that she was just trying to stop Scott from coming into his study. But what if I’m wrong? What if I just left her there?”
My mouth dropped open. I hadn’t expected that news. And I was worried about Eleanor. But what surprised me the most was Connor’s clear concern for his grandmother.
Maybe I wasn’t the only person who’d been changing.
He was so obviously scared for her, and scared he’d done the wrong thing, that I pulled him into a hug before I could stop myself. Gretchen scooted out of the way and gave an offended meow before walking very pointedly back into Katie’s room.
“I’m sure she’s alright,” I said fiercely, tipping my chin up so that I wasn’t speaking directly into his neck. “We talked about what to do if it looked like you were going to get interrupted. We went over distraction methods.”
“None of which involved screaming bloody murder.”
“Well, no. But like you said. Eleanor knows just as well as you do how important this is. I’m sure she did what she felt she had to. She’s never been one to do things in half measures.”
“But what if she’s actually hurt?”
“Then you still did what you were supposed to do.”
“I left her.”
“You left her with Scott. He’s an asshole, but he’s not a complete idiot. He would call an ambulance if something were the matter. You think he wants gossip saying Eleanor Churchill had a mysterious injury at his house?”
“I still should have stayed,” Connor said, but he sounded more like he was arguing with himself than with me.
I pulled back and held him by the shoulders.
“If she’s actually hurt—which I very much doubt—I am positive she’ll forgive you.”
I said it with more confidence than I felt. About whether she was hurt, that was. I was positive she’d forgive Connor. Well, mostly positive.
Connor snorted. “Because forgiveness is definitely what you think of, when you think of my grandmother.”
He had a point. But he’d also laughed. Kind of. I decided that was a good sign.
“I’m sure she’s fine. Here, come tell Katie how it went. She’s going to start yelling about us not talking where she can eavesdrop in about fifteen seconds anyway.”
Connor looked down and seemed to realize for the first time that I was holding his shoulders. I let my hands fall to my sides and wished briefly and violently that I’d never had hands in the first place, if they were just going to betray me like this.
Still, Connor followed me down the hall, and as soon as he was answering Katie’s rapid-fire questions, I pulled my phone out and pulled up Eleanor’s number. Maybe it hadn’t occurred to him to call her, or maybe he’d just been too scared. Either way, it was worth trying.
I walked into the kitchen to make the call and heaved a giant sigh of relief when Eleanor picked up on the fourth ring.
“I’m fine,” she said, by way of a greeting. “And you can tell my nuisance of a grandson that I’m fine, too, since I can only assume he’s with you and not back home where he’s supposed to be.”
“I—well, he is, but it’s because he was worried about you.”
“I assume he got what he came for?”
“He did.” I felt my smile returning, now that I was sure Eleanor was okay. “He said he got more than we even expected. I haven’t seen it yet, but—”
“Well for heaven’s sake, don’t waste time calling me. Call that Nora Ortega and make sure she gets the information.”
“I will, but Eleanor, what happened? Connor said he heard you scream.” I stepped deeper into the kitchen and lowered my voice. “He was really worried about you.”
“If he’d used his brain, he would have known that it was a diversion.”
“He said you sounded like you were in pain.”
Eleanor was silent for a moment, and when she spoke again, her voice was a peculiar mix of affronted and affectionate.
“Anyone who knows me at all should know that I would never scream like that if I’d actually hurt myself. It’s dreadfully attention-seeking.”
“To be fair, you and Connor haven’t exactly been bosom buddies these past ten years.”
“I suppose so. But still. Screaming because of a little slip and fall? It’s so gauche.”
“Is that what you did? You fell?”
“I did not fall. I lowered myself to the floor gently, then called for help. The carpet was deplorably dusty. I don’t know who’s in charge of cleaning in that household, but they’re slacking off.”
Because that was the important thing here.