“So, it all worked out fine, Nana,” Molly said happily as she finished summarizing the events of the previous night for Devil’s grandmother.  “After apologizing to Pastor Martin for his glib behavior and explaining that while he’d drifted from the Catholic Church, he still felt loyal to its teaching, the Pastor said he respected his honesty and agreed to marry us.  Of course, Devil had to promise to attend services with me as much as he could, but our ceremony will be held at Hillhaven.”

“That’s my grandson.  Gifted with a silver tongue, he was.  At least, he has it when he needs it,” the elderly woman sighed, her blue eyes dancing with amusement as they met Molly’s.

“I didn’t think he’d be able to pull it off,” Molly admitted, still slightly awed by the feat he’d pulled off with the head of her church.  Pastor Martin wasn’t exactly known for being the most cooperative man of God.  He liked to have things the way he wanted.  The fact that he’d relented was testament to Devil’s skill at negotiation.

“What did ye threaten the boy with, lass?” Nana asked, keenly aware of how stubborn her grandson could be.

“Calling off the wedding,” Molly mumbled guiltily, averting her gaze from Nana.  “I was desperate,” she added defensively, relieved when the old woman laughed and banged the cane her hand rested upon on the floor.

“Ye know how to get the point across with the lad,” Nana remarked, approval glittering in her lively eyes.  “My Willy has met his match with you, me girl.” She nodded in satisfaction.  “I knew ‘twould be a match well made.   I’ve been tellin’ ye momma for years that this was meant to happen.  She pished me away, but I knew, I tell ye. The question is, why are you so very surprised by his actions?  Of course, the lad did what he had to do, child.  He wouldn’t risk ye or hurtin’ ye heart.  A gal’s wedding is a milestone in ‘er life.  Ye should have things the way ye want for it.  Willy knew that.  Besides, swallowing a tad of crow is good for ‘is soul, it is.” 

Closing her mouth on what she’d been about to ask as the elderly woman’s hired nurse walked into the room, Molly smiled at the young woman.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the woman apologized, “but, it’s time for a pill.”  Dropping a white tablet in Nana’s hand, she waited until her patient had popped it between her lips to hand her the water.  “I’m Elizabeth, the RN assigned to care for Mrs. Delancy,” she introduced herself to Molly, shaking the other woman’s hand.

“Pleased to meet you,” Molly greeted the other woman.  “Molly Ramsey soon-to-be Delancy.”

Swallowing a sip of water, Nana sighed.  “It’s one pill after another around here,” she muttered with a mock glare at the pink-scrubs-clad petite nurse.  “What was that one?”

“Blood pressure pill,” the woman answered with a gentle smile.  “You’re free of me for another few hours,” she declared with a wink as she finished taking the old woman’s pulse and made a note on the pad she kept in her pocket. 

“You know, I’m capable of taking my medicine all by me lonesome,” Nana huffed, rolling her faded blue eyes as her nurse chuckled.

“I agree, but I’m here because your grandson insisted,” the nurse reminded her.  “You’ll have to have that argument with him.  After speaking to him during my interview, however, I got the feeling that few people are brave enough to take that gamble.”

“My granddaughter to be, here,” Nana countered as she nodded at Molly.  “She could take up the cause, couldn’t ye, lass?”

Looking from the nurse to Nana, Molly shook her head.  “Not when your health is at risk, I won’t.  Devil is right about this.  If you won’t go stay with Momma and Daddy or move in with us after we’re married, you’re stuck with a nurse until you’ve recovered.  I know you feel better, but you had a heart attack.”  While she understood the older woman’s need for independence, not even she was willing to risk Nana’s health.

“I am recovered,” Nana harped with a frown. 

“I concur,” the nurse laughed.  “You’ve rebounded amazingly well, and it was only a mild cardiac event.

“What?” Molly asked sharply, looking at the nurse.  “Mild?  Nana has congestive heart disease.  That’s a serious condition.  One that will never be cured.”

“Yes, but it is one that is controllable when it’s treated with the correct medications.  She’s responding wonderfully to the tweaks the cardiologist made in her dosages.  Didn’t you tell them, Mrs. Delancy?” she asked Nana cheerfully.  “When I took her to her appointment yesterday, the doctor said…”

Clearing her throat, Nana lifted her hand to still the conversation.  “Let’s not bore the lass with all the details, Elizabeth.”

Shocked, Molly stared at Nana.  “No, bore me, Elizabeth,” she all but insisted.   “It seems Nana has conveniently forgotten to tell us some key details regarding her heart.  What did the doctor say?”

“Well, I was just going to say that the cardiologist thought that with the adjustments he’d made to her medicine, she might well outlive us all.  It’s great news, isn’t it?  Why didn’t you share it with your family, Mrs. Delancy?”

“I… well… you see…” Nana faltered, paling as Molly’s eyes bore into hers.  Pursing her lips, she settled back into her recliner.  “I had me reasons.  Good ones, too.”

“Could you please excuse my grandmother and me for a few minutes?” Molly asked the nurse quickly, smiling benignly before turning her gaze back to the crafty old woman before her.  “We seem to have quite a bit of good news to discuss.”

