Finally, it had arrived. Day seven of her Mom’s visit. Doll was set to leave first thing in the morning. Lotty nailed her last piece of chicken wire onto the pressure-treated wood. What did Cade know? She’d completed a beautiful, albeit slightly crooked chicken coop, even without following his advice.

Her Mom’s eyes were fixed on her as she worked. Doll had been staring out the kitchen window for over an hour, no doubt trying to guilt Lotty into doing something more “feminine” with her time. She turned sideways to block Doll from her view and stood a little taller.

A great sense of accomplishment swept over her. There weren’t a lot of projects in Lotty’s life which she’d seen through to the finish, but standing in front of her was a completed chicken coop. Now all it needed was the chickens.

Ty ran to her side. “Is it done?”

“Mm hmm.”

“Wow, Mom, good job. Now we find chickens?”

Lotty nodded. “We probably won’t do it today since it’s Grandma’s last day here, but w—”

“Yeah, she said they were filthy rodents,” Ty said. “But I told her how they weren’t rodents at all, but birds.”

Lotty smiled, wishing she’d been around for that conversation. “Well, we’ll buy our birds tomorrow, buddy.” 

“Yes,” he said jumping in the air. “We finally get a pet.” 

“Alright, let’s go inside and get some lunch.”

“Is Grandma making it?” His frightened expression was a perfect reflection of how Lotty felt about the food her mom had been trying to get them to eat.

“I’ll try to find something yummy.” She patted his back. He grabbed her hand and they headed inside together.

“Are you finished?” Doll asked as they entered the kitchen. 

Lotty smiled. “Yeah, now we just need the chickens.”

“So, what I’m looking at is what you’ll see every time you walk into your kitchen?”

Lotty nodded.

“Do you know your neighbor across the street?” Doll asked

“Nikki? Yeah, she’s my closest friend. She helps w—” 

“No, not the cop’s wife. I’m talking about the house next to her. The lovely blonde? Trinity?”

“Mm hmm.”

“She agrees with me over this chicken pasture thing.”

“Chicken coop.”

“Yes. Chicken coop. She thinks it’s cheapening the neighborhood.”

“No one can see it except for us.”

“Well she has a beautiful flower garden in her backyard. It’s really something. And, she grows chives. Did you know she has a recipe for a salad with tomatoes and chives? She said she’d give me a copy.”

“When did you talk to Trinity?” Lotty tried to keep the irritation out of her voice. She knew she wasn’t close with her mom, but that didn’t mean she wanted her least favorite person being friends with her.

“She’s in the yoga class I’ve been doing. You can tell she does yoga. Her posture is perfect and she’s in such great shape. Why don’t we have her over for lunch today?”

“Because I’d rather eat my tablecloth than have her over for lunch today. Did you throw away the peanut butter?”

Doll stared at Lotty, mouth agape.

“Ty loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I need peanut butter.”

Doll’s face unfroze and her eyes narrowed. “Well then you’ll also need jelly and bread because I got rid of those too. They’re processed, Charlotte.”

“Mom, you used to make me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. What has happened to you?”

Her mom stood up straighter. “I’ve learned a few things over the years, and one is if I want my body to treat me right, I need to treat it right.” She slapped her hand on the counter with each syllable. Lotty dropped into a barstool. Her mom continued, “I’ve also learned that marrying someone with a background different than your own always results in unhappiness.”

“Oh Mom, are you and Dad having problems?”

Doll’s eyes bugged out. “No,” she said. “You are.”

Lotty sighed and turned away. “Well, you said it like you’d learned it from experience.”

“I have learned it from experience. My experience watching you.” Doll’s face softened and she grabbed Lotty’s hand. “I don’t want to say, ‘I told you so,’ but I knew from the beginning this wouldn’t work. You two barely even talk to one another. How can you expect a cowboy from Montana and a beautiful, refined young lady from California to mesh together?”

