Lovey stared at him then. “I just realized something.”

“What?” Sully said.

“Well, Granny’s has been here for a long time, but I’m not getting any younger. I’ve wondered now and then if someone else would buy it when I’m gone, or if it would just go by the wayside. Now I don’t have to worry about that anymore. This will all be yours one day…if you want it.”

The smile that spread across Sully’s face lit up the whole world.

“If I want it? Mom! I would be honored to carry on what you’ve built. I know how to put out a fire in the kitchen, but I don’t know anything about running a place like this. I’ll bus tables. I’ll sweep floors. I’ll even be your bouncer if the need ever arises, while you teach me what I’ll need to know.”

“Well, now I am gonna cry,” Lovey said, and hugged him to her. “It would be my delight to do just that.”

“Sully, I think you just found your job,” Melissa said. “He’s been trying to come up with something ever since he decided to move here. You are an answer to his prayer, in more ways than one.”

“It’s late, and you must be exhausted,” Sully said. “So I’m going to take this as my first lesson. Do you leave on night-lights, and if so, where do you turn them on?”

Lovey pointed them out, and as soon as Sully turned them on, she turned out the lights in the lobby and walked Sully and Melissa out.

“Usually, I have a night-deposit bag with me when I come out this door, and I go straight from here to the bank, but that’s all for another day.”

“Melissa and I are making a quick trip to Kansas City to close up my apartment and bring back my personal belongings. Once that trip is over, I will gladly show up anytime you want, any days that you want. Just let me know.” Then he looked around. “Where did you park?”

Lovey pointed across the street at the Seed and Feed store. “That lone car in the parking lot is mine.”

“As soon as I get Melissa in the car, I’ll walk you across.”

Once they reached his car, Melissa gave Lovey a big hug. “I am so happy we’re going to be family.”

“Oh, child, so am I,” Lovey said.

After Melissa was safely inside, Sully walked Lovey across the street, gave her a good-night kiss and another hug, then waited until she was driving away before jogging back across the street to where Melissa was waiting.

He slid into the seat, then leaned across the console and kissed her.

“Love you, honey. Thank you for helping me make this time so special for Mom.”

“It was the best, seeing how she blossomed when she realized her news had not caused people to feel disdain toward her. I think that was her biggest fear…how she would be received.”