Page 79 of Pinch of Love

“You could have just asked for help.”

“That makes life too easy.”

Grandma Millie smiled, holding the jug and tinfoil tray of tiramisu. “I thought this might lift your spirits after getting the news about your mom.”

My stomach clenched. She was Grandma Millie’s daughter-in-law. I’d done an okay job of compartmentalizing her passing.

I went to grab the jug, and my grandma shook her head. “If you drive the scooter as well as you walk, I don’t think either of these things will make it to the kitchen.”

She glanced around as I pushed off. “I didn’t see Cash’s Jeep outside. I was surprised.”

I propped myself against the counter in the kitchen. “He had something to take care of at another place.”

“You sure it wasn’t another someone?” Her white eyebrows waggled up and down.

“Grandma, he’s not like that.”

She chuckled. “I know. I just wanted to see if I could get a rise out of you, and I could.”

“Which means?”

“That you like this fellow. Grace and I chose well.”

I looked at her. “What do you mean, Grace and youchosewell?”

“Well, she rented her place from Cash, and she thought you two would be a perfect fit. Unfortunately, when she thought that, you were still with Rob. But then you got stranded at the altar, and life fell perfectly into place.”

My brow arched. “Yes. Life has fit so perfectly into place that my life simultaneously imploded while my ex was trying to take my company and is now apparently stalking me. All the while, I have a broken foot. Remind me not to have you two put together any other magical spells.”

Grandma Millie opened two different cupboards until she found the set of plates. “What is this about Rob stalking you? The messages he’s sending?”

I let out a sigh. I hadn’t told anyone in my family about the latest. Grandma Millie slid over a plate and fork. Taking a bite, I closed my eyes and smiled.

“This is heaven.”

She waved her hands. “I’m glad you think so. Continue.”

“Cash asked Nate to keep an eye out for Rob because he kind of went off the grid. Sure enough, one of the deputies saw him at the hardware store today.”

Grandma Millie looked horrified. “And Cash left you alone?”

“Well, when you put it that way...” I laughed nervously.

I’m sure I was overthinking things. I set down the carving of a lizard that I was certain commemorated some reptile Cash had as a kid. I hadn’t even realized I was still clinging onto it like it was my lifeline.

Grandma Millie eyed the wood. “And that was your club in case I was Rob?”

“Maybe.”

“Oh, baby.” Grandma Millie put down her fork and hugged me closely. “You girls have not had an easy time of it, but that will all change. My love, that will all change.”

Being in her arms instantly brought me back to my summers at Buttercup Lake when I’d fall off a bike, get my heart crushed by a mean boy, or deal with a bunch of nasty girls. She was always there for me.

“I wish we’d told you about our childhood. I wish we’d lived with you.”

Grandma Millie gave me an extra squeeze. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t beat myself up over that. But your parents were good storytellers.”

“I prefer the term liars.”