Mae smiled at her and held out her arms.“Just me.”
Willow rushed over and hugged her, swallowing a rush of tears at the feel of Mae’s warm, familiar embrace.She and her grandmother had been best friends and neighbors for decades, and was like family to Willow.
“It’s good to see you, sweetheart.So, you’re here to stay this time?”Mae asked.
“Looks like.”
“That’s the best news I’ve had all year.”Mae squeezed her and let go, stepping back to study her with a wide smile.
With short white hair and big blue eyes behind even bigger glasses, Mae was as constant and rock solid as the island itself.She was everyone’s grandma.Didn’t have any friends or family here on the island?Hotels booked up and had nowhere to stay?You did now.Mae was constantly taking in strays, human and animal alike.
“It’s so good to see you,” Willow said.“And you look exactly the same.”
“Yeah?That’s nice to hear.It’s been way too long since you’ve been back, young lady.You need a hand unpacking your car?”
Suddenly, she didn’t feel nearly as overwhelmed as she had minutes ago.Because she wasn’t alone anymore.And she was lucky enough to have Mae right next door.“Love one.”
The two of them carried everything into the house in loads while Mae chattered away about the house.“I cleaned out everything I could and donated most of it to the shelter I volunteer at.But there are a few boxes of your grandmother’s personal things up in the attic that I thought you’d want to go through yourself once you get settled.I didn’t feel right giving any of it away.”
“Thanks, Mae.That had to have been a lot of work.”
“It’s all right.What else have I got to do?”
Willow laughed at the joke.Mae was the busiest senior she’d ever known.Involved in a million causes and charities, in addition to caring for all the people and creatures who came to her door, and tending to her garden while somehow making time for all her hobbies.In her late seventies, Mae had a social life that was easily a hundred times more active than Willow’s.“Yeah, I wonder.”
Mae grinned and lifted a shoulder.“I like to keep busy.”
“No kidding.”She carried another box of clothes into the guestroom she’d stayed in as a child.This would be her bedroom.It was small, but she wasn’t ready to sleep in her grandmother’s room.Besides, she had other plans for that one.“So, any juicy new island gossip to share?”
“Honey, there’s always island gossip to share.”Mae matter-of-factly started unpacking her clothes and putting them away in the chest of drawers and closet.Willow didn’t even think about protesting, confident that Mae’s organizational decisions were as good if not better than hers.
“Okay, then spill the tea.”
“We have a new sheriff.”
That was surprising.“Yeah?Since when?”
“Last week.”
She blinked.“What happened to Sheriff Roberts?”He’d been the sheriff ever since she could remember, and she’d always thought he would rather die than give up the job.
“Nothing.He finally retired, is all.Anyway, you know the new one too.”
Willow paused in the midst of shaking out a summer dress to look over at her.“I do?”
Mae nodded.“It’s Rafe.”
Her eyes widened.RafeTorres?“No way.”
“Yes.He started last Monday.”
