dear. I was saving it as a surprise, but it won’t do any harm to tell you. I’m knitting a pair of booties for when your adoption comes through.”
Laurel instinctively turned away and closed her eyes until the sting passed. Her grandmother had no idea the pain her words caused. Her remarks were like rubbing a fresh lemon over a wound—an injury that remained open and raw from losing Jonathan.
Her gaze shot to the closed bedroom door, Jonathan’s nursery. She’d closed that door in more ways than one and demanded that it remained closed. Both Nana and Zach had abided by her wishes. The room was essentially sealed off and left exactly as it was from the day Jonathan had been taken from them. No one had set foot inside it since then.
“Let me know if you need help with dinner,” Nana said cheerfully, as she settled back into her favorite chair to watch the early-evening news. “We set the table already.”
Laurel pulled the roast out of the oven and set it on top of the stove. Zach was due home anytime now. She hadn’t expected Mrs. Miracle’s willingness to cook for the family, and having the meal ready was a real treat.
Soon, Laurel heard Zach cheerfully greeting Nana. After dispensing with his coat and bag, he joined Laurel in the kitchen. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her close and kissed her. It was more than a peck on the cheek—it was a kiss generally reserved for times when they were alone.
“Wow,” she whispered when he released her. “You must have had a really good day at the office.”
“I had a great day.”
“Did you get a promotion? A raise?”
“None of the above,” he said. “No real reason, I suppose, other than I was busy, and the hours flew by. You know I love my job, and any day I can come home to my beautiful wife, I feel lucky.” He reached into the pan on the stove and pinched off a piece of the tender meat.
“Be careful, that’s hot,” Laurel warned.
“I see that,” he said, licking his fingertips. “Wow, that’s good. How did the first day go with Nana and the home companion?”
“I came home to a different grandmother than I’ve seen in quite some time: She was working on a knitting project, wanting to share every detail of her day with me, and even interested in watching the evening news. But we need to talk,” Laurel said, lowering her voice. She didn’t want her grandmother to overhear their conversation.
“What’s up?”
“It’s Nana.”
“But I thought you just said she had a great day. What’s wrong?”
Laurel drew in a breath and whispered, “Nana believes her new caretaker is an angel.”
“Well, yes, she’s a Caring—”
“A real angel,” Laurel interrupted, “as in the heavenly type…one sent from God.”
“Oh.” Zach’s eyes enlarged. “She actually said this?”
Nodding, Laurel explained. “The minute Mrs. Miracle left, Nana was fairly bursting to share the news with me. I haven’t seen her this excited since we told her we’d decided to move in with her.”
Zach walked from one end of the kitchen to the other, and then back again, needing time to process this latest development in Helen’s mental decline.
“How did you respond?” he asked.
“What could I say?” Laurel said, gesturing helplessly with her hands. “I didn’t want to argue with her. This worries me, Zach.”
“Yes,” he agreed, “that is troublesome.”
“What should we do?”
Her husband held her look for several seconds. “Why say anything? If Nana wants to believe her caretaker is a real angel, then let her. I don’t see how it will do any harm.”
Laurel wasn’t as sure. “You don’t?”
“Really, Laurel, think about it. Minutes ago, you told me how well Nana did today. It’s like she’s back to her old self. In my opinion, if she wants to believe her caregiver is an angel in human form, then what good would it do to try to convince her otherwise?”
He was probably right, and she slowly nodded.
“Okay,” Laurel said, “we’ll go along with her on this and let her believe what she wants.”
Sure enough, as soon as the three sat down for dinner, Nana started in about angels.
“Gabriel sent Mrs. Miracle to us,” she said, looking at Zach. “I suppose Laurel told you everything?”
Zach winked at Laurel. “She might have mentioned it.”
“Oh good. You can imagine how surprised I was to learn this. And there’s more.”
“More?”
“Yes,” she said excitedly. “She’s come as an answer to my prayer, but there’s no need to