Then, last evening, she got an email from her beloved niece, Kate. She s
aid she had a job in Lachlan and asked if she could please stay with Sara until she got a place of her own.
The thought of her niece coming made Sara so happy that she turned on some old blues music and danced from one room to another. The house was too big, too empty, and besides, retirement sucked. What was she to do with her mind in retirement? She couldn’t think of anything better than having her lively young niece to stay. There was a self-contained apartment on the west side of the house and it opened into a little courtyard with a fountain of a girl dancing in the rain. Kate would probably love it. Maybe she’d like everything so much that she’d stay permanently. Maybe the two of them could do things together. Go places. Maybe—As always, Sara’s mind had taken off like a freight train on jet fuel. An hour later, she’d planned three trips she and her niece could take together.
Later, when she stepped into her big, glass-surrounded shower, she thought of Ivy—who was Kate’s age—helping to decorate the apartment. Right now there was only a queen-size bed in there, and the living room didn’t have so much as a chair.
As she shampooed her hair, she thought how Ivy could—Sara halted. Ivy. Jack’s half sister. He shared a father with Evan and a mother with Ivy. And they had all grown up together.
“Eureka!” Sara shouted as she rinsed her hair. Kate’s visit might be the key to getting Jack to stay with her. He could take the bedroom by the garage. When he’d remodeled the house, he’d made that room quite nice. There was no furniture in it, either, but one trip to a store and...
By the time Sara got out of the shower, she was hatching a plan. Once she got Jack out of his second-story apartment, she and Heather—and Kate—would make sure he didn’t let his grief overcome him.
As she looked across Jack’s dull little apartment, Sara said, “I just want to feel safe.” She was slumped so far down in the awful old chair that her neck was practically on the seat cushion. Jack had always been one to help a person in need—as long as it wasn’t him who needed it.
“You don’t think she’s after...?” He trailed off.
“Money?” Sara shrugged. “Maybe. I’m an older woman who can pay her bills. I’m a prime target for every scammer on the planet.” She drew in her breath. Was that too much for him to believe? But no, Jack nodded in agreement. It took work for Sara not to sit up straight and declare that she could take care of herself. “I’m sure she won’t stay for long.”
When she saw that Jack was still hesitating, she decided to give his male ego a push. She used the arm of the chair to help herself up. Since her trainer had made her quads so sore that it hurt to stand, her wince was genuine. “I can see that you don’t want to do this.” There was so much martyred suffering in her voice that she thought he’d laugh at her. But he didn’t. “You don’t have to do anything. I’ll hire someone to help me.”
“Hire someone?” Jack grabbed his crutches and nearly fell as he stood up with them. “All right. You win.” He sounded disgusted. “You have any furniture for the room?”
“I thought maybe you’d go with me down to Baer’s to see Rico and pick out a few pieces. I need some for Kate’s rooms, too.”
“I don’t know anything about furniture. Ivy is the one—”
“What a great idea! So clever of you to think of her. And I do believe that Ivy said she has the morning off.” Sara pulled her cell from her handbag. “I’ll text her to meet us there. Okay if she brings your mom?”
Jack was glaring down at her. “It sounds like all of you planned this. And you certainly look like you’re feeling better. How was your boxing lesson this morning?”
“Brutal. Are you ready to go?”
“No. I need to pack. I’ll stop by on Saturday. Or Sunday, maybe.”
“You don’t need to pack anything. Every piece of clothing you own has concrete splatters or paint on it.”
“That’s because I spent the last year working on that old house you bought. You kept adding so much that I didn’t have time to go shopping.” His eyes were narrowed. He was Moses being defied.
Sara went to the door. “That’s all right. Your mom picked up a few things for you. Can we go now? If we get there early enough, Rico can schedule delivery for tomorrow.”
Jack was looking like a horse that was going to balk at the starting gate.
She gritted her teeth. Real men could be as stubborn as the ones she put in her novels. “Did I tell you that my niece is five foot seven and has dark red hair? And green eyes? She was voted the prettiest girl in her high-school class.”
“That makes no difference. I’m not looking for—” He took a breath. “Actual green or brownish green?”
“Emeralds are jealous,” Sara said without a hint of humor.
Jack glanced around the apartment, then back at Sara. “I don’t think I can fit in that car of yours.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not that big and MINI Coopers are roomy inside. Wait until you see how many lamps I can jam in there.” She held open the door. “You go first. If you fall, I don’t want you landing on me.”
“Because you’re so old and fragile?” He stepped past her. “Fragile as a water buffalo,” he muttered as he struggled down the steep flight of stairs. “Just so you know, I’m only doing this because you can cook.”
“That is not part of this deal,” Sara said, but she was smiling—and offering up a prayer of thanks. Neither she nor Jack were going to be alone. Life was good.
TWO