“I’m out of options. Grandy got lost yesterday on the way to the senior center, and he panicked. It could have been bad. He could have walked in front of a car, or … He needs a higher level of care, and that’s my number one priority. Oh God. He’s going to freak out when I tell him we have to sell.”

“He’s going to tell you no. Then what?”

She blinked back tears. “I’d have to take him to court. Assume guardianship. I don’t know if I can do that, Cleo. I don’t know if I have it in me to take that from him.”

“Man. This is really hard, Natalie. I wish there was something I could do.”

Natalie looked at Cleo, the friend she’d known all her life. “You’re doing it.” She offered a tremulous smile. “Guess I picked the wrong time to dump my bazillionaire boyfriend.” She’d filled Cleo and Bertie in on the Trevor/Tyrell situation, and the drama gave them something to talk about for days.

“I bet he’d love a second chance,” Cleo suggested.

“I would never. Do you hear yourself right now?”

“I’m grasping at straws.”

Through the open door, Natalie saw a customer approaching the counter, two cranky-looking kids tugging at her coat and whining. “I’ll go,” she said. “I could use the distraction.” She eased into bookselling mode, which now felt as natural to her as breathing. Despite her troubles, she managed to summon a smile as she greeted the customer. “Can I help you find …” She paused, studying the woman’s face. “Kayla?” She was sure it was Kayla Cramer, her girlhood nemesis.

“Hi, Natalie. It’s good to see you. We just moved back to the area, so I thought—”

“Mo-om,” said the little boy. “I’m hungry.”

“Me too,” the little girl chimed in. “I want cockporn.”

“We’ll get popcorn on the way home,” Kayla said, her cheeks turning red. She looked haggard and heavy, her lips thin with exasperation.

“Have a bookmark, you two,” Natalie said, handing them out. “There’s a maze you can do on the back. Now, let me finish helping your mom. She picked out some totally amazing books for you.”

The kids stopped whining and regarded her bashfully.

“How’ve you been?” Kayla asked Natalie. “Gosh, it’s been a million years. Are you married now? Kids? We’ll have to catch up.”

“Single, no kids, one cat, one grandfather,” Natalie said.

“Mom, I need a pen to do my maze,” said the boy.

“I need a pen, too, Mom,” said his sister.

“And this one’s for me,” Kayla said, impulsively adding a novel to the stack.

“Good choice,” said Natalie. “Mrs. Everything was one of my favorites last year. I hope you like it.”