Lotty had to stifle a laugh at hearing Jason referred to as a cowboy. He’d been on a horse once and the horse had bitten him. Doll continued, “Someone has to start giving and becoming more like the other. In this case I think we can see who did that...Chicken coops and frumpy clothes would have horrified you a few years ago, but it’s not too late. Come back to California with me. With the boys, of course.”

“Chicken coops and frumpy clothes aren’t a result of Jason, Mom. I’m just trying to get through each day. I never realized how difficult raising young children would be and I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“You shouldn’t be figuring it out. You should be cherishing every moment with your little ones. And that’s what you could do in California. Plus, you could take over your father’s business like you’ve always dreamed.”

Lotty buried her face in her hands and shook her head. “That was never my dream, Mom. My dream is to be here, with my husband and sons.”

“So, you’re telling me everything is great with Jason now?”

Lotty didn’t answer.

“Because when he left you and went to Phoenix, you were hurt. He didn’t even try to understand why. He never tried to figure out what was going on when you were suffering from depression. He just got annoyed and left.”

Lotty glanced toward the living room where Ty was, hoping he couldn’t hear any of this.

“But you’ve forgiven him for that? For not chasing after you when you came back to Santa Barbara? You’ve worked it all out and are living a life of bliss now, are you?” Lotty didn’t want to reopen the pain of this. She’d been devastated when he went to Phoenix without her and when she went to stay with her parents, she’d been sure he’d follow her and make things right. But, he hadn’t. He’d come to Santa Barbara, but only to see the boys. He never even tried to see her. She was trying to get past that though. For the first time in over a year, she was experiencing happiness, fleeting as it was.

“Men who are worth a dime don’t act like that.” Doll walked away.

A fresh wave of hurt washed over Lotty. Tears sprang to her eyes.

“Ms. Brooks?” The voice came from the mud room.

Lotty wiped her eyes and stood up straight. “Yes?”

One of the construction workers came into view. “Sorry to disturb you. Is now a bad time?”

“No, not at all,” she lied.

“We found a few items buried in ash back behind your deep freeze. Where would you like us to put them?”

“Oh, okay, um, you can just set them right there.” She pointed to the counter next to him. “Thanks.”

He nodded, set a box on the counter, and headed back to the garage.

She grabbed the box and moved it to the table. It looked like a whole lot of junk: remnants of matchbox cars, a couple of singed tools, and melted roller skates. She rummaged through it until she saw something oddly familiar. Her heart leapt to her throat. At the bottom of the box, still covered in gray ash, was a pair of titanium Oakley sunglasses. 

Were they Cade’s? He was the only person she knew who wore titanium Oakley sunglasses, so what were they doing in her garage? Cade was in the neighborhood during the fire, but why would he have his sunglasses on while decked out in fireman’s gear? When else had he ever been in her garage? 

“Can I please eat now?” Ty interrupted her thoughts as he fell onto the kitchen floor dramatically. “I’m starving.”

Right on cue, Doll pranced back into the kitchen. “I made lunch. It may not be peanut butter and jelly...” She glanced at Lotty. “But it will make your body happy.”

“Hello?” Cade’s voice startled Lotty. What was he doing here? She took several breaths and reminded herself to act normal.

“Hey. Come on in,” Lotty responded. She walked toward the hole in the mudroom that was now entirely framed in. She wanted to throw his sunglasses at him and ask what they were doing in her garage. Instead she asked, “What’s up?”

“I was checking on my guys’ progress. It’s looking great. I think we’ll finish it up this week.”

Lotty held her hands together so he wouldn’t see them shaking. “Good.”

“Do you want to come see?”

“Nah. I’ll check it out later.” The words came out as a whisper.

“Are you alright, Lotty?” He moved next to her.

“Well, actually, I will go look at it now.” She bolted toward the opening and into the garage.

He followed. “Go outside. That’s where they’ve done the most work. They still need to do a lot of the interior.”

Lotty walked to the wall of the garage. “Uh, where did your guys go?”

“They’re grabbing some lunch.”

She moved farther away.

“Lotty, what is going on with you?”

She continued backing away.