“Of course.  I’ll just be reading in the kitchen if either of you need anything,” Elizabeth replied before slipping out of the room.

Waiting until the other woman was out of earshot, Molly turned wide eyes on the fidgety old woman in front of her.  “Nana,” she said softly.  “What have you done?”

“I could ask you and Willy the same question, lass,” Nana commented blandly. 

Feeling those familiar all-seeing eyes on her face, Molly resisted the urge to bite her lip.  “Nana…”

“Why do the young always assume the old get stupider with age, darlin’?” she asked, narrowing her gaze on Molly’s flushed face.  “Just because I’m elderly, donna mistake me for daft.”

“We haven’t!  Neither one of us!  Ever,” Molly countered truthfully.

“So, are ye tellin’ me that this marriage was planned before my old arse ended up in a hospital bed?” Nana asked calmly, folding her hands in her lap.  “Don’t bother tryin’ to fib, me girl.  You’d never be able to pull off the ruse.”

“You knew?  The whole time?” Molly gasped, her voice high and tight as the grandfather clock ticked off the seconds in the corner of the comfortable den.  Devil’s grandmother had known the entire time that their engagement had been a plan they’d concocted between them.

“Still sharp as a tack up here, lass.” Nana tapped at her temple with one finger before smiling at Molly.  “Aye, I knew.  I even ken why ye did it.”

Molly’s jaw hung open as her heart raced and she shook her head.  What did this mean?  Was she even still getting married?    

All she knew was that she needed to tell Devil that his grandmother was going to be okay.  Immediately.  “We need to call Devil,” she said out loud, grappling for the cell phone she’d dropped on the table beside her when she came in.

“Ach!” Nana hissed, leaning forward and snagging the phone from Molly’s fluttering hands with the speed of a woman half her age.  “Ye will not!  At least, not yet.”

“Nana!  Devil needs to know that the woman he loves above all others is going to live!  You’ve got no idea how worried he’s been.  He’s terrified of losing you!”  Molly chastised, hopping from the armchair she’d been sitting in and reaching for the phone again.

“Sit, lass,” Nana demanded imperiously, pointing a finger at the seat Molly had just vacated.  “First, we talk.  Then, maybe, I’ll let ye call my Willy.”

Taking a deep cleansing breath, Molly sat. 

“All right,” Nana declared with a nod of her silver head, “Now, we chat.”

“Nana, what do you want me to say?  I know you’re probably angry that we deceived you, but I promise, our intentions….”

“You didn’t deceive me, darlin’,” Nana soothed the rattled young woman in front of her gently.  “Unless, you’re gonna tell me that ye don’t love my grandson.”

Molly was stunned speechless again.  What did she say to that?  Of course, she loved Devil.  She’d loved him her whole life, but admitting it out loud wasn’t something she’d ever done.  Not really. 

“Well, tell me, lass,” Nana prompted impatiently, tapping her fingers against the chair as she waited for Molly to speak.

“I love him,” Molly whispered.  “I love him very much, Nana.”

“I know.” Nana shrugged.  “Known it for years as a matter of fact.  And in ye heart… you want to wed him, aye?”

“I can’t marry him with this lie between us.  He only told you that we were getting married that day because he wanted to see you happy.  It was an impulsive fib that he told with only the best intentions,” Molly explained, eager for Nana to understand and accept what they’d done.

“My Willy has never been the impulsive sort, lass.  I think if the lad could be called anything it ‘twould be opportunistic.  He knew what he was doing when he announced he was marrying you that afternoon in the hospital.  He saw the chance to have what he wanted and jumped on it with both feet lest it get away.  I don’t doubt that he wanted to make my eventual passing easier.  Oh, no.  William would do just about anything for me.  I know that.  But what he wouldn’t do is marry a woman that he didn’t already love deeply, lass.  He chose you.  Make no mistake about that.”

“I was just the woman standing nearest him, Nana,” Molly denied.  “I mean, last night, I thought maybe he might be falling in love with me, but…

  “The boy has touted any number of tarts on his arm for years.  If he wanted another woman, he could have had any number of them,” Nana scoffed, slapping her palm against the arm of the chair.  “If ye ask an old woman, I think he was wasting time waiting for you to grow up, lass.  I don’t think he realized he was doin’ it.  But I saw a change in him when you came home from college… your young heart all battered from that break-up.  My Willy had always been restless, flittin’ from one young tart to the next, but when you came home… something eased in him.”

“Nana, he’s dated pretty solidly since I started working for him,” Molly objected, offering the older woman a knowing look.  “You’re not blind; you’ve seen the papers, I’m sure.”

“Window dressing,” Nana said dismissively with a wave of her hand.  Narrowing her gaze on Molly, her lips quirked upward, “But I think ye’ve heard that before….mayhap, from my grandson?” she asked knowingly.

“Yes,” Molly acknowledged softly with a slight nod.  “He swore that since I came to work for him, he hasn’t been….”

