She closed her eyes, nearly breathless from the ache in her heart. How could she go on without Riley?
A knock sounded at the door, but Erma ignored it. She knew it had to be Bea. Or possibly the whole BB group. She didn’t wantto see them right now. At some point she would apologize to Bea for being rude last night, but not now. The only person shewanted to see was Riley.
The front door opened, and Erma steeled herself for the onslaught of her friends, who always meant well. Instead, Riley walkedthrough the door, her duffel bag over her shoulder.
Erma jumped up from the chair, hiding the shooting pain in her leg. She wanted to run and take her granddaughter in her arms,but she held her ground.
“Hi,” she said softly.
Riley stayed in the shadows of the alcove. “Can I come in?”
“Of course.” Erma wished she’d grabbed her cane to hold on to, because she could feel herself starting to sway.
Riley walked into the living room but kept her distance from Erma. “I’m sorry, Mimi,” she said. “I shouldn’t have left youlike that.”
Relief flooded Erma, nearly knocking her over. “It’s all right, sugar,” she said. “I understand why you did.”
“But I don’t.” She set her duffel bag on the floor, walked over to Erma, and hugged her. “I don’t understand anything anymore.”
“Oh, sugar.” Erma held her tight. “That’s my fault.” It would be easy to lay all the blame at her daughter’s feet, but shecouldn’t do that. “I should have done things differently.” She smoothed back Riley’s mussed hair. “I should have told youthe truth about everything. I should have let you know Tracey was adopted. I never should have listened to that lawyer. Ishould have held my ground and taken you out of Tracey’s care years before I did. I was a lot stronger when your Poppy wasalive.”
“You’re the strongest woman I know.”
“Not strong enough. Not then.” She reached for Riley’s hand. “I’ll answer any questions you have, but I need to tell you everythingfirst.” She explained the circumstances around adopting Tracey, the difficulty she and Gus had raising her, and then aboutthe money. “Tracey was right about one thing. The money I gave her was hers. Your Poppy had always been frugal, and I wasnever one to need very much in the way of material things. Not only had he left me well taken care of, but he’d also put asidea good amount for Tracey.
“I kept that money from her for years, thinking I would give it to her when she was well enough to handle it. When you werethirteen, I thought that day had arrived. She had gotten sober, remember?”
Riley nodded. “It didn’t last long.”
“No, it didn’t. But when she was off the booze, I told her about her inheritance. Shortly after, she stopped by with you.”Erma took a breath. “There wasn’t a deal. If there hadn’t been any money involved, I would have told her the same thing—shewasn’t welcome to come back here. Not until she straightened herself out for good. I’ve stuck to that promise to this day.”She gripped Riley’s hand. “As you can see, she still hasn’t done that, even after all these years. I’m not sure if she everwill, and it breaks my heart. I still love her, despite everything.”
Riley nodded, her eyes filling with understanding. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I do too. Chalk that up as anotherthing I don’t understand.”
Erma stood on tiptoes and kissed Riley’s cheek. “You might not be my blood kin, Riley, but you are my granddaughter. You aremy real family. Don’t ever, ever doubt that.” She wiped away the tears that had spilled down her darling girl’s cheek. “Wehave a lot to work through, you and I. Eventually I’m sure we can figure it all out.”
Riley clasped Erma’s hand with her own. “Together.” She touched her forehead to Erma’s.
“Together.”
* * *
On Tuesday afternoon, Hayden was still in the back office of Price’s Hardware. He’d spent yesterday and most of today goingthrough all the paperwork, procedures, and anything else he could find to keep himself occupied so he didn’t have to dealwith customers. Fortunately he had the excuse of wanting to go over every single thing in his father’s desk and filing cabinets.He would have done it anyway eventually. Right now he just couldn’t fake enthusiasm about nuts or bolts or paint or anythingelse—inside the store or out.
His father and mother must have sensed something was wrong, because both had expressed concern about his mood since he’d returnedhome Sunday afternoon. When he snapped at them that he was fine, they kept their distance. He wasn’t fooling anyone, especiallynot them.
He tried to focus on the stack of paperwork in front of him, but all he could see was Riley’s face, and all he could do waskick himself for being such a jerk. So much for earning her trust. For being patient. For not pushing. He’d even argued withhimself for falling for someone who clearly had a lot of stuff in her past. Pot, meet kettle.
Hayden sat back in the creaky, green office chair that had seen better days and sighed, then leaned forward and pounded hisfist on the desk in frustration.
“Yep. You’re fine all right.”
Hayden turned and looked at his father, who was standing in the doorway. “Sorry,” he said, then started nonchalantly shufflingthe papers as if he hadn’t used the desk as a punching bag.
His father walked into the office, picked up the folding chair that was leaning against the wall, and brought it over to Hayden.He flipped it open, then sat down. “Start talking.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Right. Because you’re fine.”
Hayden grimaced, then turned to him. “I’m a little bothered, that’s all.”
“A little?”
“Fine. A lot. Now will you leave me alone?” He closed his eyes. “Sorry. Again. I didn’t mean that.”
“Apology accepted. And no, I’m not leaving you alone. Not until you tell me what’s going on. I haven’t seen you this upsetsince you were a kid.”
“I guess I’m acting
