“The good thing is that it’s not like she can wander too far.”
“Unless she goes in the woods and gets very disorientated,” she pointed out.
“Well, then, if that happens, we’ll get someone to sniff her out.”
She snorted. “That’s funny.”
Mason grinned at her. “Not trying to be funny, but I’ll take it.”
Lila tapped on the screen of her phone, and it was soon ringing. Cohen picked up. “Haven’t found her yet,” he said. “We’ve looked everywhere on Main Street and near the lake. Is there some other place she would go?”
“She wasn’t at the cemetery, and I’ve got no call from Misty to say Nana got home safely.”
“Shit. You take the east side of town. I’ll take the west. The deputies I have out there are combing the parks and the obvious paths.”
Lila disconnected the call and repeated her conversation to Mason. He nodded, and he led them toward the diner. They checked all of the possible nooks and crannies, but there was no sign of Nana. Lila’s panic was slowly mounting.
“She does this,” she said out loud, almost to make herself feel better. “But usually, by this time, we’ve found her.”
“We’ll find her,” Mason promised. “You’ll see.”
They turned off the main street onto one of the more residential streets. The houses were small but cute and well maintained. People in Half Moon Key definitely felt some serious house pride. The lawns were green and freshly cut with all kinds of gardens and flower beds.
Up ahead, there was a small person walking in a zigzag in the middle of the street, mumbling to themselves.
“It’s her,” Lila gasped. She took off at a run and didn’t stop until she had her grandmother in a bear hug. “Nana, you impossible little mischievous maddening lady!”
“Lila? I don’t know how to get back to the diner.” Nana’s eyes were watery with tears. “I wanted to go …” She stopped short. “I don’t remember where I was going, but I also don’t remember where I’m supposed to be.”
“It’s okay, Nana. I’ve got you.” Lila led her grandmother toward Mason, who was on the phone with Cohen, letting him know the missing woman had been found.
He ended the call. “Hi, there, Mrs. Ford. How’s the midnight stroll going for you?”
Nana laughed like a schoolgirl. She blushed and smoothed down her floral nightgown. “Oh, and who are you? Are you dating my Lila?”
“I would if she let me,” he responded, his eyes cutting toward Lila. The earnest sparkle in his eyes and the sweet smile on his handsome face made one thing very obvious. He wasn’t lying. Could he mean it? Or was he just trying to charm Nana?
Lila’s heart stopped, but she didn’t want to read too much into it. He didn’t mean it. Mason only said that to make Nana smile. She couldn’t let his words get to her head.
Lila took her grandmother’s arm into the crook of her elbow, letting Nana lay most of her weight on her granddaughter. “Nana, you know you’re not supposed to leave the house like this. You frightened me. I’ve been everywhere looking for you.”
“I know, I know, Lila. I’m so sorry.”
Lila’s heart constricted but for a whole other reason now. It was hard to see her grandmother lose hold of herself like this. Lila could hardly be mad at Nana, but it didn’t make it any easier. It did help to have Mason there with her.
It was odd because her ex had never been a very caring man. When Nana got her diagnosis, Erik was all but one foot out of the door. But here Mason was, walking beside Nana, telling her a funny story about his childhood with Cohen.
“He was always the serious one, and I was always the one making jokes. I liked to prank him when we were kids. I liked making him laugh, but one time, he gotme. I wasn’t expecting it all.”
“What did he do?” Nana asked, intrigued by Mason’s tale.
“Well, I had a date with my crush. Don’t worry, Nana. She was a nice girl, but she was nothing compared to your Lila.” Nana tapped his arm gently with a look that shoutedI know my granddaughter is the best.“I was very nervous, of course. I got home from a shift at the restaurant I was working at and hopped in the shower. I didn’t realize until it was too late, but Cohen put dye in my body wash. Red dye. My skin was so red, I looked like a huge blushing tomato.”
Nana giggled. “And how did the date go?”
“Let’s just say I had a hard time explaining why I was so red to my date. We didn’t go out again.” Mason shrugged, and he caught Lila’s eyes again. He grinned. “Probably for the best.”
“I bet you paid him back.” Nana laughed.