The Best of Times: A Dicken's Inn Novel by Anita Stansfield

door open, but she was sleeping in her chair. He decided to take that personal tour of the house Chas had suggested. He remembered her saying that a couple would be arriving today, but until then he was apparently still the only guest. He found the door to every room not only unlocked but open, and he enjoyed exploring them, examining the fine details of the decor and architecture. He noted how some rooms were designed more romantically, and some more practically. His was practical. She had known he was coming alone. The only room in the house he hadn’t seen that had a locked door was right next to Granny’s, and he logically concluded that it was Chas’s room.
    Satisfied with his tour, he found himself some lunch in the guest refrigerator. While he was eating in the dining room, Charlotte came by with baked goods and sat to talk to him for a few minutes. He had to admit being more impressed with her than on their first meeting, and he could see why she and Chas were friends. He asked about her kids and got far more detail than he’d ever hoped to hear, but it wasn’t like he had anywhere to go. After she’d left, he got on the Internet to check his email. Most of it was junk. There was one from a coworker that simply said, Are you okay? And he answered, I’m fine. Thanks for asking. Another from a different coworker said, Where are you? We’re worried about you. He replied simply, No need to worry. I’m fine.
    Jackson went again to Granny’s room and found the door open and Chas reading a newspaper. She’d come back without his realizing it. Granny was reading from a Dickens novel.
    “Oh, hello, Jackson,” Granny said, noticing him before Chas did. “Come sit down, sit down.”
    “I don’t want to intrude,” he said and took a chair, noticing a quick glance and a smile from Chas as she set down the paper.
    “I welcome intrusion, young man. Chas gets awfully boring.”
    “Oh, thanks, Granny,” Chas said, mocking hurt feelings. Then to Jackson, “Did Polly take good care of you?”
    “Polly gave me a lovely breakfast. Beyond that I’ve been taking very good care of myself. But thanks for asking.” He resisted the urge to ask her impertinent questions about her errands, and turned his attention to Granny. “So, how are you today?” Jackson asked her.
    “I’m dandy. How are you, young man?”
    “I’m managing well, thank you,” he said.
    “Jackson has some questions for you, Granny,” Chas said, and the old woman’s eyes lit up. Even more so when she added, “He needs some advice about his life.”
    “Chas is teasing us both,” Jackson said.
    “Either that or you’re trying to avoid whatever it is you need advice about,” Granny said.
    Jackson chuckled. “You’re a shrewd old woman.”
    “I should have something to show for all these years,” she said. “So what do you want to know?”
    Chas didn’t give him a chance to answer. “He wants to know if he’s too old to retire from his job and start something new.”
    “Why don’t you let the man speak for himself?”
    “Yeah, why don’t you let me speak for myself?” Jackson asked, sounding more facetious than annoyed.
    “Because he was just going to keep skirting the issue.”
    “You think you know me so well,” Jackson said.
    “Weren’t you?”
    “Probably.”
    “There you have it, then. You’re transparent, Agent Leeds.”
    “You’re not exactly opaque, Detective.”
    They both stopped when it became evident that Granny was watching them as if she were waiting for the final point of a tennis match. Then she smiled. Jackson turned his attention to her and scooted his chair closer. “So, tell me, Granny. Give me some advice. Give me any advice you think I could use, and I’m sure I’ll come away more wise.”
    “Oh, he’s very diplomatic, isn’t he,” Granny said to Chas.
    “Not always,” Chas said with a mischievous smirk.
    “I think,” Granny said, “that you’re never too old to make a fresh start and