As the day wore on Connor texted a couple times. The marina was busy as some of his customers came to pull their boats from the water and others came to secure them there.
A smile lifted the corners of Maddy’s lips as she thought of last night. They’d sat on the back deck kissing for a long time. Getting as worked up as teenagers. The man could kiss with the best of them.
By late afternoon the sisters had done as much as they could. They made sandwiches for supper and sat in front of the TV, watching images of the swirling storm on the news. It was still headed their way, and there was talk of it strengthening before it reached shore.
They’d just broken for a commercial when the front door flew open. All eyes swung toward the entryway.
Gram stood there, her bright red lips smiling broadly. “I’m home, girls!”
“Gram! You’re early.” Maddy jumped up from the couch and went to embrace her grandma. The woman felt slight in Maddy’s arms, but Gram had always known how to give a sturdy hug.
Maddy stood back while her sisters greeted their grandmother. Louise Monroe still wore her silver-white hair short and wispy around her face. She sported a new pair of blue tortoiseshell glasses that accentuated her clear blue eyes. Her face was creased with age, her eyes hooded, but Maddy thought she was still beautiful, even at eighty-three.
“You didn’t think I was going to miss all the excitement, did you? I found an earlier flight and flew standby.”
“Well, how on earth did you get here?” Nora shelved her hands on her slender hips. “I was going to pick you up from the airport.”
“I had an Uber come fetch me. Such a nice young man. We chatted about travel. He’s lived in Austria and Uganda and Cambodia. My, oh my, did he have some stories to tell. Can you imagine?”
“But, Gram,” Maddy said, “don’t you have to have a cell phone to Uber?”
Gram whipped a phone from her purse. “Ta-da! I’m in the modern age now, girls. Erma’s granddaughter, Lila, hooked me up with an iPhone yesterday!”
Maddy laughed. “Hooked you up?”
“That’s what the kids are saying nowadays. Lila fixed me up with the Uber app, and some nice young lady at the airport helped me figure it out. I didn’t want to bother you for a ride. I knew you were busy preparing for the storm. And besides, I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you certainly did,” Emma said.
“Look at you girls, you all look so beautiful.” Gram set her purse on the coffee table, glancing down at Pippy. “Well, who’s this little cutie-pie?” She stooped to pet the dog, whose back end wagged gleefully. “Aren’t you just the sweetest thing?”
“She’s Emma’s,” Maddy said. “She’s a good girl; just don’t let her out without a leash. She’s the most curious dog I ever did meet.”
Emma picked up Pippy. “And she has the sense of direction of a blind bat, I’m afraid. On top of that, she thinks she’s the size of a Rottweiler. She has no fear, do you, little girl?”
Pippy yipped, and Emma gave her some love.
Maddy fetched their grandmother’s suitcase, and once they assured her they had storm preparations under control, the women settled in the living room with glasses of iced tea and began catching up.
It was apparent Gram had had a fabulous time at her reunion. Her face was aglow, and despite a long travel day, she exuded energy. Her girlfriends normally came out to see her in Seahaven every summer, but this year she’d headed their direction. The trip had obviously done her good.
“I had the time of my life, I tell you. That Eleanor got me on the back of her grandson’s motorcycle!”
“Gram!” Nora said. “That’s not safe.”
Gram waved away her words. “Oh, pooh! I had a grand time. We went to a festival and ate all the wrong foods, played cards till late at night, and giggled like teenagers. I’m telling you, I haven’t had so much fun in ages.”
“I’m happy for you, Gram,” Maddy said. “But heavens, a motorcycle? I’m afraid to ask what else you did.”
“Oh, you only live once.” Gram shifted in her favorite leather chair, crossing legs that were encased in a trendy pair of jeans. “Now tell me what’s been going on around here. I noticed all the changes outside. The house looks marvelous. The flower beds haven’t looked so nice in years, and the handrail didn’t wobble as I came up the stairs!”
“Connor fixed that,” Maddy said. “He’s been helping out quite a bit around here.”
Gram gave her a coy smile. “I imagine he has, with my three beautiful granddaughters ensconced in this old house. He’s no fool, that man.”
Emma laughed. “He only has eyes for Maddy, I’m afraid.”
Gram’s eyes twinkled as they swung to Maddy. “Oh, this sounds juicy—do tell!”
