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  “Would you like me to call? You can stay out of it. I can be quite convincing when I put my mind to it.”

  “They’ll just call me…”

  “Turn off your phone.”

  “But…”

  “Belinda, I can’t tell you how to run your life, and this isn’t my family, but how do you expect to change things if you aren’t willing to make any changes? You say you want your family to become more involved— here’s your chance.”

  “They’re going to be so mad.”

  “Let them. That’s not your problem.”

  “But what if…”

  “You said that you have the funds to provide yourself with a roof over your head, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then they’re more dependent on you than you are on them. You need to remember that.”

  “That’s what my boss said. She told me I’m just enabling them to abuse me.”

  “I don’t think it’s quite that simple, but I can see where she gets the idea. I’m not suggesting you abandon your grandparents; I’m suggesting you decide what boundaries are reasonable for you and then you sit down with your family and discuss it. Things like what days you will cover and what days your family covers. Who’s responsible for what. Who pays for what. That type of thing. You’re a responsible adult, and you have the right and the responsibility to see you’re treated properly.”

  Belinda melted. She cried until she was cried out. “So it’s not my fault?”

  “What?”

  “I’ve just tried so hard, and nothing I’ve done has worked. They’re always mad at me. If I fix beef for dinner, they wanted chicken. If I clean the bathroom, they’re mad I touched their stuff. If I leave it alone, I’m forcing them to live in a pigsty. I can’t remember the last time I had a whole day where I wasn’t accused of something terrible.”

  Carolyn felt equal parts guilt and gratitude. Guilt she’d assumed this young woman was anything but a victim, and gratitude she hadn’t made Belinda’s life even more difficult. Yes, she’d called the authorities, but had they done their jobs properly, this would have all been dealt with some time ago.

  Belinda finally went back to her condo about four thirty. She’d called the hospital. Both of her grandparents would be spending the night. The nurse generously offered to contact Belinda’s parents for her. She had gotten to know her while her grandfather was hospitalized the last time, and the nurse recognized something in Belinda that caused her to be extra attentive and supportive.

  Belinda was going to try to get some sleep and promised to check in with Carolyn when she woke up.

  The first thing Carolyn did when it got to be a reasonable hour was to call Anna. “We got it backwards.”

  “What?”

  Carolyn explained everything she had discovered the night before. How they had all jumped to the wrong conclusion. Assuming the granddaughter was the villain in their family saga, when in truth the grandparents were the offenders.

  Anna promised to call Roland and Adeline to apprise them of the new information, not that Roland had been involved with any of it for quite some time. Roland caring about the neighbors had just been a cover for watching Carolyn.

  When Belinda knocked just before nine, Carolyn saw the note on the floor as she approached the door. Fearing a fast dip to the floor to recover the note might send her back into spasm, she chose to ignore it for the time being. Belinda only stayed at the door a moment; she said she was on her way to the hospital and just wanted to thank Carolyn again.

  Once the door was safely closed, Carolyn pushed a chair over to the note. She used the seat of the chair to steady herself as she bent, keeping her back as straight as possible and using the seat to push herself back up once she had the note safely in her hand.

  The note was in the same script. It said: Remember

  She had no intention of sharing the note with Anna or Adeline. They’d made such a fuss over the last one, and although she couldn’t be sure, she had a very strong suspicion they’d had someone watching her while she was dealing with the worst of her back issues. Of course, that could have just been the medication. Hadn’t she had terrible paranoia when she’d been on medication before? No matter. She was determined to see this one through herself.

  The next several days were spent on wedding plans, trying to come up with the perfect shower gift idea for A.J. and Cara, and getting things in line for her neighbors’ homecoming.

  Anna and Adeline had jumped right in, as Carolyn knew they would, and were doing all they could think of to help the girl.

