"We came home from counseling, remember?"
He was struggling to focus.
"Yes...counseling."
"You went in the house ahead of me and walked in on a robbery in progress. The man stabbed you. You had surgery. You're going to be fine. Just lie still and rest. I'm going to call the nurse."
Then Mamie rang for the nurse and told them he was awake and in pain.
"I'll be right there," she said.
Joel reached for Mamie's hand.
"Hurt you?"
"No. He did not hurt me at all. I hit him on the head with my cast iron skillet. He was still unconscious when the police and ambulance came."
Joel's eyes widened. "You fought?"
She frowned, her eyes flashing in anger.
"Yes, I fought. He invaded our home. He tried to kill you. No way was I letting him get away."
Joel closed his eyes, but he was smiling.
"Holy shit, baby. Holy shit."
Mamie sighed. For the first time since all this awful thing began, she was feeling hopeful that they would be okay.
And then the nurse came in, checked all his vitals, and gave him his next dose of pain meds in his IV.
"Just relax, Joel, and breathe easy. The meds will take effect in a couple of minutes," the nurse said.
"Thank you," Mamie said.
"Of course," she said. "That's what we're here for."
And then she was gone.
Mamie pulled her chair closer to Joel's bed, then sat with her hand on his leg, patting it as he fell back to sleep.
Joel would heal.
They would heal.
Mamie Freemont had been given a second chance to do the right thing, and she'd done it without thinking of the risks. For the first time in her life, she'd thought of someone else before she'd thought of herself.
The next few days passed in a flurry of flowers and deadlines. Gracie had found her rhythm. She and John talked every night, and she was anxiously awaiting Saturday because he was taking her to his home for dinner.
He'd already warned her it was barbecue casual and to wear whatever was most comfortable for her because he was grilling on the deck.
She hadn't actually seen him since their dinner at Saltgrass and was coming to understand the meaning of absence making the heart grow fonder. She had been within the center of his embrace. She'd felt his empathy and his strength, and she wanted that again, and more.
When she'd woken up this morning and remembered it was Saturday, she'd bounced out of bed with a smile on her face. Half a day at work and then John!
She raced around the apartment getting ready, ate a toasted waffle while standing up at the sink, then took off down the stairs to her car.
Lucy was outside at her bird feeders in a peacock-blue caftan. She had a scarf tied around her hair, a hammer in one hand, and some kind of feeder in the other. But it was her bare feet that made Gracie smile.
Then she remembered! The squirrel feeder. She glanced at the time and took off across the drive.
"Is that your squirrel feeder?" Gracie asked.
"Yes, and I'm trying to decide where to hang it," Lucy said.
"Where the squirrels live," Gracie said, and took the hammer, nails, and the feeder out of Lucy’s hands. "Pick a tree."
Lucy giggled. "I think that big one, the farthest away from the bird feeders."
"Good choice," Gracie said, and loped across the grounds with Lucy a short distance behind her. Once she reached the tree, she turned and looked back at the house, making sure to put it in a location Lucy could see. Watching squirrels was almost as entertaining as watching birds. She eyed the size of the feeder, then drove a nail into the tree and hung the feeder at a height Lucy could reach. "How's that?" she asked.
Lucy came up behind her, breathless, but smiling.
"Perfect, and just the right height for me to refill it. Thank you, darling!" she said, and gave Gracie a big hug.
Gracie hugged her back. "You're welcome," she said. "Have a good day," she said, and jogged back to her car.
Lucy turned and waved as Gracie drove past.
Gracie honked, and so her day began.
There was a steady stream of customers in the Majestic all morning, which Gracie loved. Work made time pass twice as fast, and she wasn't having to "learn" a new job. She was doing something she already knew.
It was about an hour before closing, and Gracie was working on a bouquet that was going to be picked up soon. She was laser-focused on getting it done and had