Finally, at nearly two in the afternoon, her crying stopped and she settled down onto my chest to sleep. And I knew, without actually knowing, that it was now done. The service was over, and Beth had been laid to rest in the cemetery. Somehow, although she was too little to understand, Maggie knew, and she’d been crying right along with the rest of them until it was over.
As she slept, I moved to the rocking chair angled toward the bay window that looked out onto the street, sinking down to hold her as I tried to compose myself. The baby’s crying had allowed me the space I needed to cry as well. Together, she and I had grieved the loss of her mother in our own special way.
Fatigued from the immense effort I’d put into trying to calm her all morning, I started to fall asleep but was suddenly awakened by the soft ding from my pocket—a text message from Gramps.
“The service was beautiful. Caleb insisted that he would drive you home, so I’m about to take your car back to my house rather than head your way to pick you up. I stayed with them until everything was done. They are all are headed your way now.”
Taking every care not to wake the exhausted Maggie, I texted him back with one hand. “Okay. I’ll see you soon. Thank you for going. I know it meant a lot to Caleb. It would’ve meant a lot to Beth, too.”
While I doubted I would ever know the exact details of Gramps’ conversation with Caleb the day after Beth’s death, I knew it had somehow bonded the two of them together forever.
I ducked my head to kiss the top of Maggie’s whisper thin hair. “You’re going to be okay, sweet girl. You have so many people who love you. Everything is going to be okay.”
I held her close to me and rocked her, falling asleep only to be awakened by a hand on my shoulder.
“Sue…we’re back. Thank God she finally fell asleep for you.”
I blinked a handful of times to wake myself and looked up to see Hannah held in her father’s arms as she draped her head over his shoulder and slept. Caleb continued to talk as I stood from the chair, Maggie still in my arms.
“Hannah is exhausted too. She’s cried herself out—fell asleep in the car on the way home. My mother is upstairs in the guest room. Everyone else has gone to pick us up some food. Why don’t we carry the girls up to their room? Then I’ll take you home, okay?”
I nodded, and with my free hand, I reached out to gently squeeze Caleb’s arm. “Are you okay?”
His eyes were red, but his expression held steady. I suspect he’d shed as many tears as he was capable of crying today, too.
“Yes. We survived today. And we’ll survive the next. And we will keep doing that until things don’t feel quite as terrible as they do right now.”
I nodded again, admiring his resolve as I followed him up the stairs to Hannah and Maggie’s room. We settled them in and made our way downstairs and out the front door to Caleb’s still-running car.
He didn’t speak again until we were pulling out of his driveway. “Thank you for watching her.”
“Of course.”
“I’m starting marathon training with your grandfather on Tuesday.”
Sensing that Caleb needed to talk about anything other than this day, I followed his lead. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Also…we’re going to make a quick stop before I take you home, okay?”
“That’s fine. Where are we going?”
“The apartment building. You need a place to live, don’t you? Laurel’s apartment is still vacant since her move to Scotland. I knew that you and your grandfather didn’t plan to live together forever, so I kept it vacant until you were ready to see it.”
I eyed him skeptically as he turned in the opposite direction of Gramps’ house. “How did you know I was looking right now?”
“Your grandfather told me.”
I started to interrupt him. “He shouldn’t have told you,” but was quickly cut off by Caleb.
“No. He absolutely should have. I appreciate how he’s not tip-toeing around me. He knows that for the sake of my girls I have to get back on my feet as quickly as possible. I know I’m going to be grieving Beth for the rest of my life, but their lives aren’t going to stop, and I can’t allow mine to stop either. It’s good to deal with some work stuff, especially if it means helping you. You are interested in looking at it, aren’t you?”
Slightly embarrassed, I nodded. “Yes. I was going to ask you if there were any vacancies in your building anyway. I just planned on waiting a little bit. Gramps wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted me out soon.”
“Her apartment is in great shape.”
I glanced up at the old building as we pulled to a stop in one of the empty parallel parking spaces out front. I’d always admired its charm. It had character and a cozy feel to it that I loved—something so many of the newer complexes in the city didn’t have.
“I know. I’ve seen it before, actually. When I was working with Kate after the fire that injured her so badly, we met at Laurel’s apartment a few times.”
Caleb paused outside the main door to fish for the right key. “Of course. Well, let’s go see if you want it. If you do, it’s yours.”
The apartment was even more beautiful than I remembered—probably because during my previous visits my entire focus had been on helping Kate. Now, that I was looking at the space and imagining it as my own, I knew it would be perfect.
“Caleb, I absolutely want this apartment. I don’t need to look anywhere else.”
“You like it?”
“I love it. You know how hard it was for me to let go of my last place when Gramps got sick. I didn’t think I would ever find another place I loved more, but this is so much nicer. When can I move in?”
He smiled and moved to one of the drawers in the kitchen. “Right away.”
I watched as he reached into the drawer and retrieved the key before extending it in my direction.
“Here you go. You’re not signing a lease. I don’t want you stuck here if you decide it’s not where you want to be. I know you’ll pay. I’m not the least bit worried about that. This place is yours for as long or as short a time as you want it.”