  Anna had spent quite a bit of time doing research on every facet of the problem. Why the elders were becoming abusive. Why the family was stepping aside and allowing this poor young woman to try to deal with everything on her own. What types of care could be brought to them within the limitations of their limited income, since the family seemed disinclined to help out much. What insurance would cover. The VA benefits the man was entitled to and how they could use those benefits to get some respite care for the elders and a break for Belinda.

  It was on day four, Anna came to a simple realization. She thought of Carolyn’s neighbors as very elderly, but in fact, they were only a couple of years older than she. Why it hadn’t dawned on her from the beginning made her wonder, but the truth of it stunned her.

  She sent up a little prayer. She thanked God she’d aged well and was still active and full of life, not vinegar.

  TEN

  CAROLYN COULD NOT have been more pleased. Her grandchildren, A.J. and Suzi, were coming over to spend the day, and they were bringing Evelyn, her great-granddaughter, along.

  Teagan had made plans for the day. She was taking Cara out to buy all the underpinnings needed for her wedding dress. A.J. assumed they would need extra time to try the dress on, and maybe even see how it would look at the wedding venue, which happened to be his backyard. Unlike Cara, A.J. didn’t believe in silly superstitions, but he’d long ago made the choice to be respectful of her beliefs. His plan was to spend most of the day away from the house to allow Cara her privacy.

  For Carolyn, the plan meant a wonderful day of spending time with the kids, and then dinner out with the kids and the girls.

  Her back was in fine form. She felt better than she had since her initial problems up in Virginia, when she’d taken such a hard spill and her back had been such a problem.

  She reminded herself to keep everything positive, and if she could bear it, not pick up Evelyn unless she was sitting.

  The visit was both fun and informative. A.J. and Suzi worked together. A.J. had given Suzi a job when everything in her marriage had fallen apart. They seemed to be doing well at the photography studio. A.J. was building a large client base, and Suzi was beginning to venture into the creative side. She’d designed and then constructed a beautiful outfit for women to wear while A.J. took their pictures underwater at a friend’s commercial pool.

  Carolyn remembered her worry not long ago that there would be a terrible rift in her grandchildren’s relationship, as it was Suzi’s husband, Barry, who beat Cara nearly to death. The O’Flynn family had risen above it and demanded all others do the same. As a result, Suzi was still a beloved member of the clan, and A.J. had stepped back enough to see that Suzi was not at all involved in Barry’s craziness.

  Sometimes, Carolyn felt she needed a scorecard to keep all the players straight, but she was thrilled her grandchildren were happy and living in the same big rambling house. Cara had insisted that Suzi and Evelyn move in when she and A.J. had purchased the place. It was a blessing to them all.

  As they were getting Evelyn’s cute little pink sweater on her—restaurants in Florida are always so cold—A.J.’s cell phone emitted the most horrendous screech. “That’s the panic button at the house. I gotta go.”

  Carolyn tried to calm him. “I’m sure it’s just a false alarm. Why don’t you call?”

  A.J. didn’t stop to explain. “You stay with Gran. It’s probably just tho
se kids. I’ll be back.” He ran out the door without so much as a kiss for Evelyn. Suzi knew what that meant. A.J. was completely panicked.

  Suzi filled her grandmother in. They’d had an attempted break-in around the same time as the drama with Evelyn’s baby monitor. The people that hacked into the monitor—resulting in breastfeeding and potentially naked pictures of Suzi being out in the public eye—were arrested, so everyone was confident they were not the problem. Instead, the working theory was the people messing around at the house were friends of Cara’s boss’s grandson. Suzi was careful to phrase it as casually as possible.

  Since Carolyn and Adeline were best friends, Suzi assumed Gran knew the background on the issue and didn’t bother to go into the details.

  Carolyn needed clarification. “You mean Christophe? I thought he and Adeline had mended those fences and everything was well.”

  “We think so, too. It’s his friends. I guess they’re a little jealous and blame Cara for Christophe’s good fortune.”

  “Well, that’s ridiculous.”

