She stepped closer. “I don’t want to sell it. My grandparents left it to me. It’s the only link to family I have.” She regretted the words instantly.
“Guess I’m sour onions.” He harrumphed. For real. Like some comic-book character.
“You know what I mean. It’s time. I want to be there.” She glanced at Tilly. “You don’t need me.”
Something she couldn’t read came into his gaze. “You just going to go live your own life now. Done with me? Just like that?”
Tilly turned back, frowning. “Don’t guilt the girl, Morty. She’s been more than patient enough with you and your silly behavior.”
Grace smiled, stepped into him, and pressed a cheek to his wrinkly cheek. “I’ll only be a few blocks away. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”
“Gonna come back and mooch off me?” His attempt at grumpy bravado was undercut by the crack in his voice.
“Every chance I get.” Grace’s heart felt like a balloon being released into the air, no longer restricted or tied down.
Morty nodded.
“I’ll let you get back to your… uh, visit,” she said, her cheeks warming again.
“I was just stopping by on my way home from work, honey,” Tilly said, joining Morty in his doorway. Sure enough, she was dressed in her nurse’s scrubs, her white-blond hair tucked up into a tight bun. She wore her sixty-odd years well.
The fact that they’d found love in their later years gave Grace hope that she might one day find her own.
“I’m glad he has you,” Grace said, her own voice feeling thick.
“Ask one of those barista boys you work with to help out after work. We’ll get you all loaded up in my truck.” Morty’s crooked smile was a balm to her heart.
He was going to be just fine, and she was finally going to start living her dreams. In her very own house.
“Thanks. I’ll see you later. Be good or be safe.”
She turned to go down the hall before she did something silly like cry over making a decision she’d wanted to make for months.
“Good and safe are both overrated,” Morty called.
She laughed on her way into her room. She’d miss living with him but couldn’t wait to have her own space. A home she could truly call her own. She might not have a past worth dwelling on, but her future was wide open. Her life was about to begin. Right after her eight-hour shift.
2
Grace made it to the Coffee Stop with barely enough time to don her apron. Her boss, Ellie, was flexible and sweet but couldn’t stand tardiness. Which was more than fair.
“Hey, sweet girl,” Ellie said, coming out of the storage closet just off the serving area.
Grace tried not to appear winded as she took the box of napkins from her boss’s hands. “Hey. How’s it going?”
“I cannot complain,” Ellie said, grabbing her own apron from the hook by the display cabinets.
Grace finished the sentence for her, saying, “Because no one would listen if you did.”
Ellie chuckled, going to the machines, getting them started. They opened in thirty-five minutes. Local college students kept Saturday mornings busy, almost from the get-go. They’d file in, order their drinks, look at Grace like they knew her but couldn’t place her—yeah, I go to school with you and now I’m serving you coffee.Not for much longer.
In three months, she’d graduate, finally, with a degree in design. The road she’d started on years ago was coming to an end. Grace was as excited as she was scared. More so, now.
Grace stopped uncovering pastries for the display case when she realized Ellie was standing beside her, staring expectantly.
Her stomach growled at the scent of chocolate and pie crust. “Pardon?”
Ellie’s dark eyes sparkled. With the jet-black hair she refused to let gray pulled into a tight ponytail, the barely-there wrinkles were more visible, but so was the shine. “I asked how you were doing. Something on your mind?”
