But he was long behind her—he was strong, his health good, and this was a sacrifice for him. He was in demand as a coach, his business was still thriving. She knew he would be missed. She also knew that he could stay a few weeks and go back to his team, currently managed by coaching assistants, and pick up right where he left off. “I’m glad you’re staying awhile. Don’t get underfoot, now. Maybe teach Troy poker or something.”

There was a housekeeper who came in weekdays from eight to five. She was fifty-five, of German descent—the woman who had replaced Mamie. She wasn’t as warm and motherly as Mamie, but that might’ve had more to do with the fact that they didn’t really know each other. She seemed to have a wonderful rapport with Virginia, who was younger by only a few years.

Gretchen didn’t do much housework and only a little cooking. She was the manager of a big house—she hired and supervised a cleaning service, ordered groceries to be delivered and called local restaurants to bring in meals customized to Winnie’s needs. Virginia and Grace met with her in the kitchen and Gretchen was more than happy to stay on after Winnie was moved. After all, it was great pay for far less work.

Meeting her mother’s two lawyers was emotionally exhausting, but not because it was hard work. Just as Grace had suspected, Winnie had been prepared. She’d known for years that this was coming. Everything in the house had been cataloged, photographed and appraised, including jewelry. As for Winnie’s accounts and net worth, it had all been managed and audited—after all, the money was old. It wasn’t as though it was a new job.

Grace met briefly with a Realtor. She wouldn’t make a commitment and even suggested she wasn’t sure what she would do with this property, but she knew exactly what would happen. Whispered feelers would go out and when the time came to sell, there would be an auction. The house was a prime property.

It was all so huge to her. Even flying first-class, going to skate practices in a chauffeured car and owning her own business hadn’t really prepared her for the magnitude of her imminent inheritance.

But as Grace began to understand the full weight of it, she felt Winnie’s stress. It had been a life’s work. “Please don’t worry,” she told her mother. “I won’t let it be abused, stolen or ignored. I promise.”

“But what will you do with it?” Winnie asked.

“Just as you did, Mama. I’ll take very good care of it.”

“And the house and all these possessions?” she asked.

“I want you to be at peace about that. It’s all being guarded and cared for. And later, when you don’t need it anymore, I’ll go through it, claim those things that have sentimental value to both of us and then... Then there will be an estate sale managed by the company you suggested. If it will give you peace of mind, I can meet with them before I go home.”

“Grace, do you have to go home?”

“I have to get a place ready for us,” she said.

She wanted enough space so that when necessary she could stay the night with her mother, but she wasn’t planning to live in the house with her.

“You’ll need money. Virginia has some banking cards for you to sign for your checking account. And when you find that house, I want my bedroom rug, the Aubusson. And the antique dressing table. And the china. Not the expensive china, the Audun Fleur. And there’s silver that was my mother’s—if you don’t want to use it, I understand, but if there’s a granddaughter someday...”

Grace touched her hand. “I might not use some of my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s treasures, but I promise to keep them in case... There could be daughters one day.”

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were daughters for you?” she said. “You will do so much better with them than I did.”

“I hope there are daughters and I hope I can love them as much,” she said, even though for so many years she had found fault with her mother’s form of affection.

“We got to the top, Izzy,” she said.

“Yes, Mother. Thank you for all you did.”

“No, Izzy. Thank you for doing it for me.”

Grace never thought she’d hear that! “We were a good team when it came to winning,” she said. She made a vow. When she had children, she wasn’t going to put the burden of her desires on them.

Every day exhausted her. She would see Troy on and off through the days. He poked around the house and neighborhood, went down to the wharf a couple of times and kept himself busy. He made friends with the maintenance men, pestered Gretchen in the kitchen, got lost in the library and spent some time on his laptop. She’d have dinner with him in the kitchen, fall into bed with him at night and sometimes she cried. She was losing the mother she had always loved, tried so hard to please and never really known.

Finally Tuesday came and it was time to go back to Thunder Point. She was so relieved, but frantic at the leaving. Virginia would stay, help get her mother to Thunder Point when the time came. Mikhail was planning on coming to Thunder Point, as well. Then Virginia would return to San Francisco. The housekeeper would remain to keep the house in order and in good repair until it was time to close it up. All the account information and household data was uploaded to accessible accounts so they were easy for Grace to oversee. She could call the accounting firm or lawyers whenever there was a question or request. The neighborhood and the house had private security; the contents had been inventoried, and her mother was in good hands with Virginia running herd on her health care providers.

The plane that Virginia arranged for Troy and Grace wasn’t a large plush jet, but rather a small Lear that returned them to Thunder Point in no time at all.

Grace wanted to tell him about the baby. Funny, in her mind it had gone from a positive pregnancy test to a baby. Oh, she was falling in love with the baby already.

But she was so tired after four days of getting things settled, she just fell asleep on the plane. They had a quick bite to eat on the way home from the airport then Troy helped her get her suitcase up to her little apartment. “I have to go home, babe,” he said. “I need to get ready for work in the morning. You going to be all right?”

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Thank you for coming with me. Thank you for everything you did.”

“I didn’t do much. You handled it all. I’ll talk to you after work tomorrow.”