Luck Be a Lady - Cathie Linz [86]
“You have a good memory to recall all those things,” Billy said.
“She’s very smart,” Gram bragged. “She’s a librarian.”
“Yes, I know.”
Logan eyed his dad carefully. “Do you want me to get you some coffee or something?”
“When Dad had his bypass surgery a decade ago, I was still drinking. It helped dull the pain and the worry. I don’t have that option this time.”
“Do you need me to call your sponsor?” Logan asked.
“No, but thanks for the offer.”
“And thanks for butting in with Gramps the other night.”
“You’re my son. It’s my job to butt in. I may not have been the best dad in the world for you in the past, but that can change.”
“It already has,” Logan said.
Megan didn’t return home until the wee hours of the morning. By then, Buddy had continued to improve and was even demanding to be released. Gram was staying in the room with him, keeping him manageable, she said. Before Megan had left, Gram had taken her aside outside the hospital room and shed a few tears of relief before saying, “Time is precious. Not just for Buddy and me. For everyone. You think there’s all the time in the world—to get angry, to make up. But there isn’t. All we have is the here and now. This was a real wake-up call. The doctor said stress contributed to Buddy’s collapse. His blood pressure was high and he wasn’t remembering to take his medicines. That’s going to change.”
“So you two are back together?”
Gram nodded. “We can work out the details of his annulment later. For now, the important thing is that Buddy is going to be all right and that the two of us are going to be together because life isn’t open-ended. Don’t ever forget that.”
Megan thought of nothing else the next day at work. She went through the motions—answering reference questions, showing a patron how to use the public computers, attending a staff meeting, working on a speech she was supposed to give at ALA Midwinter in January—but her thoughts remained consumed with what Gram had said.
Which was why she called Logan during her afternoon break. “Do you think you could stop by my place after work? Unless you’re going to the hospital to see Buddy?”
“I stopped by on my lunch break and he seems to be doing just fine. Your grandmother is keeping him in line.”
“I’m glad to hear that. If you come over tonight, I’ll make you a home-cooked meal.”
“Are strawberries and whipped cream on the menu?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll be there,” he said. “Around seven okay?”
“Fine. See you then.”
When Megan got home with groceries from the nearby food market, Megan noticed that Danny Boone was not on duty. She hadn’t seen him that morning either, it now occurred to her. The temp replacement, an old guy with a comb-over trying to hide his baldness, said Danny was on vacation in Tennessee with his family for a few more days.
In addition to the strawberries and a can of whipped cream, Megan got salmon steaks, which would be easy to grill once Logan arrived. But her mind wasn’t on the menu or even what erotic things could be done with that can of whipped cream. No, her focus was on the decision she’d made to tell Logan she loved him.
Gram was right: Time was precious.
A knock at her front door a few minutes later had her heart beating fast. Logan was a little early. No problem. The temp doorman hadn’t called ahead to warn her someone was coming up. Impatient to see her, Logan probably just flashed his badge at the guy.
She eagerly opened it to find Astrid standing there.
Megan could hardly believe her eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.”
“Why? What do you want?”
“Can I come in so we can talk?”
As Megan grudgingly allowed her in, she realized that the brief conversation they’d just had was similar to the one they’d had in D.C.—only now the roles were reversed. Megan doubted that Astrid was experiencing one-billionth of the nerves that Megan had a few days ago, however.
“How did you know where to find me?” Megan said.
“Your address was on your driver’s