coffee maker rumbled. Finally. She returned to the kitchen, grabbed her favorite mug and poured herself a cup of joe, focusing on the good memories. Endless hours with Nan. Hugs and bedtime prayers. Failed summer reading plans and successful baking sessions. Feeling loved and cherished by her grandmother.
It really was good to be back.
Footsteps made her turn. Nan smiled, holding out her arms for a hug. Brittany embraced her, noting how thin her body was under the cotton nightgown and robe. “How did you sleep?”
“Good. It’s wonderful to wake up to your smiling face.”
“Want a cup of coffee?” Brittany turned to the counter.
“Yes, lots of sugar. Lots of cream.”
“You got it.” She found a container of store-bought pastries and put them and some chocolate chip cookies on a plate. Then she poured Nan a cup of coffee and settled in with her at the table.
“I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve visited.” She reached over and covered Nan’s hand with her own. Her bony fingers felt fragile.
“Oh, honey, you’re busy.” Nan patted her hand. “No need to apologize. I would have come to California for Christmas, but I...” A lost expression flitted through her eyes.
Nan used to come visit for Christmas, but it had been a few years. Her vibrant grandmother was fading. How had she not picked up on it before?
“I’ve always wanted to spend Christmas here with all the snow.” She just never could get the time off in the past.
“Plenty of snow here.” Nan took a sip. “Did you try out for the dance team?”
Try out? She drew her eyebrows together. “Nan, I did try out in college, and I made the Spirit Squad my sophomore year. Don’t you remember?”
A flicker of concern crossed Nan’s face. “Oh, that’s right. I remember you saying something about a dance team. I get my dates mixed up sometimes.” She pushed the plate Brittany’s way. “Cookie?”
“Yes, please.” She selected one bursting with chocolate chips and bit into it. Mmm...
“Mason and Noah bring these every week. Have you seen the baby yet? He’s a darling child.”
“No, I haven’t.” The cookie suddenly tasted like ashes.
“And what about you?” Nan asked. “Are you thinking of marrying the banker?”
Banker? What banker? She couldn’t mean Charles, could she? “Charles and I broke up a long time ago.” Four years, if memory served her right.
“You did? I thought you’d marry him.”
“Nope. We weren’t meant to be.” Within two months Charles had apparently decided she wasn’t serious girlfriend material. He’d dumped her and started dating a marketing executive shortly after.
She sighed. The story of her dating life.
“Have you been feeling okay?”
Nan took the tiniest sip of her coffee, a faraway look in her eyes. “Yes, things are fine.”
Things didn’t seem all that fine. Maybe she was just forgetful since it was so early in the morning. Memory lapses were a normal sign of aging, weren’t they?
“Mason will be here in a little while,” Nan said. “You two can run off and play the way you used to every summer.”
“Does Mason come here often?”
“Oh, yes.” Her shoulders poked through her thin cotton robe. “That reminds me...what day is it?”
“It’s Saturday.” It didn’t surprise her that Mason would stop by now and then. He’d always been fond of Nan. Brittany took another bite of cookie.
“Shopping day. I’d better make my list. You can go with him.” Nan padded over to a kitchen drawer. She returned to the table with a pen in one hand and a small notebook in the other. With shaky movements, she wrote milk, eggs and bread on the list. Then she stared into space.
“Why don’t you and I go to the store together?” Brittany asked. She and Ryder had flown into the nearest major airport, and together they’d driven to Rendezvous in his rental car. He was driving back to the airport tomorrow to catch his flight, and she figured she could borrow Nan’s truck to get around during her stay. “I’ll drive you to town if you don’t mind me borrowing your truck.”
“You can borrow it anytime. But Mason always does the shopping.”
Always? When had Nan stopped doing her own shopping? No matter what Nan said, Brittany highly doubted Mason would stop by with her being there.
“He might not be over today.”
Nan brightened. “Oh, no. He’ll be here.”
Nan had been confused about a few things this morning. Brittany hoped she was wrong about this, too.
But Mason was nothing if not dependable. Something told her she’d be seeing him sooner rather than later.
“Nan’s!” Noah jumped up and down, clapping his hands. His brown eyes sparkled and his blond hair was mussed. His cheekbones were all Mia’s. Mason wished she could see Noah now. “After cookies, we feed the kitties, Daddy.”
Mason loved the kid’s enthusiasm. His son loved Nan, and every day it was the same request—have a cookie, then feed the cats in Nan’s barn. But after a sleepless night wrestling with the fact he had a twin and a frigid morning feeding and working the cattle, Mason had no plans to visit Nan, even if it was shopping day. Brittany could take care of it.
But would she? He raised his eyes to the ceiling. Probably not. She knew nothing about Nan’s needs. And if Ryder was leaving tomorrow, Brittany would be heading out with him.
After the early-morning chores, Mason had called Ryder and invited him out to the ranch. Ryder was dealing with an unexpected work emergency but said he’d be over this afternoon.
Anticipation wound Mason up tighter than a lassoed calf. He was eager to learn more about his brother, to find out what else they had in common, but what if it poured gasoline on his happy childhood memories? He didn’t want his entire past to go up in flames.
“We’re not going to Nan’s today.” His shoulders tensed as he waited for the inevitable meltdown. He couldn’t exactly tell his son the truth—that his ex-girlfriend had rattled his nerves and he’d rather jump in the ice-cold waters of Silver Rocks River than run into Brittany again.
“Yes we are, Daddy. We go to Nan’s every day cuz we love her.”
No tantrum? That was a first. His conscience whimpered at his own words being repeated back to him. He pulled on his cowboy boots. “That’s right, but her granddaughter is in town visiting. We’ll give them some space.”
“But,
