Riley looked up, responding to the strident tone by shrinking back. He shifted his gaze to Maureen, his eyes wide. She smiled and joined him on the floor, choosing a bulldozer from his construction zone and using it as if pushing a pile of dirt.

“Riley and I packed a picnic,” she said. “We thought we could go to Holly Park.” She felt a little guilty about telling Ted in front of Riley, since Ted would look like the bad guy if he said no.

He gave her a look that said he knew what she was doing. “Fine.”

They took advantage of the nice day to walk the less-than-half-mile trek to the park. Ted held her hand but said nothing. Riley didn’t hold her hand and talked nonstop. He pointed out houses, cars and dogs that caught his eye, stopping in his tracks and saying things like, “Look at that!” or “Isn’t that funny?” with open exuberance and wonder. Had Jess been like that? Surely she must have been, but Maureen couldn’t remember specifically.

They reached the green dome of Holly Park with its view above the rooftops. The marine layer was burning off, leaving a beautiful panorama of the city. Maureen had been to Holly Park only one other time—Jess and Riley’s last visit, a year ago. The recently renovated park that used to be a blight was now an urban paradise for families.

Riley wanted Maureen to stay close as he hopped from the playhouse to the slide, then onto the swings and cargo ropes. When he got to a stretch-rope merry-go-round, he watched the other children play but didn’t make a move to join them.

Even at six, he’s a loner, Maureen thought, watching him. Or maybe he needed to know the lay of the land before he threw himself into the fray—which was a smart move and the opposite of his mother, who had rarely thought through anything before taking action.

Maureen gave Riley a push on a swing then glanced to where Ted sat at one of the picnic tables, staring into space. He’d been married at thirty, divorced at forty and was childless—a conscious choice. He didn’t think the city was a good place to raise children, and he was a city man through and through. His ex-wife had at first been in agreement, then changed her mind and wanted a family, after all. She divorced him, remarried and now had four children—and lived in the city. He’d kept no photos of her, not even of their wedding, so Maureen had never seen what the woman looked like.

“Higher, Grandma! Push me higher!”

He giggled as she pushed him, and she saw Ted smile at the joyful sound.

Together they ate their lunch of turkey sandwiches, chips and cookies, all things Riley had selected at the deli section at the local market. He swung his legs while he devoured his lunch, the toes of his sneakers dragging the ground, his focus on the children playing. She wished she knew him well enough to read his expression. Was he tired? Or sad, perhaps? He looked solemn, anyway, had lost his former playfulness.

“Won’t be too long before you’re in first grade,” Maureen said.

“Grandma.” His tone was tolerant. “I’m already in first grade. I graduated, you know.”

“Do you like school?” Ted asked.

“It’s fun. But Cody says first grade is hecka hard.”

“Who’s Cody?”

“He lives next door. He’s seven.” He took a big bite of cookie. “He knows everything.”

They left the park soon after with a promise to return the next day. Riley skipped a little ahead of Maureen and Ted, stopping often to inspect items of interest. He would be ready for a nap, then Maureen would have to face the music with Ted.

“Can I have another cookie, plea—Papa!” Riley shouted as they neared the house. He took off running. “Papa!”

A man rose from his perch on Maureen’s tiny porch. She’d recognize him anywhere—Daniel Cregg, Riley’s paternal grandfather. Maureen’s nemesis.

The man who’d stolen her daughter and grandson.

CHAPTER 3

Rileyism #1: “I’m six. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Papa!” Riley opened the gate and raced up the stairs into Daniel’s arms. Envy swamped Maureen. She’d gotten a hug from Riley only by taking one, yet he threw himself at Daniel.

Riley even had a nickname for him, Papa, while she was just plain Grandma.

“The grandfather, I presume,” Ted said as they reached the wrought-iron gate.

“In the flesh.” And she certainly couldn’t fault the flesh.

He wasn’t quite six feet tall, had a runner’s lean build with a weight lifter’s shoulders. His dark-blond hair was thick and wavy, not quite long enough to band into a ponytail. He dressed like the college students he taught, in jeans, T-shirt and a Cascade University sweatshirt, even though he was, like Ted, fifty years old.

