Into the Night by Brockmann Suzanne

Author:Brockmann, Suzanne [Brockmann, Suzanne]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, General, Contemporary, Fiction
ISBN: 0804119724
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2006-11-14T08:00:00+00:00

“I’ve always loved your house,” Joan said as she helped clear the table after lunch.

Charlotte looked up at her granddaughter, who laughed and held up a hand.

“I know,” Joan said. “You don’t need to say anything. I remember the hissy fit I threw when you moved here, too. What was I? Eight years old?”

“Seven,” Charlie told her as she put the leftover chicken salad into a bowl. “And it wasn’t a hissy fit. It was more of a tragic pout. Deep sighs and big, sad eyes. Very melodramatic. It was all Gramps could do to keep from laughing whenever you came over.”

Joan remembered which drawer held the lids and fished out the right one. “He finally yelled at me. That was a little scary. Gramps mad. I almost fainted.”

“He wasn’t really mad.” Charlie took the lid from her and sealed the bowl, popping it into the refrigerator.

“Yeah, I know,” Joan said. “He was just ready for me to snap out of it. Your old house was great, though.”

“It wouldn’t have been after they widened the street.”

“I know. I drove past it last time I was in town. The traffic’s terrible over there. Really noisy. And the entire front yard is gone.”

“I do miss that pantry,” Charlie admitted.

“And the dumbwaiter, and the front and back staircases,” Joan said, remembering. “It was a great house for hide-and-seek, but that’s not what made it magical. You and Gramps did that. And when you moved, the magic came with you.”

Charlie hugged her. “What a lovely thing to say.”

“It’s true. I couldn’t see it back when I was seven, but I finally caught on.”

“There are some truths we’re just not ready for,” Charlie agreed. The coffeemaker was finally done dripping, and she poured them both a cup. “Are you still drinking this black?”

“Depends on how many calories I had for lunch,” Joan admitted. “And today I had way too many, so yes.”

“You don’t need to diet. I think you look wonderful,” Charlie told her, leading the way out onto the porch.

“Thanks, Gramma, but—”

“Tell me about this Lieutenant Muldoon.”

Joan laughed and rolled her eyes. “Still trying to get me married, huh? I knew this was coming as soon as Gramps made himself scarce.”

It was a habit Charlie and Vince had fallen into over the years, after Sheryl had died. Vince would disappear for a while so that Joan and Charlie would have a chance to talk privately. She didn’t think for one moment that she could take the place of Joan’s mother, but still, she hoped that being available to listen made things a little easier for her granddaughter.

These days it was tougher than ever to be a young woman.

“He’s just a friend,” Joan told her.

“Have you told him that? I may be old, but I still know smitten when I see it.”

Joan shook her head as she smiled into her coffee. “Gramma, he’s a twenty-five-year-old man. He wants to sleep with me. But he wants to sleep with me because he wants to sleep with everyone.

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