cases and other miscellaneous items filled the shelves. Enlargements of his photos decorated the walls.
“I like my place,” he said. “It’s cozy and has everything I need.”
“Maybe so, but do you think you’ll ever find a woman who’ll put up with all this?” Olive went to the sofa and plumped up the loose cushions.
“Not a question that needs to be answered, because I’m not looking. Not right now, anyway.”
“What about that woman who was on your last assignment? The one you talked about in your emails?”
“Shar, from Omaha?” He smiled as the image of Sharlene Williams, with her blond hair and ready smile, popped into his mind. “Yeah, she’s nice, but we’re just friends.”
Olive straightened and frowned at Cody. “Omaha is too far away, anyway. I always hoped you’d find someone closer to home.”
Cody grinned at her wistful expression. “No woman would put up with my being gone most of the time. I’m—what do you old folks call it—a rolling stone.”
Olive sighed. “Your dad really started something when he gave you that camera, didn’t he?”
Cody chuckled and walked over to one of the shelves. “This one?” He picked up a child’s red-and-yellow plastic camera. “Yeah, he did. And I was only, what, six?”
“Uh-huh. Right before he died.” Olive’s eyes misted. “And you’d go all over taking pictures, you with your little camera and he with his big one.”
“Yep. And young as I was, I remember him telling me that when I got old enough, we’d travel the world and take lots and lots of pictures. ‘Capturing the moment,’ he called it, although I didn’t understand what that meant.” Cody’s throat tightened. “We never got to do that.”
“No, you didn’t, and I’m so sorry. If only he could’ve beaten the cancer.” She bit her lip and looked away.
Cody walked over to his mother and put his arm around her. “That’s why I’m traveling now. I like to think he’s with me on my trips, helping to capture the moments.”
“That’s a wonderful tribute, Cody. But what about passing on your love of photography to your son or daughter—wouldn’t that also be a way to honor him?”
Cody smiled. “Ah, we’re back to that again, are we?”
“You can’t blame me for hoping.” She cast him a sheepish look. “Some grandchildren would be nice.”
“You have Emma’s grandchildren.” He replaced the camera on the shelf. “Think how lucky they are, having two grandmas to dote on them.”
Olive and Emma Chester were lifelong friends. When Cody’s father passed away, Cody and his mom had moved from Portland to Willow Beach, next door to Emma. One of the reasons Cody didn’t worry about being gone so much was that his mom had Emma and her family for support.
“Emma’s grands are sweet, but they’re not the same as my own would be,” she insisted, and then her expression brightened. “Anyway, it’s nice to have you home, even if it’s only for a week or so.”
If Cody accepted Glen Thomas’s offer, he’d be staying longer than a week. But could he handle it? Before long, the open road would be calling him again, like it always did.
“I DON’T SEE why you have to rent this apartment when you can live at home.” Anna lifted a box from the family SUV and handed it to Luci.
“Mom, we’ve been over and over this issue.” Luci took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I want my own place. Simple as that. I’m only a couple miles away from you and Dad.”
As much as Luci loved her parents, she needed her own apartment. Besides, she’d been living away from home for the past four years.
Before her mother could say more, Luci followed the stone walkway to unit six, where she set her box on the doorstep and unlocked the door. The aroma of fresh paint rushed to greet her. She picked up her box and stepped over the threshold. Her mother followed.
“Isn’t this a cute place?” Luci set her load on an end table and made a sweeping gesture. “This is the living-dining room. That alcove is the kitchen, and there’s the door to the bedroom and en suite bathroom.”
Her mother set a box next to Luci’s. “More like a motel than an apartment.”
“It was a motel, Mom. Now, it’s been remodeled and expanded into apartments. This will be my work space,” she continued, indicating a large, rectangular table between the living area and the kitchen. “I’ll put a file cabinet next to the table, and those cupboards underneath the counter will hold all my writing stuff.”
“We have a real office you could use at home,” Anna said.
Ignoring her mother’s pointed comment, Luci crossed the room and opened the sliding glass door. “Come look at the patio.”
Anna joined her, and they stepped onto a slab of cement furnished with two lawn chairs, a small, wrought-iron table and chairs, and several rectangular planter boxes. Cement walls on either side provided privacy from the neighbors.
“See how close I am to the ocean?” Luci nodded to a path leading through the dunes to the shore. “I can take my daily walks, same as at home.”
“Our house is closer to the beach and much more private. And what’s in those planters? Looks like weeds.” She walked over to inspect one box.
“You have my permission to plant something else.”
“I’ll see if I can spare something from my garden.”
They finished unloading the SUV and Luci’s car. Anna consulted her wristwatch. “I have a meeting with the garden club in fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks for all your help today.” Luci gave her mother a hug.
A smile softened Anna’s tight lips. “You’re so welcome, honey.” She stepped back and snapped her fingers. “Oh, I almost forgot.”
“What?”
“You’ll see.”
Anna dug into one of the boxes and pulled out a bowl Luci recognized. “For me? But that’s your favorite bowl for your roses.”
“I know, but you’ve always admired it and now it’s yours.”
“Oh, Mom.” Luci’s eyes misted as she ran her fingers over the bowl’s yellow enameled surface. “Are you sure?”
“I am. It’s a housewarming present. Or should I say ‘apartment-warming’?”
“I’m honored. I’ll put it here so I can admire it every day.” She centered the bowl on the coffee table and gave her mother another