And he was a vegetarian. And never on time for anything. And disorganized. All the things she disliked. But mostly she disliked—hated—that he’d enticed her daughter and grandson away from her.

He stood on the porch nuzzling Riley into giggles as Maureen and Ted climbed the stairs.

“Hey,” he said, his tone friendly.

“Doesn’t anyone have the courtesy to call ahead anymore?” she asked, walking past him and unlocking her front door. “You don’t own a telephone, Daniel?”

“I didn’t have time to waste or the inclination to warn her that I was coming. I knew I couldn’t stop her by talking to her on the phone.” He set Riley down and picked up a small, scuffed, black leather bag.

Riley raced down the hallway and into the living room, his energy back in full measure. “Come see my city, Papa!”

“Just a sec, bud.” Daniel extended a hand to Ted. “Daniel Cregg.”

“Ted Montague.”

“Oh, yeah, the boyfriend. You got yourself a…an interesting woman there.” He flashed a grin at Maureen. “So, where’s Jess?”

“Gone.”

He paled. “Gone? She doesn’t have to report until Tuesday.” Gone, too, was the devil-may-care smile. “She’s already in L.A.?”

Maureen glanced at her watch. “I would say she’s there by now, yes. We’ll talk about it while Riley’s having his nap.” She’d always made an effort to be civil to Daniel in front of Riley. And for the first time, she had possession, therefore control. She liked it—a lot. “Can I get you some refreshment?” she asked.

“I don’t suppose you have any carrot juice?”

“Gee, Daniel, if only I’d known you were coming….” She gestured toward the sidewalk. “I can give you directions to the local health food store. You can jog there and back in twenty minutes, I would guess. Or will that interfere with your getting to the airport on time for your return flight?”

His amber eyes glittered. “Water will be fine. Thank you.”

“Is tap okay?” Oh, yeah, she was enjoying herself.

“If that’s all you have.”

“Come in, then. I’m surprised you don’t have your own with you. I can’t remember seeing you without a bottle of water with that funny-looking filter on it.” She headed for the kitchen, leaving Daniel in the living room. Ted followed her.

“What’s going on between you two?” he asked, setting their picnic cooler on the counter.

“I told you before that we’ve never gotten along.”

“I know you feel he’s kept Jess and Riley from you all these years, but you were the one she left her son with this time. Obviously, things aren’t as rosy as you thought with that relationship.”

Obviously. But why? What had happened? She poured a glass of tepid tap water. “I don’t feel he kept them from me. I know he did. He offered her an apartment of her own above his garage—a really nice one. He pays all of her expenses. She doesn’t have any responsibilities whatsoever. Is that any way to help a teenage mother mature and become independent, as she should have been by now? Daniel hasn’t helped Jess. He’s enabled her. He’s stunted her. And it looks like it’s come back to bite him, doesn’t it?”

“I think you need the full story before you decide that. Maureen, I have to say, this is a side of you I haven’t seen before. It’s not attractive.”

Okay, maybe her smugness over Jess leaving Riley with her wasn’t attractive, but she had a right to feel happy about whatever it was that had brought Riley to her after hurtful years of having so little contact. They would have a chance to have a real grandmother/grandson relationship. It was what she’d wanted for so long.

“You don’t understand,” she said to Ted. “You haven’t had a child turn her back on you when she should’ve been needing you more than anyone else.”

“You’re right. I don’t understand the situation in that particular way. But that was then, Maureen. This is now.”

“And now is a second chance. Don’t take the joy out of it. Please.”

He stared at her for several long seconds, then he wrapped her in his arms and held her tight. “Okay, sweetheart,” he said, resting his chin on her head. “As long as you’re putting Riley’s needs first.”

Of course Riley’s needs would take center stage, but her needs mattered, too, this time.

When they returned to the living room, Daniel was stretched out on his stomach on the floor playing demolition derby with Riley. They were making all sorts of crash sounds—brakes squealing, metal hitting metal. Cars were flying into the air then crashing down.

Riley climbed onto Daniel’s back and ran a car up his spine and into his hair, where it just about got lost in the denseness, then did get stuck.

“Oops,” Riley said, tugging at the car. “Sorry, Papa.”

