Shit.
“What about Ted?”
Ted Rowlands had worked for Grandad for over twenty years as his full-time assistant. And even though it had been five years since he’d been employed by him, he still stopped by to visit him several times a week and was always willing to help.
“Ted has the flu.”
“And Frida?”
Frida Mendoza and Grandad had dated for close to a decade after Liv’s gran passed away. Frida loved Liv’s grandad but she wanted a commitment; he never gave her one. Their relationship was no longer romantic, but she still cared deeply for Liv’s grandad and would do anything for him.
“I tried Frida, several times, but she didn’t answer. She called back when she got the messages, she just didn’t hear her phone but I was already on my way back home.”
“And Tippy is in California,” Liv said aloud.
When Liv had planned this weekend away, she knew that she’d be down one in case of emergency people, Tippy Reeves, who had been Grandad’s publicist for close to four decades was in California at Disneyland with her kids and grandkids.
“Right, so your mother stayed with him.”
“What did she do?” Liv braced herself. The last time she’d been left to care for Grandad, she’d invited her boyfriend and his “friends” over and Granddad had ended up wandering the streets wearing a tie, dress shoes and nothing else.
“When I got home, the police were leaving.”
“The police?”
“Yes, apparently your mother laid down for a second to rest her eyes and when she woke up the police had been called. He thought there was a break-in and called the police. She said she took care of it.”
“But he’s okay, now?”
“Yes, he’s sleeping.”
Liv let out a sigh of relief. It could have been a lot worse. “I can come home if you need to be with—”
“No, no,” Anna cut her off. “Don’t worry about us. We’re fine. Javier is fine, he’s resting and Damien is home with him. He’s not back on until Monday so he’s going to stay the weekend.”
Damien was their eldest son. He worked as a firefighter and Anna could not be prouder of him.
“I just wanted to keep you in the loop,” Anna continued. “Go, have fun. Well, if not fun, at least get some writing done.”
Liv was months past the deadline for her final, highly anticipated, Rogues of Riverglen series. The popularity of Bridgerton had brought an entirely new fanbase to the historical romance genre, and Liv’s back catalog had benefited from the spotlight that Julia Quinn’s success had shone.
Writing was difficult enough to do with the regular distractions of life, but the trials and tribulations of the past couple of years had made it nearly impossible for Liv. No not nearly impossible, it had been totally impossible. She hoped that the change of scenery and alone time she’d get this weekend would remedy her writer’s block.
“Okay, thanks Anna.”
Liv disconnected the call as she passed the sign welcoming her to Whisper Lake.
Her favorite childhood memories had been made in this town. That’s why she’d chosen it as the destination for her wedding. Until she was fourteen, she’d spent every summer here in Whisper Lake.
Every day had been spent the same way. She’d wake up, have her gran’s pancakes and make the one-mile hike to the local library which overlooked Stone Castle, the venue of her, or she guessed, now her cousin’s wedding. She’d spent countless hours on the back deck of the library daydreaming about the castle, imagining herself as a princess locked in the tower; she was very dramatic as a child.
She’d read her first historical romance in that library; Pride and Prejudice. She’d checked it out and kept it the entire summer, reading it close to a dozen times. Mr. Darcy was her second literary crush after Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables.
Whisper Lake was where she’d fallen in love with the genre that was now her career. They’d stopped coming after her grandma died when she was fourteen because Grandad sold his writing cabin. She’d booked all of her venues online, so this was her first time being back in the town.
Liv drove past Goldilocks Gas ’N Go and thought about pulling over to go pee, but she was only a couple miles from the Princess and the Pea B&B where she would be staying. Originally, she’d planned on staying at the castle, but she decided that attending the wedding and rehearsal dinner would be enough. She didn’t need to stay in her wedding venue on the weekend that she was supposed to be walking down the aisle.
She continued on through town and noted that what she’d known as The Diner was now Drawbridge Diner. It was surrounded by a mote and had a working drawbridge.