Page 23 of Frosted Fakes

"That's not the same, and you know it." Shay rose and came to stand beside her. "She's in a retirement home, not on the moon. It's a fifteen-minute drive."

"I know where it is."

"Then go and see her."

Elliott said nothing.

Shay sighed. "You're scared."

"I'm not scared."

"You are. You're scared of seeing her in there, of seeing her old and… settled. Different. Like it makes it real that she's not going to be around forever."

Elliott's jaw tightened. "Can we not do this?"

"Fine." Shay held up her hands. "Fine. I'll drop it. But she misses you, El. She told me so herself when I visited yesterday."

"You visited?"

"Someone had to." Shay's voice was gentle but pointed. "She's family. Your family. The only real family you've got. Don't let that slip away because you're too stubborn to sit with uncomfortable feelings."

Elliott sighed. "I'll go see her. Soon."

"Promise?"

"I said I would."

Shay studied her for a long moment, then nodded. "Good. Now, walk me out through the bakery so I can get a better look at this Julia person. I need to assess whether she's worthy of your grumpiness."

"She's not worthy of anything. She's just… there."

"Mmhmm. Sure." Shay grabbed her bag. "Let's go."

They headed down the narrow stairs that led to the bakery kitchen. The smell of something baking hit Elliott's nose, which was surprising. It actually smelled edible. Perhaps Tara had arrived early.

"Oh, that's lovely," Shay said. "Is that—"

The fire alarm exploded into life.

Elliott closed her eyes. "And there it is."

Through the kitchen door, she could see Julia frantically waving a tea towel at the ceiling, flour in her hair, face flushed with what looked like a combination of effort and despair. At the counter, Tara was calmly removing something from the warming oven while the chaos swirled around her.

"That's her?" Shay asked, peering through the doorway.

"Unfortunately."

"She is gorgeous."

"She is a menace."

"She can be both." Shay grinned. "I like her already."

Elliott popped through the kitchen door and jabbed the alarm button with practiced efficiency. Silence fell.

"Thank you!" Julia called out breathlessly. "I don't know what happened. Tara was teaching me to monitor temperatures and I thought I had it and then…"

"Fire," Elliott said flatly. "Then you made fire. Again."