“…inside any of the tramps’ skirts?” Nana supplied helpfully, winking at the younger woman.

“Nana!” Molly gaped.  Devil’s grandmother had always been blunt, but she was a whole new level of bold today.

“What?  I know my Willy’s been a rascal in his life, but he doesn’t lie.  He knows I’d take my wooden spoon to his head if he did.  Child, he’s a grown man; I’m sure he sowed his wild oats a long time ago, lass.  If he claims he’s been true to you for nigh on a year, then he has,” she declared with a firm nod.

“I believe him,” Molly whispered, blushing.  There’s no way Devil could have faked his desperation the first time he’d made love to her.  She’d felt his reaction to her body.  She’d seen the calm descend over him when he’d finally sank inside her.

“I see,” Nana murmured.  “Ye’ve both anticipated the vows, then?”

“I…we….” Molly stumbled, flustered.  Katy Delancy was more perceptive than any woman she’d ever met.  She could plainly see that she already knew the truth, and her fumbling attempt at a response had only confirmed the truth.  Burying her face in her hands, Molly groaned.

“I’ll be takin’ that as a yes,” Nana chuckled, taking mercy on her future granddaughter.  “He loves you, Molly,” she assured her gravely.  “The restlessness stilled the moment you agreed to go along with his plan beside me hospital bed.  The storm that raged inside that boy quieted.  You brought him peace, lass.  Just as I did for his grandfather.  Ours was an arranged marriage, you know, but it was no less successful.  We fell in love much as you did – without even realizing it – much like you and my grandson.”

Lifting her head, Molly looked at the wise woman across from her.  “You truly believe that he’s in love with me?”

“What do you believe, lass?”

“I… I hope so.”

“The heart knows already.  I think, however, that the brain might need some kind of assurance from the lad,” Nana replied slowly.  “Ask him, Molly.”

“What?”

“Go tell the lad that I’m on the mend.  Ask him if he still wants to marry ye.  We’ll still be havin’ a wedding this weekend; I’d bet me last nickel on that.  He’ll not be lettin’ ye escape him on a technicality.”

“You sound awfully certain, Nana.  I’m beginning to see where all Devil’s confidence comes from,” Molly laughed, her heart lightening at the sure way Nana spoke about Devil’s feelings for her.

“You’ll balance him, Molly.  I’m well aware that my boy can be a tad big for his britches.  Demanding as all hell and arrogant as a king.  His heart, though… that’s pure.  And that’s yours.”

Molly was saved from a reply when her phone rang in Nana’s lap. 

Glancing down, Nana laughed.  “Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear,” she said, holding out the phone to Molly and shaking it.  “Take it, child.”

Seeing Devil’s name on the screen, Molly sighed, swiping the screen and pressing the phone to her ear.  “Hello?”

Devil’s voice rang loudly through the receiver, his controlled anger evident in every word.  “Molly, there’s a man in leopard print leather hot pants cha cha cha’ing his way in and out of my office.  He’s introduced himself as Armando and informed me that he’s my new office assistant and assured me that he’s fabulous and we’re going to get along famously.”  He paused for one second, then demanded, “Please tell me this is a joke.  Not even you can be this cruel.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, her Devil sounded like quite the tormented soul.  Choking on her laughter, she covered quickly, clearing her throat.  “Armando has all the necessary skills to fill in for me and he’s between modeling jobs.  He needed a favor.  It’s Christmas, Dev.  Play Santa for Armando,” she teased, not able to hide her giggle when she heard a Latino voice break out into song in the background.  “Is he singing ‘It’s Raining Men’?” she gasped, pressing a hand to her chest.  When she’d met with the handsome Hispanic man early this morning, she’d asked him to lay it on thick this afternoon, but he’d surpassed her every expectation.

“Get.  Here.  Now,” Devil demanded urgently.  “Or I swear to God, your newest cause will meet with an unfortunate accident with my letter opener,” he whispered violently into the phone.

Glancing at her watch, Molly’s lips twitched.  “Give me half an hour?”

“Where are you?” Devil barked.  “Christ, Molly, now he’s howling ‘I Will Survive!’  And he’s tone deaf!”

She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped just then.  “I’m at Nana’s house.”

“I’ve seen you drive.  I’ll see you in….NO!  For crying out loud, I don’t WANT you to rearrange my furniture!  I don’t care what my chakra is telling you!”

Molly raised one eyebrow as she heard a muffled scuffle ensue.  “Devil?” she questioned, cackling.  “Devil, are you there?”

“Fifteen minutes, Molly!  You’ve got fifteen minutes or I kill the diva masquerading as my executive assistant!” Devil yelled before disconnecting.

Meeting Nana’s dancing eyes as she dropped her phone in her purse, Molly grinned.  “I need to go, Nana.”

“I heard,” the other woman chuckled.  “Go on, lass.  Tell my grandson that I love him and I’ll see him Saturday.”

“Oh, Nana, I hope you’re right,” Molly murmured, rising to kiss Nana’s wrinkled cheek.  “I’ll see you soon,” she promised before rushing toward the front door.