She approached both of them as they worked behind the counter, stacking bread onto a cart. “Mom, would you come and sit down for a minute? You, too, Gram.”

Her grandmother shot her a look of startled concern. Tessa could usually count on her for moral support and to put in a good word to her mom, but Gram’s expression told her she was expecting the worst.

“I’ll make us a coffee.” Gram wiped her hands matter-of-factly on her apron. “Give me five minutes.”

A coffee. That was her family’s solution to any difficulty. The French kind, strong and bitter, capable of making you shake in ten seconds or less.

Tessa’s mom turned to her. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

That was the first conclusion she’d jumped to? “From what? Immaculate conception?”

Her mom blew out a relieved breath. “Sorry, it’s just that you never ask to talk. My mind just went there.”

At that moment the bell tinkled, and Beatrice Hawkins, a senior who lived in the same apartment building as Arthur, walked through the door. “Hi, Bea,” Tessa said in her usual friendly manner. “How are you?” She hated to ask because the answer was usually ten minutes long. And today, every second she put off talking to her family was another second of anxiety-fueled torture.

“I heard that Castorini boy has got some wicked plans up his sleeve,” the elderly woman said.

Tessa took a quick look around, making sure her mom and grandmother had gone into the back. “Leo?”

“Yes, Leo,” she said, adjusting the beads around her neck. “Since he’s been back in town, he’s been dating my friend Marie’s daughter from Bloomington. A beautiful girl. The size of a model and a lawyer to boot.”

“Is her name Svana?” slipped out of Tessa’s mouth.

“How did you know?” Bea exclaimed. “She’s a sweet girl. But apparently Leo is only interested in one thing.”

“One thing?” Tessa asked

“You know.” She waggled her brows so hard that her cat-eyed glasses nearly fell off. “Also, I heard he’s evicting tenants from our complex.”

Tessa didn’t care about Leo’s love life. But evicting tenants? It was hard to believe he was that cold-blooded, but who knew? “I’m not sure he’d—”

Bea wagged her finger, which held several large jeweled rings. “He’s a ruthless one, just like the rest of the Castorinis. I’m entirely on your mother’s side. You can’t trust that family as far as you can throw them.”

“All right.” Tessa sighed but kept her smile in place. She was not going to ask. But then curiosity got the better of her, and she caved. “Why is he evicting tenants from your facility?”