Sunrise Point

again.”
    And so Tom was back at the house in plenty of time. He found Maxie in the kitchen and grinned at her. “You’re something, you know,” he said. “How far did you have to go to find granola and yogurt?”
    “Not that far,” she said. “But I can’t have her on my conscience. I saw her eat one asparagus spear all weekend.”
    “I saw her eat more than that,” he said with a laugh.
    “Thank God. She might not eat much, but she’s got an ensemble for every hour of the day.”
    “I think that’s the reasoning behind staying slim,” Tom said, giving his grandmother a little tap on the nose with his index finger. “She’d have to file bankruptcy if she grew out of those clothes.”
    At least Maxie laughed. “She’s packing up,” she said. “Go see if you can do anything to help. And offer her lunch, although I have no idea what she’d be willing to eat. I could mow the lawn and offer her a plate of grass… .”
    “Don’t be mean,” he said, frowning. But then, chuckling to himself, he mounted the stairs and found Darla gently folding things away.
    She smiled at him but he frowned. “Darla, are you folding your clothes with tissue paper?”
    “Yes,” she said proudly. “It absorbs any odors, helps keep wrinkles out and if there’s any kind of luggage malfunction, like a hairspray or perfume spill—tissue paper is one more layer of absorbent. But really, I do it for odors and wrinkles.”
    “Amazing.”
    “I’m guessing you don’t go to this much trouble,” she said.
    “No. A couple of clean drawers and a shaving kit—that pretty much does it for me.”
    “Such a guy.”
    There were three suitcases open on the bed. She was wearing her fourth pair of boots for the weekend—these were black with thick heels—and her fourth soft, sexy sweater. Since she was wearing boots, he assumed the fancy red boots that sat on top of the largest suitcase were traveling back to Davis. He picked one up. “Tell me about these boots,” he said.
    “Tell you what?” she asked.
    “Well, they look like they might be special. Are they special?”
    She broke into a wide smile. “You could say so. They’re Jimmy Choo.”
    “Jimmy Who?”
    “Choo. A very high-end designer.”
    “Okay, now tell me—do you have them because you need them, like them, love them, what?”
    “What an odd question,” she said, taking the boot out of his hand. “Bob used to ask questions like that, but he still liked looking at me in those boots. They’re very special and they make me feel special. Isn’t that really enough?”
    “I guess,” he said, “if you can afford it. I bet they’re expensive. They look expensive.” In fact, he thought, she looked expensive all over.
    “I can afford it, Tom,” she said, laughing.
    “Well,” he started, pushing over a suitcase to sit on the bed, “here’s a question, since I have absolutely no idea what it takes to make a beautiful woman like you feel special— how expensive?”
    “You don’t really want to know,” she answered, folding away a scarf that he’d never seen.
    “I do. I do want to know.”
    She shook her head. “It’s really not something you’ll ever have to worry about. I never buy anything extravagant that I can’t completely afford.”
    “Humor me,” he said. “I’m curious.”
    She leveled her gaze on him. “Are you sure? Because I won’t tolerate you judging me. I can already tell you’re not interested in things like designer boots and coats and that’s fine with me. But I won’t have you judging me for trying to look beautiful and being willing to spend my own money to do so.”
    He put his hand to his heart. “Absolutely not. I like you beautiful.”
    She smiled very nicely. “Okay. They’re a lot. Over a thousand.”
    He could be cool. After all, he’d been shot at—he wasn’t going to cave to a woman who spent a ridiculous amount of money on clothes. “Seriously? How much over?”
    She took a breath. “I got a deal. Thirteen-hundred-seventy-five.”
    He swallowed and let her have a small smile. “Quite the deal,” he said.
    “I know,” she said. “It required some serious searching! I might’ve found some on eBay but I won’t have used! If I’m going to spend the money, they have to be new.”
    “Absolutely,” he said. But inside he was thinking, insane . Except they were kind of fun to look at. He could think of ways they would be more fun… . “The pharmaceutical sales business must be