  “Yes, it is. Everybody’s sure they’re harmless.”

  “Then why a panic button?”

  “Mostly to catch them and hold them accountable.”

  Carolyn seemed to accept Suzi’s comments. For that, Suzi was grateful. She was lying to her grandmother and felt terrible about it. Those kids probably meant to harm Cara, and all Suzi could do was pray that Roland’s guys and the cops got to them before A.J. did.

  It seemed to take forever for A.J. to call and update Suzi and their grandmother. The news was not good. Barry had escaped from prison. Something about a computer problem. When he escaped, he headed straight for their house.

  Teagan had been there with Cara and was able to protect her sister. Barry was in custody. He was injured and on his way to the hospital. A.J. didn’t go into details about that. Teagan and Cara were fine, which was the important part.

  A.J. promised he would call again just as soon as he had details. He said there were lots of cops at the house. It would be easier on Evelyn if Suzi just spent the rest of the day as planned.

  Suzi was quiet during dinner with the girls. A.J. still hadn’t called back, and although she knew Barry was locked up again, she couldn’t escape the guilt she felt. She’d brought Barry into their lives, and although it had never been her intent, it was certainly appropriate that everyone blamed her for Cara being hurt by Barry in the first place. She couldn’t possibly feel any worse.

  The fight with A.J. was the biggest of their lives. Suzi didn’t see it coming, and she had no defense against the accusations he hurled at her so quickly she couldn’t possibly respond.

  She understood that he was scared, imagining all Barry could have done, but to think his own sister would be part of Barry’s plan—even unwittingly—was more than she could deal with.

  How could he think, even for one minute, she would give Barry their address? Put aside all it meant for anyone else in the house, how could he believe she was such a terrible mother she would put Evelyn at risk by telling Barry where they lived?

  She couldn’t speak to him.

  She certainly couldn’t live in the house anymore.

  She wouldn’t be attending the wedding.

  She stayed at Gran’s and plotted her own escape. From the house. From the state. From her family.

  The fight continued the next day. Cara and Gran tried to calm them, but Suzi and A.J. fought like untrained pit bulls. Each of them locked on, unable and unwilling to let go.

  Suzi had seen Teagan and Cara fight a few times over the years. They might snap at each other, but they rarely got personal or vicious. She and A.J. didn’t know how to fight that way. Every hurt they’d suffered, mostly as kids, mostly at the hands of their parents, came exploding out of their mouths.

  The low point might have been when Suzi said A.J. was acting exactly like their father.

  He stormed out and didn’t pick up when she called to apologize.

  It took a lot of talking, but Suzi and A.J. worked it out.

  Suzi was sure Cara had a lot to do with it. There’s simply nothing more important to Cara than family.

  Cara had included Suzi in her wedding dress unveiling event. Teagan had a whole glam squad at her house, and they’d practiced hair and makeup. Cara had never looked more beautiful.

  In the middle of everything, Cara talked to Suzi and made sure she was okay.

  It reminded Suzi of Mrs. O’Flynn, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t want Cara to cry and ruin her makeup.

  That night, when she’d tucked Evelyn in back in the home that Cara and A.J. so generously shared with them, Suzi cried. All night. For all that had happened and all that hadn’t. For making a mess of her life and having her mess impact so many people she loved. For the grace God showed her by giving her the perfect little baby girl to make everything better. To make her life complete. Everything else was nothing more than an irritation. A splinter in her paw.

  If Mrs. O’Flynn had still been alive, Suzi would have called her in the morning.

  Nobody realized how close they’d become.

  She missed her every day.

  She couldn’t imagine how Cara was dealing with such a huge loss.

  Had her own mother died, she’d have missed her for a minute. But her own mother had never been very nurturing. She wasn’t a big part of their lives, so why would she be missed?

  That made Suzi feel even worse for her own childhood and reenergized her passion to make Evelyn’s life the best it could be.