“Something’s bothering you. Are you sick? Can I get you some water or maybe something to eat? I have half of a turkey and cheese sandwich left.”

“No, thank you. I just remembered a phone call I need to make.” She darted toward the house. “The work looks great,” she yelled over her shoulder. Running past her mom and Ty seated in the kitchen, she grabbed her phone and went to her bedroom. 

Nikki answered on the first ring.

“Nikki,” Lotty whispered.

“What’s wrong?”

“Cade.”

“Cade?” Nikki asked, confusion in her voice. “I thought things were better with Jason now. You let something happen with Cade?”

“What? No. I can’t believe you’d even think that.” Lotty shook her head and focused. “Cade’s sunglasses were buried under ash in my garage.”

“I don’t get it.”

“How could they be there? He had to be in my garage before the fire, but why would he be in my garage?”

Lotty could picture Nikki’s eyebrows raising. “Cade,” Nikki said after a long pause. “Cade, who volunteers as a firefighter and adopted three dogs last year just because they had nowhere to go. He’s the most innocent person in Walden.”

“Which is the perfect cover.”

“What are you saying exactly? What do you think he’s guilty of?” Nikki asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought this through, but what if it means he set the fire? I know those glasses are his. He’s worn the same style for years.” 

“Wouldn’t they have burned in the fire?”

“I don’t think so.” Lotty flopped down on her bed. “He only buys the titanium kind. I think titanium has a super high melting point.”

“I don’t know, Lotty. There’s another reason. Maybe when he came last week to start working on the house...”

“He sent guys to do it. Besides, why would they be buried in ash if he dropped them after the fire?”

“I don’t know, but there’s a logical reason.”

Lotty was silent, waiting for Nikki to give a possible reason. “Well, I’ll mention it to Brent if you’d like and see what he thinks,” Nikki said. “How’s your mom?”

Lotty sighed. “I don’t know if I can do this for another day.”

“You want me to come over there? Maybe she’ll be easier if you have company.”

“Yes, I want you to come over. I doubt she’ll be any easier, but at least I’ll have someone to lean on while she tears me down.”

“Alright, see you in a minute.”

Nikki knocked on the front door before Lotty had even made it out of the bedroom.

Lotty opened the door as Doll walked toward her, eyebrows furrowed. “What happened to you? You can’t just run off and hide. The boys were here. I’m not a nanny, Charlotte.”

“Sorry, Mom. I was in the bedroom. I had to tell Nikki something really fast.”

Her mom didn’t seem satisfied, but let it drop.

Nikki came in as Jason pulled into the driveway. Lotty held the front door open while he walked up the sidewalk.

He smiled and she couldn’t look away. He was smiling at her. He was happy to see her.

Nikki waved to Jason and moved toward the kitchen. He leaned in to Lotty and whispered, “I think I’ve found a girl who can help us. I knew her from law school and she works for some tech company in Seattle.” They walked toward Nikki and Doll as he continued, “I gave her the information and she’s working on it.”

“Really?” she asked, excitedly. Then, realizing how close they were to the others, mouthed, “thank you.”

He smiled and put his hand on her back.

Nikki elbowed Lotty from the opposite side. “This looks more like it. You two are adorable,” she whispered.

Lotty started to roll her eyes at Nikki when Doll let out a dramatic sigh and yelled, “Adorable? Please.”

All eyes turned to Doll. “Which part is adorable exactly? The part where he convinced her to live here in the backwoods of nothing or when he gave up on their marriage? She was struggling after Aiden was born, quite depressed. Jason simply ignored the problem. You know who she had to count on? Me. Not her husband. Me. She had to leave him to even get him to notice something was amiss.”

Lotty looked back and forth from Nikki, whose jaw was practically on the floor, to Jason, with his wide eyes and set jaw. He let out a cynical laugh, shook his head, and walked back out the front door. 

“I better go,” Nikki mouthed at Lotty. Lotty followed her out the front door, but Jason was already in his car, headed out of the cul-de-sac.