Something to Believe In by Kimberly Van Meter Page B

Lisa...and
she’s left behind three babies. It’s hard to know what to tell them, they’re so
young. Especially the twins.”
    Tears sprang to Lilah’s eyes and she choked back a well of
grief that bubbled from a hidden spot of pain buried deep inside her. “It’s
okay, Pops,” she managed, grinding the tears from her eyes. “It’s okay. They
have you and Grams. They’re so lucky.”
    He seemed lost in a memory, shaking his head with raw sorrow
that was tinged with confusion, and Lilah wanted to run away from the evidence
that Pops was rapidly deteriorating. She dropped her banana to the counter and
wrapped herself tightly around her grandfather. “I love you, Pops,” she
whispered. “You and Grams were always there for us. Don’t be sad. Please don’t
be sad.”
    Pops patted her back and she inhaled the soft scent of coconut
that lingered on his skin from the sunscreen he wore and she wished she could go
back in time to when life was simple and straightforward.
    “What are we going to do without her?” he murmured in a cracked
voice that splintered her heart. She wasn’t sure if he was talking about Lana or
her mother. Perhaps he didn’t know, either.
    “I’m here for you, Pops. We’re all here. Your sugar birds,” she
said.
    “Sugar birds...sweet, sugar birds,” he repeated as if saying
the words gave him strength. “Yes...we always have our sugar birds.”
    “Always, Pops,” she said. “Always.”
    Standing in the dining room, hugging her beloved grandfather,
Lilah wondered how they’d manage to get through everything they were facing
without losing their sanity. Was it any wonder she’d walked into the ocean? The
threat of losing everything they’d ever cared about was almost too much to bear.
But she’d never take such a cowardly step again. Her Pops needed her.
    Her family needed her. Even though she was scared to death of
failing, she’d give everything she had to Larimar.
    She owed it to Pops and Grams.
    Which left little room for pining over men who had no permanent
place in her life.
    She drew a shaky breath and pulled away from Pops. “Want to
share some papaya on the patio with me? You can tell me stories of how you wooed
Grams with your irrepressible charm,” she teased through a sheen of silent
tears.
    At the mention of his past with his soul mate, he brightened.
“Papaya is my favorite, you know.”
    “Of course I know that,” she said, smiling as she grabbed a
papaya and the necessary tools to cut and serve. “And I also know that you love
to tell stories. So let’s go. I can’t wait to hear a few.”
    And it struck her as they walked to the patio that there would
come a day when Pops wouldn’t be around to share his stories—whether they were
made up or true, the girls were never quite sure—so she was going to savor every
moment she had left with him.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    T HE NEXT FEW DAYS PASSED by in a blur as everyone
pulled double shifts to keep Larimar flowing on an even keel, which was no small
feat given how many bad days Pops had been having. Lilah knew it was because
Celly’s disappearance had thrown off his routine but Lora stubbornly refused to
simply set things right with a much needed sit-down with the older woman. Lilah
checked on Celly each day to make sure she was doing okay, but also to try and
persuade her to return, but Celly was as stubborn as Lora and both refused to
budge.
    The only upside to an otherwise irritatingly frustrating few
days was that Lindy was flying in that afternoon.
    In fact, Lindy and her newly adopted gang were all coming. It
would be good to see Carys, Lindy’s eleven-year-old soon-to-be stepdaughter who
was a Bell in sheep’s clothing. Lilah had never met a child so similar to Lindy
in spirit and attitude than that towheaded precocious girl and Lilah loved every
sassy bit of her.
    As excited as she was to have her twin home for a few weeks,
Lilah was not looking forward to the family meeting on the schedule.
    They’d been