I moved toward him to pull him into a hug. “Thank you, Caleb. Gramps is going to be thrilled.”
He laughed softly. “How about we order a pizza then go ahead and get some of your things from storage? We just have my car, so we can’t get any furniture yet, but I can help you get a few boxes. It will make the place seem more like yours.”
I was all for starting the moving process, but I didn’t want to tire Caleb any more than necessary.
“Are you sure?”
He gave me one firm nod, and I knew there was no sense in arguing. “Yes. I need an hour or two of something normal. The girls are asleep. I’m sure my mother will call me if they wake up. Lately, my house is the last place on earth I want to be.”
I could understand that.
“Okay, great. Let’s go.”
Three hours later, we’d moved all of my kitchen-related boxes from storage and had scattered them haphazardly around my new apartment. When that was done, exhausted and still hungry, Caleb and I sat on the floor with the box of now-cold pizza in between us as we munched away and sipped on the sodas we’d picked up on our way back to the apartment after getting our last load.
“The memorial was worthy of her. It wouldn’t have been if I’d spoken like everyone wanted me to.”
I was unaware that everyone had wanted him to, but I could certainly understand why he’d decided against it.
“Who spoke in your place?”
“You don’t actually know him.”
“Really?”
His answer surprised me. I thought I knew pretty much everyone Caleb and Beth did.
“It was one of our newer friends. He did a fantastic job. Touching and funny—he reminded me of just how easily Beth could push her way into someone’s heart. I…” He hesitated and looked at me strangely. “I would like to talk to you about him, actually.”
“Ab
out your friend?”
“Yes.”
“Okay…” I had no idea where this was going.
“Beth wanted to set you up with him. She tried to talk me into speaking with Ross about it for ages, but I never did. He’s agreed to the date. Will you?”
Confused, I stared at him for a long minute. Nothing in me ever suspected that our conversation was about to take this sort of turn. I talked to Beth all the time and she’d never mentioned anything about any new friend, let alone someone she wanted to set me up with.
“How was there someone Beth wanted me to date and I didn’t know about it?”
Caleb gave a soft, sad chuckle and looked at me knowingly. “Ethan, Sue. Beth’s the one who set you up with her brother, and that didn’t end particularly well now, did it? She wanted to thoroughly vet this guy before saying anything to you about him.”
I laughed thinking about how horribly Beth had felt when Ethan had ended things with me. She bore no responsibility, obviously, but it had been so hard for her to believe that she’d never realized her brother was gay.
“And after vetting this guy, she liked him?”
Caleb nodded, reaching for the last slice of old pizza. “She loved him. He’s a good guy, Sue. It would’ve made her so happy for you to say yes.”
I shrugged and lifted my palms up in resignation. “Then, I guess I really don’t have a choice, do I?”
“You know Beth wouldn’t have given you one.”
“Fine. I’ll go on one date. For Beth. But I’m not making you any promises beyond that.”
“Of course. That’s all I ask. You two just meet up and see how it goes. We’ll see if Beth’s instincts for matchmaking improved at all after her first shot at it.”
Chapter 5
Ross could feel the banged-up spoon covered in various food gunk the moment he reached down into the sink. Mrs. Jenkins knew what plagued her disposal. She always knew precisely what was wrong with whatever problem she called him about. And despite the old woman’s feigned weakness, Ross knew they were almost always things she could have easily fixed herself. Even so, Ross could never bring himself to point out that he knew Mrs. Jenkins only called with maintenance issues when she wanted the company of another human being, even if it was only for a few minutes at a time.
He couldn’t blame her. He knew what loneliness was—understood it.
And so—even though it was the last day before Sydney returned to Scotland—he’d answered her call and taken time out of his day to indulge her, taking longer than he would on anyone else’s apartment, pausing between each new task to visit about whatever was on the old woman’s mind.
Today, all she wanted to talk about was his least favorite topic imaginable—him. With anyone else, he wouldn’t have tolerated such invasive questioning, but his soft spot for the sweet, elderly woman grew each time he saw her.
“How old are you, Ross?”
“Now, Mrs. Jenkins, would ye like for me to ask ye about yer age? I am thirty-five.”
The old woman leaned against the kitchen counter to look at him as he rinsed off the spoon and allowed water to run down the drain as he carefully tested the disposal to make sure the spoon was its only problem. As expected, no longer blocked by the piece of metal, it worked just fine.
“Hmm…I truly did reach down the drain before I called you, Ross. I couldn’t feel anything.”
He smiled gently at her and nodded. “I know ye did. Doona worry. ’Twas no trouble at all.”
“If you have a moment more, I believe I’ve a bulb in my bedroom that is just about to go out. I can’t reach it myself. It’s been flickering on and off for days now.”
“Sure, lass. Which bulb is it?”
Reaching into his bag for a spare bulb, he followed Marjorie into her bedroom, laughing silently to himself as he watched her try to decide which bulb looked like the most likely to be the first to go out.
