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Back A Flicker of Light
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Half Title Page
  3. Books by Katie Powner
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Dedication
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. TWENTY
  27. TWENTY-ONE
  28. TWENTY-TWO
  29. TWENTY-THREE
  30. TWENTY-FOUR
  31. TWENTY-FIVE
  32. TWENTY-SIX
  33. TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. TWENTY-NINE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. THIRTY-FIVE
  42. THIRTY-SIX
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. THIRTY-NINE
  46. FORTY
  47. FORTY-ONE
  48. FORTY-TWO
  49. FORTY-THREE
  50. FORTY-FOUR
  51. FORTY-FIVE
  52. FORTY-SIX
  53. FORTY-SEVEN
  54. FORTY-EIGHT
  55. FORTY-NINE
  56. FIFTY
  57. FIFTY-ONE
  58. FIFTY-TWO
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. About the Author
  61. Back Ads
  62. Back Cover

Bea pushed the smoothie glass over to Jeremy, her voice full of excitement. “And Amber already said she would love to visit with Grandma once a week. Grandma loves Hunter.”

“Wonderful.” Marge tucked her hair behind her ears. “That only leaves one day a week. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble getting volunteers for that.”

Mitch looked from Marge to Bea and back. “For what?”

“It’s settled then.” Bea squealed. “Grandma and Grandpa can live here. They don’t have to go to Ponderosa.”

Mitch gaped. This conversation had gotten away from him fast. As his brain caught up with what Marge and Bea meant, an uncomfortable feeling grew in his gut. The care facilities he’d visited today had both been nice. Clean and comfortable. The staff had been courteous and competent. But neither place had felt quite right. Neither place had a large outdoor area, and neither could offer the one thing his mother found more comforting than anything else in the world: a view of the Bridger Mountains.

But that didn’t mean he could move his parents into his house and allow all these random people to help care for them. Okay, maybe they weren’t random people, but still. They were his parents. His responsibility.

Marge touched his elbow, and he startled. “I know what you’re thinking.”

It seemed an impossibility, but he searched her face and believed her.

Bea folded her hands in front of her. “Dad, I get it, too. But people want to help. They love you, and they love Grandma and Grandpa. I think you should let Marge do this.”

He was still a little fuzzy on the details. “Do what exactly?”

“Help you.” Marge smiled. “Organize a schedule to have someone available for your parents every day of the week. Give you the opportunity to say no to those icky places you looked at in Ponderosa.”

“They weren’t icky.”

Bea turned solemn eyes on him. “But they weren’t home, either. Those people aren’t family.”

He huffed. Marge wasn’t either. Amber wasn’t. Whoever else Marge had in mind wasn’t. And he wanted to say so. He almost did. But then he thought of Frank. As real a brother as a guy could hope for all this time, despite no shared blood.

“What do you say, Mitch?” Marge asked.

Caroline would be a puddle of tears right about now if she were here. His mother would be silent and stubborn, insisting on her independence. His father would not speak, but his eyes would be steely and determined. None of that mattered, though. It was up to him now.

“I’ll think about it.”

FORTY-EIGHT

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Bea felt a little guilty about moving ahead with Marge’s plan before Dad had made his decision, but not much.

“Which day would work better for you?” She pinned her phone between her ear and shoulder to lift her suitcase onto her bed. “Wednesday or Friday?”