“Ouch. Hold on, bud. You’re gonna give me a bald spot.”

Maureen watched Daniel try to extricate the car before she finally set down his glass of water and went up to him. “Here. Let me. Sit on the chair.”

It was like performing microsurgery, unwrapping long strands of hair from the tiny tire axles, almost one by one. His hair was incredibly soft, and up close like this, she could see it was shot with silver here and there, not easily visible since his hair wasn’t very dark. He bounced Riley on his knee, and they kept their heads together, as if they were telling secrets.

Maureen yanked the final few strands free to get the job over and done with.

“Hey!” He rubbed his head.

“Sorry. It wouldn’t come loose.”

He gave her a look of disbelief but muttered his thanks.

“Nap time,” she said to Riley.

He gave her a look. “I’m six. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“What does it mean?”

“I don’t take naps anymore.”

“A rest, then. You got up early and you played hard at the park. Just close your eyes for a little while.”

“But—”

“Do as your grandmother says,” Daniel said.

Which really ticked Maureen off. How dare he stick his nose where it didn’t belong? But Riley had already headed for the bedroom.

“Bathroom first,” Maureen said.

The three adults stood waiting, the silence awkward. When Riley emerged she followed him into the bedroom and made sure he took off his sneakers before getting onto the bed. She handed Stripe to him, then covered him with an afghan that Cherie had crocheted and kissed his forehead.

“I’m not gonna sleep,” he said, the words muffled by the stuffed tiger.

“That’s fine.”

“Papa will still be here when I get up, won’t he?”

“I don’t know what his plans are. But I’m sure he’ll say goodbye before he goes anywhere.” Like back to Seattle on the next available flight.

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Okay.” He pulled the afghan up to his chin then. “Don’t shut the door.”

“I won’t shut it all the way.”

When she returned to the living room, she found Ted in her big chair and Daniel picking up the toys, putting them in their plastic containers.

“Thanks,” she said.

“He likes to start over. There’s something about creating a new city that appeals to him.”

“Maybe he’ll be a builder,” she said, taking a seat on the sofa, next to Ted’s chair. She was determined to stay calm.

“Maybe.” Daniel picked up his glass of water and sat down, too. He looked at Ted. “I don’t think I heard what you do for a living.”

“I’m a CPA and financial planner.”

“How did you two meet?”

“At work,” Maureen said. “I’m not sure if Jess told you about Carlos Martinez, my boss at Primero Publishing? He passed away suddenly five months ago, and his wife, Bernadette, stepped in as publisher. Ted’s been a friend of theirs for years. She asked him to take a look at the company finances.”

“Then I took a look at Maureen, too,” he said, smiling at her.

She smiled back. “He came along at a busy time, since we’d just started working on two new projects a couple of months before Carlos died. We’re trying to see them through, but it’s taking everything out of us.”

“She works very long hours,” Ted said, laying a hand on her shoulder, his fingers resting against her collarbone in a proprietary way, making Maureen uncomfortable. She’d never seen him possessive.

“It took me months,” he went on, “but I finally convinced her to take a vacation. We’re leaving two weeks from today.”

The implications of that statement reverberated through the room. They all knew Jess was supposed to be gone for six weeks.

Maureen was stuck. She needed to tell Ted that they would have to postpone their vacation, but she couldn’t do it in front of Daniel.

“Why are you here?” she asked Daniel, taking control of the discussion. “What did you hope to accomplish by just showing up?”

He dragged his hands down his face. “We had an argument.”

“You and Jess? About what?”

“About this harebrained scheme of hers to be on True Grit.”

Maureen might have agreed with him, but she wasn’t going to let him criticize her daughter. “My understanding is that she beat almost impossible odds to make it onto the program.” She and Riley had looked it up on the Internet that morning. “So many people apply, yet she was chosen. It’s a huge accomplishment.”

“I’m not denying that. I even had a hand in it, since I’m the one that got her training. She’s become quite an athlete.”

“I could tell. When I hugged her, I could tell. I would think you would be proud she got on the show.”

“Proud? What about her job?”

“She had a job?”

“You didn’t know?”

Maureen shook her head. “She never said. What was she doing?”

“She’s an assistant in my department at the university.”

“Since when?”