When she finally pointed to one of the four in the ceiling fan, he turned off the lights, changed out the bulbs, and glanced down at his watch before she could create another task for him to complete.
It was nearly seven, and he desperately wanted to get back to enjoy one last meal with his friend.
“I’m worried I’ve a leak underneath by bathroom sink, as well.”
Ross grinned and reached out to give Marjorie’s arm a gentle squeeze. “I’m afraid I must go. I’ve plans that I canna miss. Why doona ye make a list for me—anything ye want me to look at or fix—and I’ll come back in two days to see them right for ye?”
When he looked up to see Mrs. Jenkins smile, he knew he was free to leave.
“Yes, that will be just fine. Thank you. Let me grab the tin of cookies I made for you before you go.”
Tool bag in hand, he waited by the door for the cookies he knew would be gone by this time tomorrow. It seemed to him that Mrs. Jenkins was determined to make him buy larger trousers.
When she returned, she eyed him suspiciously as she handed over the container of baked goods.
“Are your plans with someone special? A lady, perhaps?”
“She is a lady, but she is not special in the way ye are suggesting. She is only a friend. Now, I must go. Thank ye for the treats. Have a lovely evening and I shall see ye in a few days, aye?”
Mrs. Jenkins nodded and he stepped out into the hall to make his way back home.
“Perfect timing. It’s nearly ready.”
Dropping his bag down inside the door to his apartment, he walked over to see if there was anything he could do to help.
“Sorry, lass. I truly intended to help ye more. Mrs. Jenkins never wants me to leave.”
Sydney dismissed his apology with a wave of her hand. “Don’t worry about it. It’s better that you weren’t here to help. People usually don’t enjoy helping me when I’m in the kitchen. I can be a bit bossy. Or so I’m told.”
Ross laughed. He didn’t doubt that she was.
“I’m verra excited to finally taste yer cooking, lass.”
“I hope it doesn’t disappoint.”
“’Tis not possible, I’m certain. May I at least set the table for us?”
Sydney nodded, and just as Ross reached for a couple of plates from the cabinet, the front door intercom buzzed.
“Sorry, lass. Give me just a moment. Someone is calling up from downstairs. It may be a delivery of some sort.”
Leaving the plates on the shelf, he walked over to answer the incessant buzz. “Aye? Can I help ye?”
“Yes. I’m here to help my granddaughter, but it seems I’ve beaten her here from the store, and my cell phone has died so I can’t call her to see how far away she is. I know where she leaves her spare key. Would you mind buzzing me in?”
Ross frowned and crossed his arms. All the building’s tenants knew the rules. No one could enter without a key.
“Has yer granddaughter not given ye a key to her apartment?”
“No.”
“I am sorry, but I canna buzz ye in. I’ve no way to verify ye are who ye say ye are. If yer granddaughter wants ye to have access to her home when she is not there, she should give ye a key.”
Not waiting for the man to answer him, he left the intercom and went about the business of setting the table.
Disappointed in myself for the amount of money I’d spent on apartment décor, I wobbled up to the front door of my building with my arms loaded down with bags.
“There you are. I was just about to give up on you and head home.”
“Gramps?” I lowered my hands so the bags blocking my view of him cleared my line of sight. “Please tell me that we didn’t have plans I forgot about?”
“No, not at all. It’s just when you said you were going to buy some things for your new apartment, I thought it might be nice if I came over to help you set them up, but on the way over, the battery on my phone died, so I couldn’t call you to see how far out you were.”
“How long have you been sitting here? Was the manager not home? Did you
try buzzing him to let you in?”
“That doesn’t matter in the slightest. Now, hand me some of those bags and let’s get inside.”
“Gramps…” I frowned at him as I handed him a few of the bags.
“It wasn’t all that long. An hour. Tops. I did call the manager, but he wouldn’t buzz me in.”
“What?” A sudden surge of anger coursed through me. “What do you mean he wouldn’t let you in?”
Gramps reached for the keys I was struggling to manage and moved to unlock the door as he answered me.
“Now Allanah, don’t go and get upset over nothing. The man had no way of knowing if what I said was true. I respect the fact that he wouldn’t let me in. It means you live in a safe place.”
I was shaking with anger by the time I stepped past my grandfather and into the building. Pushing the button of the elevator with my elbow, I turned to reassure him that it would never happen again.
“I’m so sorry, Gramps. I had a key made for you today. I’ll give it to you as soon as we get upstairs.”
I refrained from telling him what else I planned to do as we rode the elevator up to the tenth floor. I knew if I said anything, he would try to talk me out of it, and I was in no mood for that. I wanted to give the building manager a piece of my mind more than I’d ever wanted to do anything in my life.
As the elevator doors opened, I allowed my grandfather to step out first so he could unlock the door to the apartment. When he stepped inside, I brushed past him, dumped all of my bags onto the floor, and turned to leave.
“Make yourself at home, Gramps. I’ll be right back.”
Love Beyond Boundaries (A Scottish Time Travel Romance): Book 12 (Morna's Legacy Series) Page 4
