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“Are you okay?” Grams asked.
“It just occurred to me…I’ve been thinking so hard about if Faron wakes up, or what I’ll do about Bran if Faron wakes up, that I haven’t considered another possibility. What if he wakes up and doesn’t remember me? What if he doesn’t remember we were lovers? Should I tell him? What if I don’t tell him and he remembers later? I’m so confused.” I stared at my plate. The omelet was oozing with cheese, and the bacon sat crisp, glistening with the faintest hint of fat.
“Do you want some advice?”
I nodded. “Please.”
“Take things one day at a time. Focus on what’s in front of you: find out who’s actively trying to destroy your livelihood. Or worse, your life. Continue to see Bran. It’s not fair to just drop him because you don’t know what’s going to happen with Faron now. You need to move on with life, and whatever happens, will happen. So much in this world is beyond our control. We have to give up the idea that we can direct everything, and focus on what we can alter.” Grams reached over to pat my hand. “Come on, let’s go meet Bree.”
“I’m scared to leave the place without anybody here. Look at what happened to Bran and May last night.”
Grams worried her lip. “All right, then you go. My lawyers know who you are. I’ll call them to let them know that I’m sending you.”
“Thanks,” I said. With a sigh, I stood and gathered my purse, and headed out.
* * *
Bree was waiting at the coffee shop, but Grams’s lawyers hadn’t shown up yet. I ordered a pumpkin spice latte, then joined her.
She gave me a long look. “You look like you’ve been through the wringer,” she said.
“Somebody tried to burn down May and Bran’s house last night.” I told her what had happened and she groaned.
“What the hell is going on? Do you have any idea of who is behind all of this?”
“No, but I wish I did. At first we thought maybe it was some woman who has her eyes set on Faron and wanted to get me out of the way. But if the same person went after May and Bran, then that wouldn’t make sense.”
Bree paused for a moment, then asked, “What about Bran? Does he have a girlfriend? A jilted lover?”
I paused. I hadn’t thought of that possibility. “Well, I suppose maybe—but no, his last girlfriend dumped him. She left him in Europe to run away with some artsy French guy, I think. And he hasn’t been seeing anybody since then.”
I nodded toward the door. Two men entered the restaurant. “Ten to one, those are Grams’s lawyers. They look like lawyers.”
Sure enough, within minutes one joined us while the other stood in line at the counter.
“Ms. Loomis?” he asked, holding his hand out to Bree. “I’m Carl Jonathan, attorney for Morgance MacPherson.”
“Yes, I’m Bree. And this is?—”
“Ms. MacPherson’s great-granddaughter, I assume?” He took my hand as I held it out.
“Elphyra MacPherson. Yes, I’m Morgance’s great-granddaughter. How do you do?” I motioned for Carl to sit down.
He took his seat, pulling another chair over so that he could set his briefcase on it. “Laurence will be here in a moment. You can see he’s getting our drinks.”
“Thank you for seeing me,” Bree said. “I’m afraid I don’t make enough for your fees, but I appreciate the consultation.”
“Don’t worry about fees. Morgance told us to handle the case however it needs to be handled. She’s happy to help.” He smiled, and his face lit up. He was a small, bald man, fashionably trim, wearing what I thought was a Dior suit. His eyes were a pale brown, and he wore a wedding ring.
“Oh, thank you—” Bree started to say, but at that moment Laurence arrived.
As Laurence handed Carl a large cup of coffee, setting his own on the table, Carl introduced him. “Laurence Tandy, meet Bree Loomis. And this is Elphyra, Morgance’s great-granddaughter.”
After we finished the requisite small talk, Carl turned to Bree. “Suppose you tell us what’s happening? We’re on retainer, so if you sign this paper, you’ll be considered our client and anything you tell us remains confidential.” He turned to me. “I’d like you to sign an NDA as well, just for propriety’s sake.”
I leaned back in my seat, thinking an apple hand pie would be really good right about now. “Sure. Anything for Bree. Here, let me sign, then I’m going to grab a hand pie. Bree, want anything?”
She shook her head as I scanned the two paragraph non-disclosure agreement and scribbled my signature at the bottom. “No thanks,” Bree said.