  Suzi lay in bed staring at the ceiling. It was only since she’d had Evelyn she understood the difference. The difference between being a real mother and just being a glorified roommate.

  Mrs. O’Flynn once explained it to her. She said she was not her children’s friend. She was friendly with her children, but she had too much respect for herself and for her children to sully the relationship by trying to be a friend. Their standing as her children was a million times more important than anyone’s standing as a friend.

  Suzi fell asleep and dreamed of Mrs. O’Flynn.

  A.J.’s wedding was lovely. It was by far the most beautiful ceremony Carolyn had ever witnessed. She believed deeply that A.J. and Cara would have a strong and happy marriage. Just as she had had with Coop after all was said and done. They’d had their challenges, but they had met them face on and had come along even stronger.

  She could hope for nothing more for her grandchildren.

  She often thought of them more as her own.

  Their parents didn’t bother much with them when they were younger, and it had become even worse now that they were adults. They had been at the wedding for only a short time before excusing themselves as they had other plans. What could possibly be more important than your child’s wedding?

  Carolyn had been so angry she worried her back would go into spasm, but fortunately, A.J. had come to her with his crooked little boy smile and told her not to give his parents a thought. He said they would be given no power. Not to upset him. Not to upset her. Not on his wedding day. He then took her out on the dance floor, and they had a marvelous time.

  Whatever had gone so incredibly wrong with her own children was healed in her grandchildren. She could not be more proud of A.J. or Suzi.

  Suzi and Evelyn had come home with her after the wedding.

  A.J. had planned a surprise honeymoon for Cara, and the happy couple was not leaving until the following morning.

  As part of their wedding gift, the girls had chipped in and paid for a cleaning crew to give the newlyweds’ home a good once-over after the ceremony. Suzi said she would go home once that was accomplished.

  For the next two weeks, the girls were busy. Carolyn was spending a great deal of time with Suzi and Evelyn. Suzi was putting in a few extra hours at the studio since A.J. was gone, and Carolyn delighted in filling in as babysitter, transportation coordinator, and today, finger paint procurement specialist.

  Anna was
working closely with Belinda. They had discovered there were many programs available to be of help to the family. They were in the process of weeding out those that were impractical and applying for those that would likely work best. The process was complicated and time-consuming, but they were making good progress, and Belinda looked so much better than any of them had ever seen her.

  Adeline was still pushing her way through getting her fiduciary responsibilities under control. She had completely revamped her holdings and restructured virtually everything in all areas. It was an awesome accomplishment. She was almost done with the decision-making process. Next would be implementation.

  A.J. and Cara had been home for only a few days when he called to invite Carolyn to dinner. He explained they’d come home to quite a scene. Police all over their neighborhood. Their neighbors—the ones that had so generously removed their fence to make the wedding space larger—had drama with their daughter.

  It seemed to Carolyn that neighbor drama was becoming a theme in her life. One she didn’t welcome.

  “We’re inviting you—of course—as well as Adeline and Anna. Cara and I are so grateful for everything you three did for our wedding, and the cleanup afterwards, and we’d like to sit down and visit. We were so busy with everything before the wedding. Cara and I were talking about it today, and we really feel like we need some time with you guys. Can you come?”

  “Name the time and place.”

  “Saturday, here at the house. How about seven?”

  “What can I bring?”

  “Not a thing. We’ve got it all under control.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Carolyn knew Anna was likely next door. She thought she’d check in and see if maybe Anna would like to kidnap Adeline on Saturday midday, do a little shopping or go to the spa, and then go to A.J. and Cara’s together.

  When Belinda answered, Carolyn couldn’t help but smile.

  “Belinda, look at you. You look lovely.”

  “I went and got a haircut, and then I went shopping. I haven’t done that in so long. With Grandma and Grandpa in assisted living while they do their transitional therapy so they can come home healthy, I’ve had time to do all kinds of things. You want to see?”