I didn’t even know what to charge her, or if that was fair or maybe even too much. I didn’t want to take advantage of her. “If you’re on a limited income, you don’t have to—”

She cut me off. “I can take care of myself just fine. My Bruce made sure of that.”

I felt like I was going to insult her if I refused or offered to do it for less, so I said, “I’d love to.” This was definitely going to solve my money problems, and it presented me with a way to diversify my business for the future.

“Good.” She nodded. “I tend to trust my gut, and it’s saying you’re the right person for the job. Can you start tomorrow?”

“Yes.” That would give me a chance to go home and pack a bag.

“Come on. I’ll give you the tour.”

As I stood up and looked out of her window, I caught a glimpse of Noah’s house.

And it was only then that I realized I was about to become his closest neighbor for the next two weeks.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Gladys’s house had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. She showed me the guest room and where she kept the spare linens and towels. In the hallway there was a picture of Gladys and Bruce on their wedding day. She was wearing a long, flowy yellow dress and had a wreath of flowers in her hair.

“You look so beautiful in this photo,” I told her.

“My Bruce convinced me to elope. I wore my prom dress. He always did have fool ideas about things.”

In the family room, she showed me the TV and the various necessary remotes. I was instructed not to mess with the DVR recordings of her “stories.”

“My Bruce was always messing with the timers,” she said. I could hear the ache in her voice every time she mentioned her husband. She probably just thought they had been average people in a regular relationship, not knowing how many people probably looked at them and hoped they would find what she’d already had.

I know I did, even if it was impossible for me to have that in my own life.

We went into her kitchen, and she pointed out several places where the wood floors were buckling. “We had some water damage a few years ago. My Bruce always intended to replace them but he never had the time, and then he got sick . . .” She trailed off and shook her head. “Just keep an eye out when you’re in here.”

She showed me where she kept Sunshine’s food. She had already written out her daily routine with her dog, and it boiled down to feeding him at specific times in the morning and evening and taking him for two daily walks. Easy.