Home to Stay (The Long Road Home #2) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,72

other side of her back alley—”

He swung his head around. “Seriously? Do you think she’s—”

“I know what you’re thinking. Josh looked but she doesn’t have a storage unit there. Neither does anyone else associated with the Minotaurs that he can find. Even though she’s got easy access from her back door, she’s never gone over there since we’ve been monitoring her, although that’s only been a short while. Josh is cross-referencing anyone who had a storage unit to see if they might be a front for the Minotaurs. Since we’ve had an eye on Paula, Griz has only shown up once.” Bray leaned back, his eyes on the screen. “I’ve been in that area of town before. That place might be crappy now, but I think that neighborhood is going to be revitalized over the next several years, so the owner might do well. Either sell or raise the rent.”

Curious, he asked, “What about you? Rent or own?”

Bray grinned. “I bought a house last year. On a bay property so I can get my kayak out. Are you still with your grandfather?”

Nodding, he shifted to a more comfortable position in his chair so that when he glanced at the screens, he didn’t need the peripheral vision in his left eye to see them. “Yeah. I’ve been working on his place, fixing things and making improvements. I’m not ready to make any decisions now. He needs some help and I’ve also spent most nights with Lucy.”

“Sounds good and definitely sounds like you don’t need to run out and buy a piece of property now. Save your money, work on your grandfather’s place, and see where things go with Lucy.”

“Things go the way I hope, she’ll be with me permanently and then we can decide where to live and how best to help Gramps.”

Bray grinned, shaking his head. “Damn, you didn’t waste any time, did you?”

Shrugging, he said, “You know, I realize it seems fast, but when it’s right, you just know it.” Holding Bray’s gaze, he cocked his head to the side. “What about you?”

Bray shook his head. “Man, there’s just too much of this goodness to go around. Can’t see holding it all for one woman.”

“You’re so full of shit.” Laughing, John turned back to the monitors but not before he caught what he could have sworn was a wistful look on Bray’s face.

After a while, Bray stood and stretched, cracking his neck as he twisted side to side. “You want some coffee?”

John nodded and stood, ready to move around and take a break. Glancing back at the screen with a view of the front and side of Paula’s townhouse, he leaned closer, then blinked at the sight of the vehicle parking close by. “What the hell is she doing there?”

21

Lucy drove up to Paula’s house earlier than scheduled but figured she could kill time by planning her next trip to the hardware store. Parking to the side of the end-unit townhouse, she was struck, not for the first time, how glad she was to have her house in the woods instead of a townhouse in the city.

Paula’s rental backed to an alley that was next to a storage facility, but Paula claimed the location that was near several restaurants and bars made it perfect. She had a few neighbors in the other townhouses, but they were elderly and kept to themselves. Paula would laugh when she said her neighbors were hard of hearing so they didn’t care what music she played and couldn’t see very well so they didn’t know if she brought somebody home for the night.

She sighed heavily. The excitement she used to feel when visiting Paula was gone. And the odds of it coming back are slim. Closing her eyes for a moment, she cast her mind back in time. The first time she’d met Paula a couple of years ago was when the principal asked her to be one of the new teacher’s mentors. “I think Paula will make a wonderful teacher, Lucy, but you would be a steady influence and are close to her age.”

In truth, she was five years older than Paula, had just bought her fixer-upper house, and was mired in projects to accomplish. In many ways, they couldn’t have been more different. But maybe that was why they clicked. Paula got Lucy to go out more and have some fun. Lucy convinced Paula that lesson plans needed to be written on time and Monday morning hangovers needed to be left back