that no, the car absolutely didn’t have a parking pass and therefore needed to be towed and impounded at the owner’s expense.
And being a man of few words, Floyd got on with the job at hand.
Elation filled me. I had done it! I, Joey Whitmore, had changed the past. Even if my echo self wouldn’t believe me about the list, there was no way Bill Tucker could scrape together enough cash to bail his ride before the impound lot closed at five on the button. Hell, I had been a working woman and I’d been saving up to bail my own ride for over a month.
“Proud of yourself?” Robin stepped up beside me as we watched the hoisted Z-28 disappear around the corner.
“Very,” I told him. “I prevented the accident, exactly as I intended to do.”
“Are you so sure about that?” Robin cocked a brow. “Your younger self seemed smitten with the boy.”
I frowned up at him. “The car is out of the equation. No Camaro, no accident. And no jail time for me. Besides, the ride was half of the appeal.”
He held his hand to his heart in an overly dramatic motion. “Why lamb, I had no idea you could be bought.”
“Not now I can’t,” I told him. “Come on, we should get out of here before Billy discovers his car is gone.”
One golden blond brow shot up. “And here I thought you’d like to see the look on his face.”
I shook my head. “No, there’s something else I’d rather see.”
Feeling lighter than I had in recent memory, I headed back toward my neighborhood. Darcy’s house, which in 1996 belonged to her parent’s, sat at the foot of the hill. The big Victorian stood sentinel at the top. I bypassed our street and kept going. Robin trailed along beside me, hands in the pockets of his overpriced suit.
I stopped at the small white picket fence that overlooked the familiar ranch. Through the picture window, I could see a pair of slipper-clad feet held aloft by the footrest of the tatty recliner, too big to be Grammy B’s.
“Lamb? You’ve gone paler than usual.”
My hand flew to my lips. Sure, I’d seen the younger versions of Old Man Tate and Principal Mott and even myself. But those people were all still alive.
“It’s my grandfather.” I swallowed. “He died a few years ago.”
“Well, why are you just standing outside. Why not go in and say hello?”
“What would I say?” The more I stared at those feet, the more I realized how impossible the situation was to explain. “Hi, I’m your granddaughter who traveled back in time. Sorry, I don’t mean to snot rocket all over you, but you’re dead in my time and I never thought I’d see you again? He’d have a heart attack twenty years before his time.”
“Must you overthink everything?” Before I could stop him, Robin pushed his way through the gate and was striding up the concrete walkway to the front door.
“Robin, what are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m knocking.” The fae prince cast me a devilish wink and then rapped his knuckles against the door in rapid succession.
The feet disappeared from view and rather than stand at the gate gawking like a rube I hustled to Robin’s side. The door creaked open and then there he stood. Grandpappy. He was tall and had broad shoulders that looked as though they could carry the weight of the world. Though his skin was wrinkled and his hair thinning, his blue eyes twinkled. His expression was of a man who loved life and had never met a stranger, open, and welcoming to all. He looked so much like the photo in my room, the one I had given to Grammy, that it stole my breath.
“Can I help you?” His voice was as craggy as the face of the mountain he lived on.
“Yes, hello. My significant other and I are in town on business.” Robin put a hand on my arm. “We were wondering if we could speak to you for a few minutes. It concerns your granddaughter.”
“Joey?” Grandpappy looked to me, and his eyebrows drew together. “Do I know you?”
“Distantly.” I copied Robin’s approach—tell the truth if not the whole truth. “We’re interested in advancing her gymnastics career and want to get a little background information.”
Grandpappy waved us into the living room. “‘Fraid Betty is out for the moment, but can I fix you anything? There’s some coffee left.”
“Coffee would be wonderful.” I took two steps