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At his third knock, Kendra opened the door.
Like Kendra.
“Hey, Granger. Pop said you were coming. Don’t tire him out, he’s worn out from the wedding.” She turned on her heel and he followed her inside.
Kendra had her feet on the ground, unlike Bliss. She had a business degree, a solid family connection, community spirit. She was beautiful, too, with sparkling dark eyes and a very fine ass inside those skin-tight blue jeans.
However, she still seemed suspicious of him, and he had to admit there wasn’t much chemistry between them. Maybe they were too similar. Kendra seemed as pragmatic and logical as he was. If they got together, it might be too much like a business arrangement.
Bliss, on the other hand, was all whimsy and magic. Maybe that was why the thought of her both drove him crazy and made him long to see her—at the same time.
Put Bliss out of your mind.
He followed Kendra into the sunken living room, which looked out on the blustery lake. A sectional sofa offered places to curl up and gaze at the water. Alvin occupied what was clearly his favorite recliner, a beige leather-upholstered number that you could lay almost flat. A crocheted blanket covered his lap, and he was softly snoring.
“Welp, so much for that.” Kendra turned on her heel and corralled him away from the living room. “Pop’s sleeping. He worked hard on that wedding and he needs his rest. You’ll have to interrogate him some other time, I guess.”
“I’m not trying to interrogate him.” Granger stood his ground. “He’s the one who asked me to come over. I’ll wait.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t know how long it will be.”
He didn’t budge. As far as he was concerned, Alvin had invited him, so he had every right to be here. “What do you have against me? It can’t be the graffiti incident. We got that sorted out.”
Her mouth tightened. She wore red lipstick that matched the headband that held back her natural curls. To think that at first he’d thought there was a chance Kendra was his half-sister. She’d probably kick his ass if he told her that. “It’s nothing personal. Every time he talks to you, he gets upset. He comes home and mutters to himself for about an hour. But he won’t say why.”
Interesting. “I’m not trying to upset him.”
“Then what’s going on?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
Kendra wagged a finger at him. “Don’t you go trying to interrogate Alvin Redfish Carter. You have no business—”
“Yeah, he does, daughter. Let him in.” Alvin’s weary voice carried from inside the living room.
Kendra’s mouth tightened, but she stepped aside. “Take it easy on him,” she hissed as he walked past. “Or you’ll answer to me. And I’m not nearly as nice as Bliss is.”
Bliss? What did she have to do with this? And how was she nice? She’d taken off on him, left only a note.
He shook off thoughts of Bliss’ disappearance and hurried into the living room before Alvin changed his mind. He had shoved aside the blanket and was busy inserting his feet into house slippers.
“Didn’t mean to fall asleep,” he told Granger. “I know what you came here for, and you have a right to it. Can you hand me that glass over there?” He gestured at a glass filled with water. Granger brought it to him, then sat down on the nearest end of the sectional sofa.
“If this isn’t a good time, I can come back.”
Alvin drained the glass, then shook his head. “No. This is a good as any time. Kendra, give us a minute.”
She hesitated in the arched doorway, then shot Granger one last warning look, and disappeared.
As soon as they were alone, Alvin got right to the point. “I called you in here because I figured you’re after that fund. And to tell you that I can set up a payment schedule starting next month.”
He stared at the man blankly, registering his graying grizzled hair and deeply lined face. “What?What fund?”
“Your mama didn’t tell you? That’s not why you came?”
“No, I—“ He scrubbed a hand across his head, then asked again, ”What fund?”
“When your mama came to see us that time, when you were a kid. She went upstairs to Gault’s apartment and they had a real brawl up there. I heard yelling. Maybe something getting thrown. Then Nora came storming back down and said to me, on her way out the door, ‘at least no one can say I don’t take care of my kid.’”
