She laughed softly but didn’t contradict him. At some level, they both knew she wouldn’t be returning to the store, but Gabe didn’t want to admit it. Not out loud. Who was Iris Carlyle without a flower in her hand? Certainly not the woman who’d made his life better during the summers he spent with her.

“I got the Christmas cactus in your bathroom at the house to bloom,” he told her. “I’ll bring it tomorrow when I come for the wreath-decorating class.”

“A good boy,” she told him, lifting her functioning hand to pat his cheek when he bent toward her. “Where is Poppy?”

Gabe tried not to wince at the mention of his mom. “Still in New Mexico. She likes the desert, you know.”

“Running wild, no doubt.” Gran tsked as Gabe straightened. “That girl can’t stay out of trouble. She’s like a loose seed with the wind carrying her in any direction. The principal called me last week to say...” She paused, shook her head, brows furrowed. “Not last week. A while ago. Years now.”

“That’s right.” Gabe forced a smile. “Mom has been gone for a while. She’s got her own priorities, but I’m here. For as long as you need me.”

“You always had a way with the plants,” Gran told him, and it felt like the greatest compliment he could have received. “Not everyone does.”

“I know.”

She lifted a gnarled hand to point to the pine boughs and ribboned greenery he’d hung in haphazard swaths around the perimeter of the common lounge. “But your artistic eye needs a bit of work.”

He turned and grimaced. He’d done his best. After all, how hard could it be to decorate one simple square room, especially when Gran had rows of boxes of holiday supplies both in the shop’s storeroom and the old house’s basement? But as he looked at his handiwork, he realized the decorations were uneven and drooping, not to mention he’d completely missed one entire wall.

“That’s why I need you,” he told her honestly.

Her tired eyes filled with tears that she quickly blinked away when voices heralded people heading toward them.

“Wow, this is a different look for Christmas,” Sharla, the Shady Acres activities director, said with a laugh as she walked into the room.

“It’s a work in progress,” Gabe answered. “Gran is going to help me fix it. She’s the—”

He broke off as Angi Guilardi and her mother walked into the room.

“Hello, Iris,” the older woman said, giving his grandmother a wide smile. “It’s so nice to see you.”

Gran darted a panicked glance toward Gabe.

“You remember Bianca,” Gabe told his grandma with a slight nod. “She owns the Italian restaurant a couple of doors down from your shop.”

“With Vinnie,” Gran said, then looked toward Bianca. “He brings me a meatball sub every Friday for lunch. I love meatballs.”

“Gran, Vinnie passed away earlier this year.”

“Oh.” Gran covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m so sorry.”