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A decision began to harden in his mind. Ryan might not like it, but it seemed the only solution. Lucas steered her toward her grandmother because he suspected Mary would be the one to make the final call on what he had planned.
Mary appeared as serene as ever, though an unusual frown line creased her brow. Her updo had loosened from its crystal clips, and several white strands of hair trailed along her jawline. “Now that you’re here, maybe Carly will quit worrying.”
Carly sighed. “Gram, someone attacked the man. It could be you next. Or one of the girls. There have been too many intrusions into the house. We’re not safe.”
“What’s going on here?”
Lucas turned behind him to see Opal Harris walking toward them across the grass. Eric had resembled her with her blue eyes and blonde hair. Her focus went to Mary holding Noah.
Mary smiled. “There’s your grammy, Noah.” She handed him to Opal when she reached the group.
With the baby in her arms, Opal again demanded to knowthe cause of the police presence and chaos, so Carly explained. Opal’s eyes widened at the news of the attack. “You and Noah should come stay with me.”
“I can’t do that. My sisters are here and I need to help oversee the renovation,” Carly said.
“You’re putting my grandson in danger. It’s very foolhardy. Eric would insist on keeping him safe.”
“I totally agree,” Lucas said. “I have a solution.” He turned to look at the Bennett house soaring above the trees surrounding it. “We have plenty of room in our house for all of you. Until we know things are safe, I want you all to move in.”
“We couldn’t impose like that,” Carly said immediately.
“It’s not an imposition. You’ll be close enough to oversee what’s going on over here, but you’ll be away from any intrusion into the house.”
“Out of the question,” Opal said. “Eric would want you at my house.”
Carly turned toward her. “You don’t have enough room for all of us, Opal. And you’re too far away for us to oversee things.”
Lucas wasn’t deluding himself over how difficult it would be to have a houseful of women in their all-male household. Neither of them had ever lived with a woman other than their mother. He’d seen enough of the Tucker girls growing up—and enough of their behavior lately—to realize histrionics were likely to be a daily occurrence.
But he couldn’t stand back and let anything happen to them. Someone was very determined to get hold of that egg. The only way to thwart him was to get to the bottom of all of this.
Mary put her hands on her hips. “Lucas is right, Carly Ann. Thank you for your generosity. We’re happy to accept.”
Carly shot a glance at her grandmother, and her shoulders slumped. “Okay, but it won’t be easy. For anyone.”
An awkward silence ensued after Mary rose and turned toward the house. “I’m going to go pack. I’ll tell your sisters to do the same. Enjoy your visit with Noah and Carly, Opal.”
Lucas saw the longing in Carly’s gaze as she stared after her grandmother. “You’d better pack too, Carly. I’ll sit here with Opal and Noah.”
Carly’s smile lit her eyes with relief. “It shouldn’t take too long.” She headed for the house behind Mary.
Opal narrowed her eyes his direction. “I should warn you about Carly. She’s not good wife material.”
Lucas stared at her. “I’m merely protecting her, Opal. You should try doing that for once instead of constantly criticizing her.”
Red bloomed in her cheeks. “I can see she’s already caught you, Lucas.” She lifted her chin. “I’m going to take Noah for a walk around the block. You don’t have to babysit me. I know better than Carly how to care for a baby.”
He watched her stalk around the end of the house. No wonder Carly wanted to escape.
His phone dinged with a message from Carly.I want to go see Kelly tomorrow. If she knows what’s going on here, maybe she can get some traction on Eric’s death too. I am more and more convinced it all has to do with the same man or group.
He hadn’t thought much about Eric’s death this week with the urgent situations slamming into them daily, but she wasn’t wrong.
He texted back.I’ll go with you. In the meantime, let’s get things packed up and moved over.
***
The pandemonium was worse than Carly had expected.
