Page 220 of Hidden Nature

Focused on the stone urn, Elsie answered absently. “They could be locals, could be on vacation. Either way, it wouldn’t be strange to see them around town.”

“No.”

But where else? Sloan wondered. Somewhere not here.

“She saw us again,” Clara murmured.

“And we’re just poking around like a couple dozen other people. Don’t you worry, babe.”

“I won’t. It’s good we’re getting more looks at her, too. And we know it wasn’t meant for us to try for her today. We don’t have the other anyway.”

Clara groped for Sam’s hand. “Another sign, doll. The woman who hugged her, talked to her’s the woman who did CPR on Terrance Brown. The one who helped bring him back when God called him with lightning.”

“I know it, babe. We found her picture on the internet. Maybe they’re doing the Devil’s work together. Maybe she’s another witch.”

“Can’t say for sure, but it’s another sign. Still, today’s not the day.”

“But soon.”

“Soon, doll. Let’s go on home.”

Sloan spent the day with her mother and enjoyed every minute.

As the chairs dried—and coral hit that mark—Drea and Theo drove up. And Drea scrambled out.

“You have to come see the house!”

Elsie pushed back the cap she kept in her truck. “Is itthehouse.”

“We really think so.” Drea gripped Theo’s hand when he stepped up beside her. “It needs a little work, but we wanted that. It’ll be more ours that way. But we want everyone to see. We texted Dad, and he said you were over here together. We texted Nash, and he’s going to meet us there. Can you come now?”

“Well, the chairs have to dry,” Elsie said.

“Oh, sorry. They’re great. They’ll be perfect. Oh, and you have pansies. A plant stand with a pot of pansies. This is what we want, too. To do the things that make it home.”

“Give us five minutes to clean this up,” Sloan told her. “We’ll follow you over.”

Sloan gave another glance back as she climbed in the truck with her mother. She’d give the chairs, and the little table she’d painted navy, another coat. And on Sunday, at some point, she’d sit down and drink some iced tea.

“You’re a good sister.”

“I’ll take the credit, but I want to see the house. Unless we find serious issues, which I doubt, they’re going to make an offer on it.”

“I doubt the serious, too. They both know what to look for. This is the first one they’ve looked at that excited them.”

It took one look for Sloan to see why. The two-story Craftsman-style house said friendly and tucked itself into a pretty neighborhood with greening lawns, greening trees, and the rise of the hills behind.

“Can’t you just imagine watching sunsets from the back deck? And you can see,” Drea continued, “they updated this level. Opened it up, really updated the kitchen. I love the white cabinets, and the dreamy blue on the island.”

“The basement’s unfinished. We’ll fix that, right, bro?”

Nash nodded absently at Theo as he wandered. “Yeah, we’ll fix that.”

“You’ll see when we go upstairs, the main suite’s good-sized. Two other bedrooms, and a full bath. The en suite in the main needs a serious update.”

Dean glanced back at Drea. “We’ll fix that, too. I want to take a look downstairs.”

He headed off with Nash and Theo.

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