects a pile of dead mice that size. It’s like the Spanish Inquisition.”
Maya snorted at my Monty Python reference, but quickly masked it with a cough. Then her expression shuttered. “I don’t deserve it, Nana. I let you down.”
“Would you stop saying that?” I snapped, unable to stay quiet any longer. “You did nothing wrong, Maya. Nana said so herself. You were never supposed to be her caretaker. She hired you to run the store, and from what I can see, you’ve been doing an amazing job.”
“You don’t understand,” Maya said, avoiding my gaze. “I need to do my part.”
“Your part is running the store,” Nana said flatly. “And Liam is right. You’re damn good at it. If anything, I’ve enjoyed your company so much that I stayed in my apartment longer than I should have.” Her voice softened further. “You’re more than an employee, Maya. You’re family.”
Maya snorted bitterly. “Family means nothing. Look how long Liam went without visiting. Look at my parents. If you’re not useful, family tosses you aside.”
Her words hit me square in the chest. She thought I had abandoned Nana? “Wait a minute. I didn’t toss Nana aside.”
“You expect me to believe that? Pretty amazing coincidence that her memory problems started around the same time you disappeared, isn’t it?”
“You can’t honestly believe I would do something like that?”
“I don’t know what to believe.”
Nana’s entire demeanour shifted, becoming stern and unyielding. “That’s enough!”
Maya flinched, caught off guard.
“I didn’t tell Liam anything about my memory, so you can forget about that.
” Nana tsked and shook her head. “This is all thanks to those so-called parents of yours. What I wouldn’t do to give them a piece of my mind,” Nana growled.
“In fact, where’s that cell phone? I’m going to call them right now and tell them precisely what I think of them.
” She turned toward the door. “No, I have a better idea. I’m going to invite them here so I can introduce my foot to their asses before I make them apologize.
Nobody treats my family like that and gets away with it. ”
“No, wait!” Maya grabbed her arm. “Don’t invite them. Please.” Her voice softened. “I don’t want them coming to Carlisle Creek. I don’t want to see them.”
Nana paused, her expression shifting into a knowing smile. “Because you’re staying?”
Maya sighed. “Well, I can’t very well leave now, can I? Not after Harold smothered my bag, showing me for the first time ever that he cares what happens to me, and then you tell me I’m family, and that I didn’t let you down.”
Nana grinned, victorious. “Good. This is your home, Maya Parker. And don’t you forget it. Now, why don’t you and Liam go have something to eat, then come back and take a nap?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
My face flushed with heat. “Nana,” I groaned. “Please. Don’t.” I would never get used to her talking about sex.
“What?” she asked innocently, as if she had no idea what was bothering me. “Things always look brighter after a good meal and a good fu—”
“Nana!”
She cackled. “Fine, fine. Just remember, I’m here if you need pointers.”
Maya groaned, pressing her palms to her eye sockets.
“I’ll be off then,” Nana said cheerfully. She kissed Harold’s head, rousing him from his nap. “Come on, Harold. You deserve some salmon paté after saving the day.” Harold jumped up and trotted after her like a furry shadow.
Maya watched them go, shaking her head. “That cat is way too spoiled.”
“I think he earned it this time,” I said, pulling her into my arms.
“Did he, though?”
“He kept you here long enough for Nana to talk some sense into you, so I’d say he did.”
“I guess he doesn’t hate me as much as I thought. Maybe I really should stay.” She snuggled closer. “I’m sorry for what I said about you leaving Nana. Maybe I should still leave.”
My heart squeezed in my chest as I held her. “Maya. Don’t leave. Ever.” I tilted her chin up, meeting her eyes. “Your being here is the best thing I can think of. You belong in Carlisle Creek. You belong at Bishop’s Books. This is your home.”
Maya parted her lips, most likely to argue—but her stomach rumbled, interrupting her protests. She groaned, rubbing her face. “Fine. Food first. I’ll have my emotional breakdown later. But only because I’m starving.”
I grinned, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “It’s from processing all that emotional trauma. Healing is hell on the appetite.”
Maya barked a laugh, then schooled her features. “Shut up. I’m not ready to joke about it.”
But as she leaned into me, I knew the truth. Even if she wasn’t ready to admit it yet, she would ultimately decide to stay. And I had plans already in motion to make damn sure of it.
It was time to pull out the rest of the big guns.