a desperate note in her voice. “I’m sure they’re all anxious to have you back on your feet.”
“I have friends here, but I have family in Serenity,” her mother declared, her gaze not wavering, her tone stubborn.
Her argument mirrored so closely what Jeanette had said that it gave Helen pause. “Why?” she asked, bewildered by the sudden change in attitude from the time when Flo had been eager to leave Serenity.
“I want to spend some time with my granddaughter,” Flo said, her expression wistful. “She’s growing up so fast, and I’m missing it.”
“That doesn’t solve the problem of rehab, Mom. Maybe once you’re back on your feet, you could come for a visit.”
Her mother shook her head. “I want to come home permanently.” She frowned at Helen. “Oh, don’t look at me as if I’ve invited myself to stay with you forever. As soon as I’m back on my feet, I’ll get my own place.”
Helen was still bewildered by her mother’s determination. “I thought you loved your apartment here,” she said. Helen had spent a fortune buying and furnishing the place for her mother, trying to make her golden years easier than the early years of her life had been. Helen had spared no expense, either with the location or the furnishings. Her monthly checks to help out with expenses were generous, as well.
“It’s a lovely apartment and I appreciate you wanting me to have it, but I miss home, Helen. This accident was the final straw. If it had happened in Serenity, you wouldn’t have had to disrupt your life to fly all the way down here. I’ve made up my mind—I’m coming home. If you don’t want me underfoot at your place or you don’t have the room, then find a rehab facility up there. What was that one place called? Sunset Manor?”
Helen stared at her in horror. “Mom, you can’t go there, even temporarily. That place was a dump ten years ago when we visited your coworker there.”
“Surely by now there’s another alternative,” Flo said. There was no mistaking the intractable note in her voice or the determined glint in her eyes.
“I’ll have to discuss this with Erik,” Helen said, more to buy time than out of any conviction that he’d say no. In fact, he’d seemed to get along with her mother better than she did on the few occasions when they’d met.
“Of course,” her mother said, sounding meek now that she was well on her way to victory.
“And it would just be until you’re back on your feet and we’ve found you your own place.” Helen wanted to be very sure they were on the same page about that.
“Absolutely.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t sell your condo just yet, though. You could change your mind.”
“Sell it,” her mother said emphatically. “In fact, hand me my purse. It’s in that cabinet.”
Helen retrieved it for her. Her mother reached inside and whipped out a business card.
“Here’s the Realtor I’ve been talking to. Call her. Tell her to get the ball rolling.”
Helen regarded her with dismay. “You were already planning to sell and move home? Without even discussing it with me?”
“I knew you’d try to talk me out of it,” her mother replied succinctly. Her expression brightened and even her color improved. “Now you can see how it’s all working out for the best.”
Helen merely stared at her. If the idea hadn’t been so completely crazy, she might actually wonder if her mother weren’t happy about her broken hip. The next thing she knew Flo would be calling it a blessing in disguise.
Resigned, she sighed. “I guess I’d better start making calls. I’ll be back a little later.”
“Take your time,” Flo said cheerily. “I’m not going anywhere, at least not until you take me.”
Outside her mother’s room, Helen leaned against the wall and drew in several deep, calming breaths. She, the barracuda attorney, the master negotiator, had just been outmaneuvered by a wisp of a woman who couldn’t even get out of bed.
As Helen had anticipated, when she called home later that day, Erik was no help at all. If he’d voiced even one objection, she could have seized on it and told her mother no, then gone on a hunt for a rehab facility even if it turned out to be miles and miles from Serenity. In fact, Charleston would have been ideal.
Instead, Erik thought it was a great idea to have Flo living with them for a while. “It’ll be wonderful for our daughter to get to spend some real quality time with her grandmother. Extended family is important for kids.”
“Why don’t we just have your family move in, too?” Helen grumbled under her breath.
Erik chuckled. “Careful what you wish for,” he warned. “You’ll start giving me ideas.”
“Erik, you have no idea what Flo is like. She’s disorganized and unreliable.”
“All I know is that she raised an amazing daughter all on her own, so she can’t be all bad. Besides, she raves about my cooking.”
“How much adulation can you possibly need?” Helen inquired testily. “Your cooking gets rave reviews in magazines and newspapers all over the state. Why on earth do you need to bask in a few words of praise from my mother?”
Erik hesitated, then said, “Look, if you really don’t want to do this, why don’t you find a good facility for her.”
“Thank you!”
“Hold on,” he said. “Let me finish. You can do that, but it seems ridiculous to spend that kind of money when we have room for her here, and this is where she wants to be. It’s not going to be forever.”
Helen tried another approach. “She’ll need help, Erik. I can’t stay home from work now when I’m just getting back on track with my law practice.”
“We’ll hire a caregiver, a physical therapist, whatever she needs. I’ll make some calls today, get some people lined up.”
“What about moving her back to Serenity? I can’t spend days down here packing up her apartment.”
“It’s not likely to sell overnight, and she won’t need her furniture until we’ve found her a house or apartment here. Leave everything there. When the time comes, we’ll get movers to do the packing. I’ll even go down to supervise. You won’t have to lift a finger.”
“You have an answer for everything,” she groused.
“The same answers you would have if you weren’t so resistant to this whole idea.”
“Well, when our house is chaotic, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said.
“Nope, I definitely won’t be able to say that,” he replied so cheerfully Helen wanted to throttle him. “I love you. Talk to you later.”
“Hold it,” she commanded before he could hang up. “How am I supposed to get her up there? I doubt she’s able to maneuver
