Page 17 of Half Baked

Or maybe this was just one more instance of me being stupid with men.

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

I did, and she was right. “Look, I probably shouldn’t have pressed him about the relationship stuff. For heaven’s sake, he’d just been shot. And he was shot on his way to meet me at St. Vincent’s. He wouldn’t have been in that convenience store if not for me.”

“Oh, no,” she said, pointing a soapy finger at me. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for him getting shot.”

“But—”

“Nope! Not discussing something that’s blatantly untrue.” A scowl covered her face, and she turned back to the sink to wash a casserole dish. “Speaking of St. Vincent’s,” she said, changing the subject. “What are you going to do?”

I’d told her all about my tour. Well, everything except for seeing Detective Bergan. I still wasn’t sure what to do with that information.

“I guess I have to get a solid answer about how much it will cost to have her stay there. Then I’ll make my decision.”

“I should have gone with you.” She handed me the casserole dish to dry. “Do you want me to come with you when you go back?”

I considered it for a moment. “No. The facility is nice, although I’m not totally sold on it.” In part, because it might set Aunt Deidre off if she saw Detective Bergan in the hallways. If she was having a clear moment, she’d remember him. Still…we could place her somewhere else. The real question was where? St. Vincent’s was the best residential care center in town, which meant I’d have to leave Cockamamie, and I wasn’t ready to do that yet.

Fool that I was, I wasn’t ready to close the door on Noah.

“I’ll look into all my options and how much they cost before making a decision.” I leaned my hip against the counter. “Aunt Deidre hasat leasta good decade left. After we sell her house, whatever residential home I put her in will probably plow through whatever money I get from the sale. What if they use it all before she…?” I couldn’t bring myself to say before she died. “What will happen to her then? Better to hold off as long as we can before we put her somewhere.”

Mallory’s eyes flew wide. “You’ll have to sell the house?”

“She has enough money to pay for the first six months or so, but after that?” I shrugged. “They’ll go through her other assets, which includes her house.”

Alarm covered her face. “Where willyoulive?”

“Where willwelive?” I shrugged. “Maybe you shouldn’t sell your condo in Nashville after all.”

“That’s a done deal. Besides, Nashville’s gotten too crowded for me. I like quieter places, although Cockamamie is maybe a bit too quiet.” She lowered her face and held my gaze. “You could move to Chattanooga, Maddie.”

I frowned. “Not unless I find a better residential situation for Aunt Deidre there.”

Her face lit up. “You could look for a librarian job.”

Guilt squashed the spark of excitement that lit up in me. “She wouldn’t want to leave this place, Mal.”

She pulled me into a hug. “I know, Mads, but it might not matter to her anymore.” She must have seen the look of dismay on my face because she quickly added, “But we don’t have to think about any of that right now. We need more answers first.”

Defeat seeped into my pores. “But we can’t keep her here like this either. It’s not a tenable situation. She left the stove on the other day.”

“We’ll just be more diligent,” Mallory said with a forced smile. “Maybe we’ll hire an evening aide. That has to be cheaper than St. Vincent’s.”

I started to thank her for being here for me when a knock at the front door interrupted me.

A satisfied gleam filled Mallory’s eyes. “I suspect that’s Detective Asshole here to grovel.” She grabbed a towel to dry her hands. “Don’t go easy on him.”

I shot her a wry look. “The man was just shot, Mal. He wasshot.”

“Okay,” she conceded. “So don’t gotooeasy on him.”

Rolling my eyes, I headed for the door, Mallory on my heels, probably preparing to gloat. But when I opened the door, I saw Lance waiting out on the porch.

“Well, lookie who’s here,” Mallory said in a snippy tone. “Officer Hotshot.”

“Mallory,” he said in a neutral tone as he nodded toward her.

---