“Yeah, but Moses also wore a beard to his navel and ate locusts.”
“Abraham.”
“Well, anyway, Laura said you would understand why she can’t come to you now.”
“I do understand.” Then after a beat. “I love her, Coach.”
“I know.” At Griff’s surprised look, the older man nodded. “The other night, when your whole future depended on chasing down Rodarte and Ruiz, you stayed with her. That wasn’t like you, putting somebody else’s welfare ahead of your own. You’ve got to make another sacrifice now, Griff. If you truly care about this lady, you’ve got to give her time. Distance. Absence from you.”
Griff knew that. He understood the necessity. But that didn’t make it any easier to accept. “Is she all right?”
“Doing fine. Her worst problem is Ellie.”
“Ellie?”
“She’s in her mother hen mode. Practically smothering the girl.”
Griff smiled and closed his eyes. “She’s in good hands.”
He must have dozed off again, because when he woke up, Coach was gone. The room was empty. He was alone.
EPILOGUE
GRIFF ANSWERED HIS CELL PHONE ON THE SECOND RING. “Hello?”
“One o’clock today?”
His heart stopped before stuttering into a dangerously rapid beat.
“Can you be there?”
“Uh, yeah. Yes. Yes.”
“I’ll see you then.”
He held the phone to his ear for another thirty seconds before snapping it closed. Then he stood there in the shopping mall, letting other shoppers eddy around him while he reassured himself that he was awake, that he wasn’t dreaming, that it had actually been Laura calling.
As with the first time, he arrived at the house easily twenty minutes early. He drove around the neighborhood till twelve fifty-eight. When he got back, her car was in the driveway. He parked behind it. It seemed a long walk to the front door. He was reaching for the bell when the door opened and she was standing there.
“I heard your car.”
For a long time, he
didn’t speak, just stood there, taking in the sight of her. Finally his joy pushed its way out of his tight chest in the form of a light laugh. “You look terrific.”
“Thank you.”
“No, I mean it.” She was wearing a pink, body-hugging sweater and a pair of black slacks. Simple, elegant, sexy as hell. “Really terrific.”
She blushed at the compliment and stepped aside, motioning him in. He walked into the living area that was so familiar, yet completely altered since the last time he’d been here. The house had been transformed into an inviting home.
The armoire he recognized, but the sofa was new. There were additional pieces of furniture, artwork on the walls, magazines and books and an area rug, a bowl of white tulips on the coffee table. For the first time, the shutters were opened, letting in sunlight. It wasn’t that cold out, so the low fire in the fireplace was more for ambience than for heat.
He turned to Laura, knowing what she was going to say before she said it. “I live here now.”
“I read that you’d sold the mansion. Do you like it here?”
“I love it.”