“Aren’t you coming to bed, Ruthie?” Granddaddy had been cheerfully convinced Abbey was her grandmother since they’d picked him up from the poker game, probably because of all that talk of love and marriage and Norm’s campaign to woo Estelle.
Heart squeezing, Abbey tucked him in, smoothing the covers over his frail body. “Not just yet. I want to do one of my puzzles first.” She thanked God for her grandmother’s lifelong addiction to crossword puzzles before bed.
“Don’t stay up too late.”
“I won’t.” She bent and pressed a kiss to his brow, wanting to do what she could to soothe him and hoping he’d slide on in to sleep without remembering Grandma Ruth wasn’t really here. “I love you, Roy.”
“Love you, too, Ruthie girl.”
Abbey switched off the lamp and quietly shut the door behind her.
Ky
