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but when the elder man died, Derek couldn’t resist a
buyout offer from a big national firm and Sam didn’t like the pace and
corporate attitude the new management brought to the game. Derek, on the other
hand, thrived on that hustle-bustle and the last she’d heard he had moved up to
a corporate-level position in some major city—she just couldn’t remember which.
    “Great to see you too, Derek. Did
Jen offer you some coffee?”
    “She did. And it’s great.” He
motioned toward one of the bistro tables where a steaming cup waited for him to
return. “Can you sit a minute?”
    She almost pleaded her way out of
it but a sudden thought came to her. “Sure. I’d love to take a break.”
    He chatted on about how great
life was in San Francisco while she made herself a cup of tea and answered questions
over her shoulder about the local scene. When she sat across from him, she
brought up what was really on her mind.
    “I ran into a lady the other day
who said she used to be in insurance here in town but I can’t place her. Maybe
you’d remember—her name is Sadie Gray.”
    His eyebrows pulled together
above the strong bridge of his nose. “Gray. Doesn’t ring a bell.”
    “Oh, wait—Gray is a new married
name for her. Her first husband’s name was Joe. Unfortunately, I don’t know
their last name.”
    “Joe and Sadie? Well, it’s got to
be the Wilsons. My gosh, they were like grandparents to me. My dad worked in
Joe’s agency when he first got into the business.” He sipped at his coffee.
“When Dad branched off to start his own agency, I suppose they must have been
somewhat hurt about it, but they never said a word. Always wished him well. At
least, as far as I know. I was probably in junior high when all that happened.
Man, I remember Sunday pot roast dinners at their house. Sadie was a heck of a
cook.”
    Sam gave him a minute to
reminisce.
    “You said you ran into her
recently? And she’s remarried—wow. I heard about Joe passing away, but that was
years ago. At least Sadie was left financially comfortable. One thing about
insurance guys—their own policies are always up to date.”
    “Sadie’s in a nursing home,
Derek. Dementia.”
    “Oh, man, that’s rough. She was
sharp as a tack when I knew her. Believe me, I got caught with my hand in the
cookie jar at her house so many times, I swore she had eyes in the back of her
head. A kid could pull nothing over on that lady.” He chuckled at the
memory.
    “I’m trying to save her home from
foreclosure. I just don’t understand how that came about. I really need to get
in touch with her husband and get the payments up to date. I mean, surely from
what you’ve said it’s not a lack of money. I’m guessing she just began losing
track of things.”
    He nodded slowly. “Probably so.
It’s really sad. I’d like to go by and see her if you can give me the name of
the place.”
    Sam grabbed a business card and
wrote the information on the back. “If you should happen to run into Marshall
Gray there, please have him call me.”
    Derek assured her that he would.
She watched him get into a rented Lincoln and drive away.
    Jen stared out the window, a
little starry-eyed.
    “He’s as gay as they come, girl,
and last I heard his longtime partner was still around.” Sam patted Jen’s
shoulder. “I better get back to those wedding cakes.”
    Her energy began to flag by
mid-afternoon and Becky insisted she go home and rest. Jen told her the air conditioning
repair guy had called and was on his way over, and she assured Sam that she and
Becky could handle the shop the rest of the day.
    “Go,” Becky insisted. “Beau gets
back tonight, right? Well, you might want to have a nap and some time to fancy
up a little. Is he taking you out to dinner?”
    “I should cook at home,” Sam
said. “He’s been eating in restaurants all week.”
    Great intentions, but when she
began a mental inventory of her freezer contents and couldn’t think of a