Page 2 of Coming Home for Fall
The man raised a brow. “I’m sure there is, but I’m not confident I’ll be able to figure out how to make two different transactions happen. Let me see.” He frowned down at the screen and fiddled around a bit. Mallory stood awkwardly between him and the front door, biting her nails as she considered running away. There was still time for her to forget this entire plan. She could beg the cab driver to take her back to the airport for free or offer him some of her nicer jewelry to hock—her parents would never have to know that she’d shown up in the first place. Then, she’d see them at Thanksgiving and act like everything was fine.
“Oh, here we go.” He smiled and handed the phone to her. “I got it. The first charge is for the ride.”
Mallory sighed with relief when she saw that the charge was a little less than what she’d anticipated. She put this on her debit card, knowing it was going to take her balance down to single digits. Then she used her credit card to give the man a generous tip. She kept her credit card for “emergencies only,” but lately her life had been one emergency after the next. Mallory was terrified to check her bank account balance and wanted to remain ignorant so she could pretend it wasn’t that bad. Plus, she was partially making it up to the driver for being such a grumpy passenger.
“Thanks,” he said, grinning as he took the phone back. “I hope you have a nice visit with your family.”
“Yeah, uh… Me too.” She strained a warm smile, struggling to hide the heaviness in her heart and watched him drive off, disappearing from view. Letting out an unsteady sigh, Mallory faced the door and stepped onto the welcome mat, trying the handle with a soft touch—in case her parents were still asleep. It was locked.
Since when do they lock the door?
Both of her parents’ cars were in the driveway and since they lived in such a small, cozy town they never locked it unless they were both going to be out for a while. However, apparently, they had started locking the door at night too. A part of Mallory was happy about this, since she’d always felt her parents were too trusting. But that morning, she couldn’t have been more frustrated. She had a key to her parents’ house, but she had no idea which bag it was in, and it would take her forever to find it.
So much for a subtle entry.
She squared her shoulders and huffed before refilling her lungs with a gulp of crisp, Northern California air. Then she gripped the brass knocker and rattled it three times against the base. A few seconds passed before she heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the door. Mallory plastered on a fake smile, preparing herself for her parents’ stunned expressions when they saw her on their stoop.
The door opened.
“Uh—”
Standing on the other side was a woman, or perhaps a girl, who looked like she wasn’t even old enough to drink yet. She had long, dirty blond hair and a baby was resting on her hip. She smiled, but with a creased brow, and cocked her head to the side. “Hi there,” she said in a soft voice, like she was trying not to wake the rest of the house. “Can I help you?”
Mallory took a step back and folded her arms. “Um, yeah, actually. You can help me. You can tell me who you are and why you’re answering my parents’ front door.”
Chapter 1
Two Weeks Earlier
“Callie, you’ve cleaned the same spot on the coffee table three times,” David said in a mostly-loving voice. Still Callie could tell he was annoyed. “Don’t you think it’s clean enough?”
“You mean accept defeat? Never. I’m determined to get this ring out.” The sixty-six-year-old woman was on her knees, bent over the coffee table in the living room, scrubbing furiously. “We should’ve replaced this thing years ago. Or at least gotten some sort of tablecloth.”
“I really don’t think the girl’s going to care.” David lowered himself down onto the couch and sighed. “Isn’t she coming straight from the women’s shelter? I know they do their best with what they have... but I can’t imagine the place is The Four Seasons or anything. I’m sure she’s seen a lot worse than a coffee table with one or two rings on it.”
“Two?!” Callie’s eyes widened, leaning back to get a better view of the table. “Is there another one?” she asked, glancing back at him
Shaking his head, David chuckled. “No. I can barely see the one you’re trying to scrub out.” He furrowed his brow and blinked quickly. “When did you become a neat freak anyway? I thought I always won first place in worrying.”
This made her laugh. “We both became worriers after we had kids. But I just want everything to be perfect for Sasha. She’s been through so much and she deserves to experience what it’s like to live in a nice, clean place. Her and the baby.”
“But the house is already nice and clean. Too clean, maybe.” He patted the cushion next to him. “Come on, take a seat. You don’t want to meet her for the first time looking all frantic and sweaty. You need to catch your breath before she gets here.”
Callie took one last look at the table and glared at the stain that seemed to mock her, standing up with a huff. David was right that making a good impression on their new guest was far more important than ensuring that the house was pristine. Sitting beside him, she let her head fall back into the soft cushions.
“So,” David said, turning to her, “remind me again how long the woman and her baby are staying.”
Callie faced him and arched her brow. “The woman has a name. As does the baby. Sasha and Dorothy, but according to the social worker, everyone calls the baby Dot.” Her eyes grew warm, and she smiled. “Isn’t that cute?”
“Adorable,” he said dryly.
Rolling her eyes at his lack of enthusiasm, she chuckled and then straightened up in her seat. “I’ve asked a few times already, but I’m going to ask again—are you sure you’re okay with Sasha coming to live with us? Because if you’re not, this is kind of your last chance to say something.”
David paused before responding, but Callie knew not to read too much into it, having been his closest confidant for over forty years. He was a thoughtful man, and he liked to think before responding to important questions. This served them well when they were younger and used to get into fights. However,there were a few arguments in the past that had pushed even him over the edge, despite his steady demeanor.
“I’m fine with it.”
“Really?” Callie narrowed her gaze, scanning for any signs of a lie.