“Since Riley started kindergarten last year. She only works—worked—part-time, just while he’s in school. It was ideal. She would’ve been able to increase her hours as his school days got longer.”

“Would have?”

He nodded. “She’s supposed to be there now, for summer session. She quit.”

Why hadn’t Jess told her? How little she knew of her daughter’s life.

“So, you arranged the job for her?”

“Yeah. I stuck my neck out, too, since she didn’t have any experience, and there were other candidates more qualified. I thought it might get her interested in going to college. Her tuition would’ve been almost free.” He tunneled his fingers through his hair.

That soft, thick—Maureen caught herself. “She’s lived with you all these years and you don’t know what a dreamer Jess is?” she asked, not unkindly. “This is the big-fantasy kind of thing that Jess thrives on.”

Daniel leaned his arms on his thighs and turned his head to look at her. “I didn’t think she’d go through with it, in the end. She may be a dreamer, but she usually has little follow-through. I certainly never expected her to take off as she did. I was out of town. She left me a note.”

“And you hopped a plane without calling first? What if Jess hadn’t come here? What if I hadn’t been home?”

He frowned. “Where would you be? You’re always home.”

She really needed to get away more.

“Anyway,” Daniel went on, “Jess said in her note she was leaving Riley here, but I knew you probably couldn’t take much time off from work, and I’m off for the summer….”

“This works out perfectly,” Ted said, participating in the conversation for the first time. “We can figure out a way to keep the boy until we go on vacation, then he can go back to you for the remainder of the time.”

Daniel cheered up. “I could work with that—”

“No.” Maureen didn’t raise her voice. Her heart pounded in her ears. She could barely swallow. She felt both men focus on her, and for a moment she looked out the front window, not wanting to continue what was bound to be a hard conversation.

“No?” Ted repeated, shock in his tone. “Maureen, it’s the perfect solution. And obviously the boy loves being with his grandfather.”

Yes, he does. Way too much. “Jess left him with me. I’m sure she had her reasons.”

“Now, hold on a minute,” Daniel said. “Jess and I had an argument. She’s not used to being denied anything, and so she decided to get back at me by bringing Riley here. It’s not as if she doesn’t trust me with him.”

“How do I know that? The only thing I know for sure is that she wanted me to have Riley for the time she’s gone. The whole time. Period.”

“We need to talk about this,” Ted said with a telling glance at Daniel.

Daniel, obviously realizing that Ted was his ally in his cause, offered to go for a walk.

“Don’t you have a plane to catch or something?” Maureen asked, annoyed that the men were ganging up on her.

“I bought a one-way ticket.”

“Of course you did,” she muttered. “Fine. Go for a walk. Or go into my backyard.” Or go to hell.

He stood. “How much time should I give you?”

“Fifteen minutes?” Ted said when Maureen clammed up. “If you turn right when you leave the house and walk a few blocks, you’ll hit Cortland Avenue. That’s the commercial district. You’ll find a couple of places to get something to eat, if you want.”

“Thanks.” Then he was gone, and the air was filled with unspoken accusations.

Maureen didn’t trust herself to say the right thing. Angry, she pushed herself up and went to the front window, spotting Daniel as he made his way up the street, that jaunty walk of his annoying her even more.

“I don’t appreciate your interference,” she said to Ted, her back to him.

“Interference? This situation involves me, too. Why shouldn’t I be allowed my opinions?”

“Opinions are one thing. Decisions without discussion are another.”

“What do you mean?”

She faced him, crossed her arms. “You decided what would happen. I wasn’t given a say in the matter.” And it made her look weak in Daniel’s eyes, she thought. She couldn’t afford any sign of weakness or Daniel would pounce on it in some way, maybe even enlist Riley in his cause. Riley would probably like nothing better than to go back with Daniel. That thought hurt. “Your plan isn’t going to work for me, Ted.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning we need to postpone the vacation.”

Silence descended, deafening and tense.

He came close to her. “Postponing is the same as canceling, and you know it. It took me weeks to convince you to take this trip. If anything happens to interfere with it, we’ll never go.”

“Even without Riley it’s a horrible time for me to be gone, and you know that. Everything at work is tenuous. I’ve got a shot to be vice president. If I leave, I could very well be saying goodbye to that opportunity.”

