Page 78 of Her Hidden Smile

“It’s nine o’clock,” I admonished. “Let me get you some food.”

“Sit down, honey. I’ll fix myself a sandwich. Go back to watching TV or whatever you were doing.”

“It’ll take just a few minutes to boil some water and get the ravioli going. I’ve got some good marinara sauce that I can heat up to go with it. But I don’t have any salad fixings.”

“Really? Nothing vegetable-like in your refrigerator? Shocking,” he teased.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the island. I sat him down and soon had a plate of ravioli in front of him. “Now tell me what you don’t want to say.”

He finished his bite, then put down his fork. “Am I really that easy to read?”

“Ah-ha. So I’m right!” I turned to pull out the peach ice cream from the fridge. I didn’t want him to see the look of concern on my face. I’d really been hoping my guess would be wrong.

“Cariña, turn around and look at me.”

“Gotta get the dessert ready.” I got down the bowls, and got the spoons out of the drawer. Then I brought the ice cream to the island. “This is homemade,” I told him.

“Really? I don’t think I’ve ever had homemade ice cream before.”

“Hold on, there’s cake to go with it.” I kept my eyes down as I turned to get the cake. I knew whatever he had to say I wasn’t going to like. “Do you want your cake in the bowl, or a separate plate?”

“The bowl is fine, Millie.”

I brought what was left of the cake over to the island.

He dished out the ice cream as I served up the cake. He didn’t say anything as we had our first bites of the treat. He was seated on the stool. I stayed on the kitchen side, leaning against the counter. It was the most comfortable position for me right now. As I ate the dessert, I found mine didn’t taste nearly as good as it had when I was eating it earlier with Lisa and Bella. I put down my spoon.

“Okay, spill it.”

“We got Junior. I had a nice long talk with him today. We got all the information we needed to know which projects we have to retrofit.”

I stood up taller. “Well, that’s good news.”

“Yeah, it is,” he sighed. “The bad news is, he insists that he didn’t try to break into your house.”

“So, he lied.”

“That’s what I think, but Simon’s not so sure. There were no recent fingerprints but yours and mine on the kitchen door, and his foot size was the same size as Juniors. The sheriff is going to need to get a warrant to check to see if he can find boots at his house that match.”

“Well, if you’re sure, what’s bothering you?” I asked.

“Two things. One, your alarm system isn’t going to be installed until next week. I hate that, but according to Simon and Roan, Ace Alarm Systems is the best. I’ll call Fred tomorrow and see if they can fit you in any earlier.”

“Why the rush?”

“I need to go back home to Springfield for a couple of days.”

“Why? What’s wrong? Is it your grandmother?” I knew that she hadn’t been feeling well.

“Yeah. She developed an infection while she was in the hospital getting her hip replaced. Mom’s trying to say everything is fine, but Elani sent a group text saying we should all come out for a visit. What I’d really like is for you to come with me.”

My stomach lurched, and I thought I might throw up my ice cream. Never had my agoraphobia felt so much like a disability before. I rushed around the island and threw my arms around Renzo. “Honey. Are you all right?”

“I’m doing okay. Jase got one of his SEAL friends to hack into the hospital records. It sounds like Gram is responding pretty well to this third batch of antibiotics, but she’s really worn down since it’s taken so long to find the right ones. I really think she’ll bounce back, but all of us just want to be there to lift her spirits.”

“How many of you are planning on being there?”

“I’m not sure yet. Jase is still out of the country.”