The Heiress Wakes to a Second Chance novel · Chapter 24 of 24
Chapter 24: Open Window
Odette had made the seating chart on a card the size of a placemat.
She propped it against the teapot at Sunday dinner and tapped it twice with her cane.
"Head of the table, me," she said. "Iris on my left. Mr. Fairweather on my right, where I can see what he does with his hands."
"Ma'am," said Dane.
"You're also across from your mother, Dane, who has been waiting twenty minutes and is very patient about it."
Dane turned.
In the doorway of the dining room, in a blue cardigan, with a nurse's aide at her elbow, stood a small gray-haired woman who had last seen the inside of a house nine months ago.
"Mom," he said.
His voice cracked in the middle of the one syllable.
"There he is," said his mother. "They said you were busy. I told them you've never been too busy for lunch."
Dane crossed the room in three strides and held her.
Iris watched him bend his head over his mother's white hair, and looked at the chandelier until her eyes cleared.
"I sent the car at noon," Odette said, not looking at anyone. "The nursing home has been informed that she will be with us for the rest of her stay, and the director has been informed of several other things."
"Grandma."
"Eat your soup."
They ate.
It was the first dinner in that dining room without anyone watching anyone else's face.
Dane's mother told a long story about a neighbor's goat.
Odette interrupted it four times to correct the ending.
Iris laughed until she had to put down her spoon.
Keep reading free with an account. Start The Heiress Wakes to a Second Chance from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend