Her eyes flood with tears and she blinks them back. With a huff, she snatches up the notebook and pen, storming away from me.
“Where are you going?” I ask with a sigh.
Clo takes off after her.
“To bed,” Nora calls out. “Getting up stupid early in the morning has left me drained. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Seconds later, the door to her room shuts hard. Not quite a slam, but not exactly softly either. Gritting my teeth, I tilt my head back and stare up at the ceiling.
“Goldie, your granddaughter is so difficult. Apparently, I’m rudeandweird. I thought I was being hospitable letting her stay here and feeding her my food and allowing her to drink my coffee. Don’t even get me started on how she’s turned my bird against me.”
She doesn’t respond from beyond the grave. All I can hear is the hammering of my eardrums beating in tandem with my racing heart.
“Living with a woman is hard,” I mutter to myself. “Especially an Everhart.”
And that’s the truth. Because as much as I like to put Goldie on a pedestal, she had her moments. Clearly, it’s a family trait.
Regardless, I vowagainto do better tomorrow.
Maybe this time I’ll actually follow through.
Chapter 11
Nora
Denver: Emergency. Please call me back ASAP.
Idread calling Denver. Not because I’m worried about whatever’s going on with him. No, I’m afraid that it’ll involve needing my help and I’m stretched too thin mentally as it is. But I can’t avoid the man forever. He’s my boss and my boyfriend.
A shudder ripples through me.
I can’t shake the repulsion toward him lately and it’s completely unfair. He’s been nothing but kind to me. Generous enough to let me take as long as I need here at Grandma’s.
Except when I needed it most.
I close my eyes and inhale the familiar scent of her on my pillow. I’m unsure how I would have handled seeing her in the casket. At least now, my last memories of her are of her laughter, her voice, her hugs. That might’ve tainted those memories forever.
Perhaps I should be thanking Denver for saving me from that.
And yet, I can’t.
With a sigh, I find his contact in my favorites and mash the button. He answers on the first ring. I sit up in bed and turn on my lamp, ready to officially start my day.
“Hey, babe,” he says, breathless. “Hold on a sec.” A pause as he tells a barista the coffee is his. Then I hear the jingle of a bell on a door. I know he’s grabbing coffee from his usual place on the corner near the office. “Sorry. Had to get my morning fuel.”
Horns honk in the background. I certainly don’t miss the sounds of the city.
“You were able to get Spain all wrapped up?” I ask as I shuffle around the room to find my grandma’s robe and slippers.
“Yep. Grabbed the next flight out right after you. We really couldn’t have done it without you. You know that, right?”
That could be true, but Denver is more than capable of doing my job duties as well. It may’ve left him over there another couple of weeks, but he could have done it. It irks me that he’s hammering down this idea that I somehow saved the company by my presence.
“What’s up?” I ask, voice clipped as I walk over to Clo’s empty cage. It annoys me that Elias freely creeps in here to let Clo out while I’m sleeping.
It ishishouse, girl.
“How are you doing?” Denver’s question is not the answer to mine. “You sound upset.”
