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“I can’t hold the sheers. Not even with both hands. Usually, I can do it with both hands.” Her mom began to cry.
Dede Sandoval never cried. Not when the old silver Saturn finally died, and they lost their home in an instant. Not when Mrs. Harpson, Alanna’s second-grade teacher, upbraided her because Alanna had infected all the students with lice she’d contracted at the homeless shelter. Not even that long-ago day when Dede woke Alanna in the middle of the night and slung a backpack around her small shoulders. Holding a sleeping Layla in one arm and tugging Alanna along with the other, her mother had led them down the driveway, buckled them both in the Saturn, and driven as far as the tank of gas would take them.
They’d ended up here, in Yucca Hills. When the sun’s rays had finally chased the night away, Alanna saw her mother’s face puffy with fresh bruises and cuts. But no tears. Never any tears.
Alanna pulled her mother into her arms. Dede was several inches shorter than her and seemed even smaller now. She felt her mother’s whole body shake against her. This was the type of thing Layla was good at. The consoling. The understanding. Layla could make everything seem better.
But Layla wasn’t here.
Alanna set her cheek against her mother’s temple and rocked her mom from side to side. “I’m going to change, and then we’re going to prune the rose bushes together, okay?”
Her mother sniffled then nodded against Alanna’s shoulder.
Ch. 18 Sully
Sullywasn’tsurewhatto expect from the house of Alanna Sandoval’s mother. Maybe something modern, with lots of sharp lines surrounded by prim landscaping. Instead, he pulled into the driveway of an adorably ramshackle yellow two-story set on a lawn bursting with flowers and fairy lawn ornaments.
A huge, floral wreath hung on the bright blue front door, just above a wooden sign scrawled with the words,Home Sweet Home.Little painted strawberries and oranges decorated the sign. Sully could easily imagine the sign coming from a local craft fair or maybe the Cactus Blossom nursery.
What Sully couldn’t imagine was anybody related to Alanna living here. Did he have the right house? After a slight hesitation, he rang the doorbell carved to look like a hummingbird. Three seconds later, the door flew open, revealing a woman just as adorable as her house.
“Hello!” she chirped. “Come on in. Do you like tea? Let me make you a cup.”
Sully couldn’t help but smile. Mama Sandoval wore a straw gardening hat and cotton pants caked in dirt at the knees. The sun had painted her pale skin with a constellation of freckles, while a lifetime of smiles had dug lines in the sides of her mouth. None of it, however, could take away from her mature beauty.
“I’m Dede Sandoval,” the woman said. “How much milk do you take with your tea?”
“Uh, I’m actually not much of a tea guy,” Sully admitted.
Dede slapped his shoulder playfully. “Well, no one’s perfect.”
The woman was warm, open, and utterly delightful. Sully might have wondered if Alanna was adopted if Dede didn’t share the same pale blue eyes as her daughter.
“Come in, come in.” Dede waved Sully over the threshold. The home’s interior embodied its occupant. Everything was bright and cheerful, each piece of furniture clearly chosen for comfort over style. Sully normally wasn’t a big fan of wallpaper, but the pattern of sprigs, leaves, and daisies covering the walls was absolutely perfect for Dede.
“What. The. HELL?” a voice screeched from the second story. Both Sully and Dede paused, their heads tilting toward the noise. “The litter box is HERE! NOT THERE. I thought we had an understanding! I swear to GOD, cat, I’m going to duct tape your little anus shut if you keep this up!”
Dede offered Sully a sheepish smile. “That’s my Queen of Sheba.”
Sully snorted. The nickname suited Alanna perfectly. He cleared his throat. “So, I hear you’re having a little trouble with your staircase banister.”
“Yes!” Dede grabbed his arm. “It’s been loose for years, but I’ve just never gotten around to fixing it.” Sully noticed a black brace on her right wrist and his stomach tightened. He’d known Dede Sandoval for all of two minutes and already felt protective of this petite, delightful woman.
“Well, let’s remedy that situation,” he told her.
“Cute and charming, I can see why she likes you.” Dede patted his arm.
“What?” Sully almost swallowed his tongue.
“A mother always knows.” Dede gave him a mischievous wink, then tugged him toward the staircase.
Legs. Walking. Right. Sully forced his brain to refocus on the task at hand. As he looked around the cozy home, his newly trained senses immediately began to catalog a list of needed improvements. The dingy white cupboards could use a repaint. The screen door in the kitchen clearly wasn’t level. One of the windowsills in the living room was warped. The engineer in him ached to immediately create a spreadsheet of repairs.
But first, the banister.
“Here it is,” Dede said, waving at the ash-wood banister. Sully stepped forward to assess the situation. The wood was obviously old, the stain and finish long ago worn away. Sullytskedas he squatted down to get a closer look at the front pillar’s fitting in the floor.
“If you knock anything else off the bathroom sink, byGod, there’ll be consequences!” Alanna’s voice warned from upstairs. “I know you can understand me!”