“Bernadette gave her enthusiastic approval for you to go.”

“What else could she say? You’re not there every day, under the gun. I know what’s going on, and I know it’s going to be hard for them without me.”

“You’re not indispensable. And it’s only two weeks.”

She heard the underlying anger in his voice, his frustration with her. She understood it, but it didn’t change the fact she had the opportunity to really connect with her grandson for the first time—and by default, reconnect with her daughter. To Maureen, it wasn’t even a decision.

“A postponement, Ted. That’s all. I need to do this. I need to have this time with Riley. And Jess did leave him with me. She certainly wouldn’t want me to pawn him off on someone else. I’m sorry. I know it’s horrible of me to ask you to change plans on such short notice, but I can’t do anything else. I need you to understand that.”

His whole body seemed to sigh. “We’ll probably have penalties to pay for changing our reservations—if we can even get changes. That’ll put us into August. You do realize that Europe goes on vacation in August, right? It could change a lot of our plans.”

“The Louvre will still be there, right? And the Eiffel Tower?” She slipped her arms around him. “And the Venice canals? The Tower of London?”

“I get your point.” He kissed her, but not with much depth or warmth. “I spent a lot of time researching the right hotels and the most efficient train schedules and the best restaurants.”

“We’ll find a bed to sleep in and trains to ride and places to eat.” She wasn’t going to back down, so she hoped that he would. If he didn’t, she didn’t know what she would do.

She remembered his excitement when he gave her his house key. Was she willing to give up all that it represented for this brief time with Riley? She’d been alone all her adult life, having a few relationships that never got anywhere near marriage and having a permanent partner for the rest of her life. Ted was a real possibility for that changing. But if she had to make a choice…There was no choice.

“All right,” Ted said after a long, tense silence. “I’ll rearrange the trip. Jess will be back toward the end of July, right? We’ll allow an extra week, in case something else comes up. We’ll leave on your birthday, August fourth. Okay?”

Her fortieth. She would be celebrating a new beginning to her life as she marked that auspicious birthday—a new relationship with her daughter and grandson, a solid, steady relationship with a man and, hopefully, a new job with loads of responsibility and a nice pay raise.

Turning forty looked to be a banner year.

“Thank you, Ted,” she said, relaxing against him. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

“Sweetheart, I see how much it means or I wouldn’t be doing it. Just don’t let it take over your life completely, okay? I need attention, too.”

He was right about that. He’d been so patient about her long work weeks that left her exhausted and edgy. “I’ll try to do better,” she said. “I don’t mean to ignore you.”

“I know you don’t.” He released her. “You’re going to need a sitter or day care or something.”

“Yes. I’ll get busy on that.”

“What’re you going to do about Daniel?”

“Tell him to enjoy his cab ride back to the airport.”

“Something tells me it’s not going to be that easy.”

“He doesn’t really have a choice, does he?”

He shrugged. “Do you need me to stay until he’s gone? I’d like to get going on the changes in our itinerary.”

“That’s fine. I can deal with Daniel alone.” Preferred to. She was glad Ted didn’t care whether or not he was there. “And Riley will want to spend a little time with him. I can’t send him away until they’ve had a chance to talk.”

She walked him to the door and kissed him goodbye, all the while hoping Daniel would get back before Riley woke up. She couldn’t have the honest conversation she needed to have with Daniel in front of Riley, but have it she would.

Really, Daniel had some nerve. All these years he’d had the upper hand. It was her turn.

And there was no way she was going to give an inch to him. No way at all.

CHAPTER 4

Rileyism #2: “I don’t want to be rotten.”

“Grandma, I’m hungry.”

Maureen looked sharply at her watch. Where was Daniel? He’d been gone for three hours. No call. Nothing. “How about some grapes?” she said.

“How about some cookies?” he asked with that missing-tooth smile.

She couldn’t help but smile back. “Too close to dinner.”

“Aw, man.”

She patted the gelled spikes on his head. “Grapes, then?”

“I guess. How come Papa’s not back yet?”

Because Papa is an inconsiderate jerk. “He must be enjoying seeing San Francisco,” she said instead.