“I do and I’m sorry. I hope this thing Saturday is good too. Maybe you need to take Anne aside and talk to her. Clear the air.”

“I’ve thought about it. I’ve wanted to give her the space and time to get past this thing and then we could just sort of act like we were okay to be around one another. But she’s trying so hard not to like me. It’s exhausting, I tell you. If there weren’t all these other people around who Royal loved so much, I’d give her a reason to hate me. But I can’t lie, if I lost Royal I’d be totally bummed out too.”

“Do you think…he’d go back?”

“I thought about it. For the first few weeks, I told myself if he was going to go back it wasn’t my concern because it had only been a short time. And then I started to tell myself that if he’d wanted to go back, he would have. And that’s where I am now. Royal just isn’t the game-playing type. If he wanted Anne, he’d have gone back to her. And it’s clear she’s fishing in those waters. But he’s not biting. Which okay now, knock it off. He’s not interested, you’re truly over and f**k you, he’s mine.”

Melissa laughed and laughed. “Girl, you are gone for Royal. Also, your sense of confidence here is off-the-charts awesome. My God. I’m in awe.”

“There may be a lot of things in my life I’m unsure about, but I just…I’m falling for him. And it’s awesome, and if his ex could just really let him go, things would be so much easier. For him way more than me. These are his friends, he obviously wants to be around them.”

“I say the next time she pulls some sort of shenanigans you need to have a little heart-to-heart with her and lay it all out. Sister Murphy needs a little truth in her life. You might have to be the one to give it to her.”

“Maybe. Which is lame. But whatever. Okay, I need to get back to work. Thanks for the info. I’ll text you about Sunday.”

“Got it. Have fun tonight.”

“I will! Talk to you soon.” Caroline ended the call, tucking her phone into her front jacket pocket. She had another meeting and some work to finish up, and then she was out of there.

After that meeting and wrapping up all her loose ends, she headed out, at long last. But she was brought up short when she rolled into the reception area and ran into her grandmother, and then Royal came in as well, pausing when he caught sight of Abigail.

Her grandmother had a look, a tightness around her eyes and spine. Caroline had seen it enough in the past that she knew a blow up and lecture was coming. Also enough to not want to introduce Royal right that moment. “Grandma, I wasn’t expecting you. Is everything all right?”

“I just got a call from my friend Susan. Her nephew is a police officer in Millersburg, and she told me you were going to do a presentation about his innocence.”

Good Lord, right there in her workplace? Holly had gone home an hour before so it was empty, but anyone could walk in at any time.

With a sigh, Caroline waved her hand in the direction of her office. “Why don’t you come back? We can continue this in private.”

“Private? Girl, you have no idea what it means to be quiet or private. I forbid you to go over to that police station and shame this family once again by defending your mother’s murderer.”

Anger began to simmer in her belly. The words used and they way they’d been delivered only made it worse.

“I think we started off wrong here. I understand your feelings on this issue. I respect your right to believe whatever you believe. But I expect the same. I won’t be called to heel like a dog on a leash. My investigator was invited by the police in Millersburg, and he will speak to them. They’re law enforcement, and of course as such should care about a murderer on the loose.”

“The real murderer died in prison like the garbage he was.”

Royal took a step forward but Caroline shook her head. Her grandmother knew he was there. She was playing to an audience.

But Caroline, though not as big a drama pro as her grandmother, still had a degree in theatrics and a belly full of this nonsense from her grandmother. “That man was my father. And he’s Shep and Mindy’s father and he was my mother’s husband as well. Do you know his regrets were never about himself? I’d go see him, and he’d be broken up imagining my mother’s last minutes. Or that my sister and brother were growing up without a mother. He missed them, and it broke his heart that they could ever believe he was guilty.”

“He was guilty!” Her grandmother’s eyes glittered with hatred. “She never should have gotten together with him to start with but she had to.” Abigail gave her a pointed look, reminding her she was the reason they got married.

Royal stepped up then, putting himself between Caroline and her grandmother. Like a shield against all the hurtful words her grandmother used like a weapon. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to stop you. You’re going to say something else you regret and can’t take back. Mrs. Lassiter, I surely am sorry for the loss of your daughter. Caroline loves you and came back here, in large part, to mend some fences and work on her relationship with you and her brother and sister. But it seems to me she’s got a right to feel how she does about her father.”

Royal eased back to stand next to Caroline, reaching out to take her hand. Everything was suddenly so much better because he’d reached out and defended her.

Abigail Lassiter gave him a long, measuring look. “There will be lunch at our home on Saturday. Eleven thirty. Don’t be late.” Abigail turned her attention back to Caroline. “See you then.”