Page 88 of Half Baked

“Yeah,” I said, feeling unsettled.

“I know you’re disappointed.”

I glanced up. “I don’t know if disappointed is the right word. More like frustrated that we keep hitting walls.”

He reached out and cupped my cheek. “We’ll tear through them, I promise. Now, let’s go see your aunt.”

* * *

We hadenough time to stop by Noah’s place to pick up his car and head to my house. Aunt Deidre was sitting in the living room with Linda, working on a kids’ jigsaw puzzle at the coffee table when we walked in.

Her nose wrinkled when she saw us, and I could tell she recognized one or both of us, but who we were was just out of reach.

I hung my coat on the hooks in the entryway and walked toward her, sitting on the sofa next to her.

“Hey, Aunt Deidre,” I said tentatively. After everything I’d found out about my mother today, I needed her to be the rock she’d always been for me.

“Maddie,” she said, tears filling her eyes.

I threw my arms around her and hugged her tight, fighting tears of my own.

“There, there, Maddie,” she soothed, running her hand over my hair. “Everything’s going to be all right.”

A small sob escaped me, because I knew nothing would be all right. I trusted that Noah and I would find my mother’s killer, but I could never ask my mother about all of the things I’d discovered. I’d always be aware that I’d only known half of her, not the whole woman she’d been. And Aunt Deidre’s condition would only get worse and worse.

She hugged me tight, then leaned back and wiped the tears from my cheeks. “It’s going to be okay, Maddie.”

I offered her shaky smile. “I love you, Aunt Deidre.”

“And I love you too.” She glanced up at Noah. “Now introduce me to your young man.”

So she wasn’t totally there, which wasn’t surprising, but she’d given me what I needed, and I cherished it. For all I knew, it could be the last time she’d be able to give me comfort.

“This is my boyfriend, Noah,” I said, gesturing to him. “He’s going to stay with you tonight while I work.”

“The library’s open tonight?”

Noah shot me a sympathetic look as I said, “Something like that.”

She leaned into me and half-whispered, “He’s cute.”

“I know,” I said with a laugh. “I think I’ll keep him.”

Her cheeks flushed. “I’m not sure I should be left alone with such a handsome man without a chaperone.”

Noah laughed. “I promise to be on my best behavior.”

Her eyebrows waggled as her cheeks flushed. “Maybe I don’t want you to be.”

I burst out laughing. “Aunt Deidre!”

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” she said, fanning her face. “I’ll always be loyal to Albert.”

I got up and took Noah upstairs to show him Aunt Deidre’s bedtime routine, but Linda said she’d finish the instructions so I could get going. She also promised to make sure they had something to eat.

Mallory was on a work call when I poked my head in her room, and she mouthed to meI love youandhave a great weekend with Americano,then waggled her eyebrows.

It suddenly occurred to me that Noah could potentially spend the night.

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