to move somewhere else or face getting evicted, and it won’t be my problem anymore.”
“Of course you can,” Grace said. “The couch is free, or if you want, you can share my bed. Lord knows, no one else is.”
“Is that what you were waiting for?” Lex asked Alyssa. “For the lease to expire?”
Alyssa nodded. “I knew months ago I was done. I just didn’t know how to leave safely. Baby, I’m sorry I put you in that situation. And I know I dismissed a lot of your concerns. I was wrong. I had my reasons, but I was wrong.”
Grace gestured for Bronwyn to follow her into the kitchen. It was time to let mother and daughter have a little privacy.
“I think I’m going to go,” Bronwyn said softly once they were out of earshot of Lex and Alyssa.
“You don’t have to,” Grace said. “I know Lex wants you here.”
“I know. But they need time, and I’m just a distraction. I don’t want to be in the middle of that. Tell Lex to text me later when she’s ready. I’ll be up.”
“I will.” Grace gave the other woman a hug and then watched her slip out the back door. Then before she lost her nerve, she grabbed her phone and made a call to the police tip line to let them know who they might want to start watching if they wanted to crack down on the drug problems in Premonition Pointe.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Grace spent the next three days close to home, fussing over Alyssa and making sure her sister had everything she needed to heal after her altercation with Charlie. Lex had taken time off work, too, and she cooked all of her mom’s favorite meals. The three of them spent the days playing cards, taking short walks on the beach, and talking about how to move forward. The conversations weren’t easy for anyone, especially Lex and Alyssa. The two had a lot of trust to rebuild. But Grace was confident that with some work they could get there.
For the first time since Grace’s split with Bill, she started to feel like she had a real family again. Alyssa’s ordeal with Charlie made Grace furious every time she thought about that man laying hands on her. But she couldn’t regret the outcome. She had her sister back, and for that she was grateful.
On Tuesday afternoon, Grace made her way up the walk of the cute turquoise blue cottage that was just a few streets off the beach. She took a deep breath and knocked. It had been almost two weeks since she’d heard from Hope, and it was time to put this situation with Lucas behind them.
The door swung open, and Hope stood there wearing pajama pants, a stained T-shirt, and big fuzzy puppy slippers. She rolled her eyes at Grace and said, “I figured I’d be seeing you sooner rather than later.”
“I would’ve warned you, but there seems to be something wrong with your phone,” Grace said as she swept past the woman who looked like she hadn’t showered in days.
“There’s nothing wrong with my phone,” Hope admitted as she followed Grace into her small vintage kitchen. “I just wasn’t answering it.”
“I know.” Grace grabbed the tea kettle and filled it. “When’s the last time you had a decent meal?”
Hope shrugged. “I dunno. I had pizza for breakfast.”
Grace raised an eyebrow. “That’s not… never mind. When’s the last time you were dressed and out of the house?”
“Yesterday.” Hope sat at her breakfast table. “There was a breakfast banquet I had scheduled. Trust me, I haven’t been wallowing for a week or anything. I really have been working hard. When I got home yesterday, I crashed and haven’t been able to convince myself to do anything today. I was thinking one day of swimming in my own filth would be just fine… then you showed up.”
Grace chuckled. “Fair enough. Still, if you hadn’t been ignoring me, you could’ve avoided this invasion.”
“I know.” Hope gave her a smile.
Grace laughed. There was no doubt that Hope knew Grace would stop and check on her. By not answering the phone, she hadn’t had to swallow whatever anger she was still holding onto in order to ask Grace to come by. “So, spill it. What’s going on with you and Lucas?”
“Nothing.”
Grace prepped two tea mugs and set them on the table. “Then why are you wallowing in your pajamas?”
“Because I’m angry he’s back. My life was perfect. I was happy. Carefree. Now all I do