Page 78 of Find Me in California

“I’m sorry about your grandmother,” she says.

“Yeah, well, it is what it is.” His hand shakes when he swipes his fingers through his hair. Only Elizabeth could hurt him postmortem.

“Matt.” Julia’s tone tells him he couldn’t have meant what he said.

Lenore’s gaze pans between them. “Either way, I’m sorry. We enjoyed having her with us.”

“Not from what I’ve heard.”

Julia frowns at him, and he hates that he’s acting like a dick again around her, but he isn’t himself. His headache is back.

“Yes, well. When you’re ready, we have the remainder of her things. Clothes and a few books. Some framed photos. You’re welcome to take them.”

“Already got them.” He looks around his feet, spotting the box he doesn’t remember putting down. He picks it up.

Lenore glances at Julia before saying to him, “May we speak privately?”

“I’ll go.” Julia points toward the door.

“Don’t,” he orders, and exhales heavily. “I didn’t mean it to sound like that. Do you mind waiting for me? Please?” he adds when she hesitates. “I won’t be long. This won’t take long, will it?” he asks Lenore.

She shakes her head.

“I’ll be in the lobby.” Julia smiles uneasily at them both and offers, “Want me to hold on to that?”

Will he ever get over how nice she is to him? Thoughnicedoesn’t come near to what she’s done for him. She’s kind, compassionate, and beautiful, inside and out. Matt hasn’t met anyone like her. She makes him rethink how selfish he is with his time, how closed-minded he’s been. He gives her Elizabeth’s box with an awkward “Thanks.”

“Let’s go to my office,” Lenore suggests, and he follows her down a hallway to a door marked FACILITYDIRECTOR. She gestures at a vinyl armchair as she rounds the desk to her own chair. “Have a seat.”

“I’ll stand.” He’s too restless to sit. He crosses the office to a glass door he figures leads to a patio. He can’t see anything other than his gloomy reflection at this hour.

“I sense you’re upset, Mr. Gatlin.”

“Matt, and I’m fine.” He isn’t going to try to explain the trip he’s been on since Friday. But he does turn to her, wondering if she knows about Adam too. Is what Julia told him true?

“All right.” Lenore dips her chin but doesn’t press him. “Like I said, I’m sorry about Elizabeth. Her death was sudden. I also regrethow we’ve handled things on our end. We shouldn’t have shipped her personal property to you without consulting you first. The board of directors was on me about keeping our rooms occupied with paying residents only, and I was desperate. I let one of my staff—” She clears her throat behind a fist. “Excuse me. One of my volunteers talk me into the idea.”

Stacks of boxes are the least of his worries. He presses a finger to the middle of his forehead to relieve the ache. “It’s fine,” he says tightly. “I don’t blame Julia.” In reality, she’s helped him on numerous levels.

He puts a pin in that thought to mull over later.

“Good, because I take full responsibility. Understand I’m not a callous person. If it were up to me, I would have found a way to keep Liza here rent-free. But it’s not up to me, not anymore. My board—”

Matt cuts a hand between them. “Doesn’t matter. It’s in the past now.”

Lenore’s shoulders rise on an intake of breath. “Yes, but there’s more regarding your grandmother’s situation. I know you and Julia have spoken, but she doesn’t know the full story, not where Liza’s concerned.”

He spent his weekend procrastinating with an imaginary woman, only to arrive hours before Liza’s passing. He then discovers the woman he spent the weekend with might not have been a figment of his drugged imagination because she’s here, just older. And she knows what they spoke about in the motel.

Then he’s told Adam is his grandfather, not Matthew Holloway, whom he’s believed was his grandfather for as long as he can remember.

Wham, bam, more surprises for you, man.

He stares at Lenore wondering,What now?

Sensing a need to sit down, he takes the chair Lenore offered.

She settles in her seat. Vinyl creaks under her weight. “Liza moved to Rosemont just for the year. She paid her fees up front.” Almost reflectively, she adds, “In a strange sort of coincidence, today marks a year to the exact date she moved in.”

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