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After I placed it in my purse, I scanned my room one last time.
At this point, I was just dragging my feet. I had an appointment this afternoon at the funeral home to go over what I wanted for her service.
“You’ve got this, baby girl,” Ramiro said as he walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
Instantly, I leaned into him and took in the comfort he offered.
“You’re too good to me,” I said after a few moments.
“Nah, you deserve to be treated like a queen. Never forget it,” I reaffirmed what he’d said to me for years.
“Well, I don’t need a man for that. Not when I have you,” I joked as I grabbed my purse and luggage off the bed.
Like the gentleman he was, he took the heavy bag from me and carried it through the house and out to my SUV.
He opened the back hatch and placed it inside. We both entered the vehicle, and I mindlessly stared out the window as he drove me to the airport.
“Call or text me when you get there and anytime you need an ear,” Ramiro said as he hugged me goodbye when we’d arrived.
“See you later.” I half smiled at him as I walked through the automatic doors to get checked in for my flight.
Here went nothing.
The flight from Las Vegas to Dallas was only about two hours. I’d use that time to calm my anxiety. While Ramiro booked my flight, he was also a saint and rented me a vehicle since Sunset River was about an hour and a half drive from Dallas. In roughly three and a half hours, I’d be back in the place that often plagued my thoughts. My plan was that once I opened my studio, I’d visit my grandmother often, but that never happened. I always made some other excuse to put it off. The studio had just opened. The studio wasn’t bringing in the income to show her I was successful. I didn’t want to see the disappointment on her face when she learned about what we taught. That last excuse was the main one that kept me from coming home.
I wasn’t ashamed of what I did for a living.
Not by any means.
I just knew she’d never understand.
Now she’d never know what I’d made of myself.
I never understood the saying that time was of the essence until I ran out of it just now.
Time truly was a thief.
And I didn’t want her to steal anymore away from me.
Chapter 5
Alora
Sunset River hadn’t changed at all, but everything looked different. That probably didn’t make any sense, but the way my eighteen-year-old self remembered things and the way I was seeing things now didn’t seem the same.
The buildings, while they’d aged, had a few different store signs. For instance, the bookstore on the corner of Main Street wasn’t there when I left. And the coffee shop right down the street had a different name.
But the small-town charm remained. I used to love leaving my grandmother’s house to walk down Main Street and stop in all the different shops even though I’d seen everything they offered every day. I always found something new to admire.
With a heavy heart, I made a right to head toward my grandmother’s house.
Pulling into the driveway, I took in the older Victorian-style home.
The yellow paint had faded since I’d been here last and was in desperate need of a fresh coat.
The wrap-around porch had seen better days and needed some new posts.
The bushes in front of the house were overgrown and made the home have an eerie appeal.
