She looked old.

And tired.

Lexie covered her weathered hand.

“Have you heard anything from Coop?” Charlotte asked.

Lexie shook her head. “Not yet…wait.” She ran to her room to check her phone, returning with it in her hand. “Dead.”

Charlotte frowned. “You’re really going to have to lose that nasty habit of forgetting to charge it.”

“I know.” She placed the useless phone on the table.

“Wouldn’t he have called here if he had news?” her grandmother asked.

“I doubt he’d want to wake you this early. Did you check for the newspaper yet?” Lexie asked.

With a shake of her head, Charlotte rose and walked into the hall, opened the door and returned with the paper. “I was too exhausted this morning to do much of anything. Here.” She slid it across the tabletop. “Tell me what you find out.”

Lexie pulled off the plastic wrap and scanned the front page. Sure enough, there was a short article with Coop’s byline. She only hoped he was hard at work and not at the hospital waiting for news about Sara.

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Lexie read quickly, relief pouring through her. “Looks like Sara’s ex-partner intervened and got Sara out safely,” Lexie said, relieved. “But she injured her knee. Reinjured, it says. Oh, they use the word career-threatening. I feel awful!” Lexie knew how much the other woman loved being a cop.

“Oh, that poor child,” Charlotte said. “We’ll have to send her flowers!”

Lexie smiled at her grandmother’s thoughtfulness. “Absolutely.”

“What about the waiter?”

She continued reading. “Sara’s partner, Rafe Mancuso, was seriously wounded, but his injuries aren’t life-threatening. Wait! Listen to this. According to the police, the waiter in question turned out to be the same man in a recent string of other snatch-and-grab robberies at major events and collectors’ meetings throughout the city. An eyewitness identified him as the man driving the getaway car at the last incident where he struck and killed an innocent bystander!”

Charlotte sucked in a shocked breath.

“It says the suspect—the waiter—knew if he got caught last night he’d be charged with murder in that case, so he panicked, grabbed me and made his escape,” Lexie said, lowering the paper.

“Oh, my.”

Lexie nodded.

Together, they sat in silence for a few minutes, digesting the news.

“I need to talk to you,” Lexie said at last.

“And I need to talk to you.” Her grandmother looked up, a serious expression on her face.

Lexie gestured with a sweep of her hand. “Age before beauty.” She laughed.

Her grandmother chuckled. “Fine. I’ll go first. You’re a fool if you let Coop go. And no granddaughter of mine is a fool.”

Lexie exhaled long and hard. She also nodded. “You’re right.”

“I am?” Charlotte sounded stunned.

With a shrug, Lexie said, “Of course. I’d be a fool to let Coop go and I’m no fool. I am, however, a woman in transition.”

She went on to explain to her grandmother how she’d blurted out the suggestion that Coop go to Australia with her—omitting the part about sex in the closet. “I never even took his feelings or his life into consideration. I just blindsided him. And myself, since I never planned on asking him. It just happened.”

“He didn’t take it well, hmm?”

Lexie rested her chin in her hand. “Nope. We hit a stalemate and we both retreated to our separate corners. Then the gunman grabbed me and my life flashed before my eyes. My empty life.” She picked up a paper napkin and began shredding it to little bits. It wasn’t easy to admit her failings and it helped to have something else to concentrate on.

Charlotte leaned back against the cushion of her chair. “If your life is empty, there’s a simple solution. Fill it up! I had a full life, but it would have been even fuller if your grandfather had lived. Or if I’d let myself love again,” she said, her tone wistful and sad.

“I’m sorry.”

Charlotte shook her head. “Don’t be. I made my choices. But if you learn nothing else from me, learn this. Live each day to the fullest. Make sure when you’re my age and look back, you don’t have any regrets.”

Lexie smiled. “You’re a smart woman, Grandma.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. Now what did you want to say?” Charlotte asked.

Lexie glanced at the coffee she’d yet to drink. “To fill the emptiness, I need to make some changes.” She drew a deep breath. “And as much as I appreciate your giving me a place to return to, it’s time for me to find a home of my own.”

Her grandmother’s eyes opened wide. “My baby bird is finally leaving the nest.” Charlotte clasped her hands to her chest. “I thought the day would never come.”

“You aren’t upset? But what if you need me?”

Charlotte waved her hand, dismissing the notion. “Isn’t that what those computer lessons were for?” she asked, a naughty smile flirting across her lips.

“Which ones?” Lexie asked, wryly. Rising from her chair, she pulled her grandmother into a hug, savoring her familiar and comforting scent and feel.

Life without Charlotte as a safety net loomed before her. Instead of being scary, though, it was an exciting prospect.

“So where does Coop fit into this new home of your own?” her grandmother asked.

“I’m not sure.” Lexie met the older woman’s inquiring gaze. “But this decision is about what’s right for me. No matter what he decides.”

Charlotte smiled. “I’m so proud of you!”

As always, her admiration and acceptance warmed Lexie’s heart. “What can I say? I learned from the best.”

“You most certainly did.”

Lexie dumped her untouched coffee into the sink, rinsed the mug and placed it in the dishwasher. “I need to go out for a little while.”

Charlotte pulled the lapels of her housecoat tighter. “Where to?” she asked.

“Where I always go when I need to think.”

Lexie had plans to make for her future. Whether or not Coop wanted to be part of those plans was up to him.

COOP GOT NO SLEEP. He’d put the early edition to bed, and then gotten started on the afternoon one. He’d called Lexie’s cell a few times in between, only to realize that she’d probably forgotten to charge the damn thing. And 6:00 a.m. was too early to wake Charlotte.




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