Autumn Read Online Free Page B

her face in quintessential grandma curls. She hadn’t yet started using glasses, claiming her eyesight was still perfect. But otherwise she might as well have been the photo in the dictionary next to grandmother .
    Dress her in red and white fur and she could have easily passed for Mrs. Claus.
    “Are y’all hungry? I wasn’t sure when you’d arrive, so I’ve just been cooking all day.” She chuckled and wiped her spotless hands on the apron she had strung around her waist. “Oh my, Miss Eloise. Take off that nasty cap and let Granny Elle have a good look at you.”
    Lou obliged, removing the hat and shaking her hair loose so it tumbled around her shoulders.
    “My my my.” Granny Elle looked her over, pinching her chin so Lou was forced to turn her head side to side. She felt like one of the dogs at those silly exhibitions on TV. Like she was a pug whose full name was Lady Princess Whittington Rosebud Arabesque the Fifth or something. She smiled politely at her grandma. “Well, you’ve become a beautiful young woman, you know.” She said beautiful as bee-oooo-tiful .
    “Thank you, Granny Elle.”
    The smell of fresh bread wafted out from the kitchen, and Lou’s stomach growled.
    “Mary Anne, haven’t you been feeding this girl?” Granny Elle scolded.
    “More often than you could possibly imagine,” Lou’s mother countered, mirroring Lou’s patient smile.
    “Well come on in, ladies. Food’s ready. We’ll unload you once we’ve eaten. I asked some of the gents in town to stop by in the morning to help with the furniture. It simply wouldn’t do to have us girls doing heavy lifting.” She clucked her tongue at the very idea. “And Miss Eloise, don’t you worry. I called that new school of yours to make sure your records came through, and they ahh just so excited to have you. I made sure the nurse knew what to expect.”
    Lou frowned. She knew Granny Elle meant well, but she didn’t like the idea of her grandmother discussing her health with a total stranger. Provided she took good care of herself, the nurse never needed to be involved in the situation, so why was Granny Elle making such a big deal out of it?
    “Elle, you didn’t need to do that. I’d already confirmed the transfer weeks ago, and I spoke to the nurse about her medical needs.” Lou’s mom was trying to keep her composure—Lou recognized the strain around her mouth—but if Granny Elle noticed the annoyance, she didn’t acknowledge it.
    “Thanks,” Lou said again, hoping to diffuse the pressure brewing between her mother and grandma.
    After Granny Elle had stuffed them with homemade buttermilk biscuits and pulled pork—and her grandma had applauded her for not being one of those vegetarian hippies —they started hauling bags and small boxes off the U-Haul. Or, more specifically, Lou and her mom unloaded bags and boxes while Granny Elle offered them suggestions on how to best use their knees when lifting.
    Since it was already getting dark, they focused primarily on boxes labeled Necessity , and the rest could wait until Granny Elle’s manly assistants arrived in the morning.
    The big house was three stories tall and contained dozens of rooms, so Lou was grateful to learn she and her mother wouldn’t be staying in side-by-side bedrooms. Her mother’s suite was on the second floor at the top of the stairs and had its own small bathroom. She helped her mom dump some duffle bags and small boxes inside the door but was too anxious to see her own space for her to focus on what the décor looked like.
    “Eloise, I thought—seeing as you’re a teenager and all—you might want a little privacy from us silly old ladies.” Granny Elle was redeeming herself by the minute. “I had Russell put up some drywall in the attic. Made sort of a loft space. That’s still hip, right?” Her grandmother winked and started up the stairs. At the back of the main hall on the third floor was a small, narrow wooden door. Granny Elle cracked it