Page 69 of The Perfect Snipe

"I lost my wife, and I know what it's like to watch someone you love slip away. I won't let Cat go through that for as long as I canprevent it. So please, for her sake if not your own, consider what I'm saying."

The kitchen falls silent, and I swallow hard, my pulse loud in my ears. Yeah, my caffeine headache is still there, but this also feels like an out-of-body experience. Actually, I have no idea what this really feels like.

I don’t want to say I don’t have people who’d fight for me, fight for my grandmother, because Nora and Wyatt would. Or at least I hope they would. And I have no doubt that Leo would too.

But to actually have it happen. To see it happening.

That’s something else entirely. I fan my face with my hand, trying to dry the tears threatening to fall.

“I don’t want to be a burden.”

My grandmother’s words break the dam and now I’m crying, unable to hold back. I reach across the counter and take her hand. “You’re not a burden, and if you want to stay here, I’ll concede to that.”

She shakes her head and then looks at Leo. “I gave you my word I would take a look at some of those places. But I will take it seriously and look at the ones I would actually consider moving into.”

I jerk back, sure I must have misheard. "I'm sorry. What was that? Did Rosa Lucia Alonso just admit defeat? Quick, someone check if pigs are flying."

She rolls her eyes, but I catch the hint of a smile tugging at her lips. "Don't push your luck."

I quickly put the eggs back into the fridge and guzzle my now lukewarm coffee, then I turn to Leo. “Um, think your mom might be able to take care of the kids today?”

He nods.

My grandmother looks at me. “Catharina, no need to rush.”

“Oh, no. We’re doing this. Right now. Before you try to back out.”

Leo chuckles, pressing a kiss to my temple before standing up. "Let me go call my mom."

As he walks out of the kitchen, I grab my laptop from my bag on the counter and bring it to the island, taking a seat next to my grandmother. “Okay, I’ve bookmarked a few places. Maybe we can tour some of them today.”

We scroll through a few. My grandmother makes faces at some. When we land on one that has weekly salsa classes and a pool, she peers more intently at the screen. "It's . . . not hideous."

“Are you looking at the actual facility, or the model they have as the lifeguard in the background?”

She chuckles. “Do you think I won’t be considering the staff when we visit?”

Oh, fuck me.

“Abuela, you cannot make a decision based on who you consider eye-candy.”

As we dive back into our search, trading quips and arguing over amenities, I can't help but feel a sense of hope blooming in my chest. This morning started as a nightmare, but now it feels like the beginning of something new. Something hopeful.

It's fragile, like a newborn butterfly, but it's there.

Chapter 29

Leo

Wyatt and I grab some of the last boxes from my car and carry them up to Rosa’s new place, our muscles protesting. Can’t believe the amount of stuff she had crammed into her apartment. I don’t even want to know how long it took Cat and her grandmother to pack all this up. I know my kids helped a bit as did Nora and Jake.

At least Rosa is finally somewhere she will be safe. For how stubborn the elder Alonso can be, she actually found a place she liked pretty quickly. Though, from what Cat tells me, it’s the attention Rosa got from some of the older residents that won her over.

I didn’t even know how to respond, especially when Nora cracked jokes about lubrication creams and STDs.

But Sunnybrook Senior Living is nice, a fairly new development with stellar reviews that’s only forty minutes away from where we live. Rosa’s room is spacious and bright, there’sa pool, and a well-manicured garden. And they had room available.

Once upstairs, we set the boxes down with a thud. Wyatt rolls his shoulders, hissing. “Christ, what’s in these? A rock collection?”

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