Tessa read a text from Lily.Killer bats?Stop eating Brian Mumford’s brownies. Tessa texted,Do cats have rabies?She slid her phone into her back pocket and took in the complete chaos of the yard as her heart rate settled again.
A massive oak tree tossed deep shadows across half of the garden. Weeds mingled with plantings and created a jungle of brambles, thorns, and vibrant, blooming flowers. Pink hydrangea blooms stretched along the shaded areas of the yard. Red roses clustered and twisted into one corner. Honeysuckle vines spread across three-quarters of the fencing, creating a green leafy wall around the perimeter.
A winding, geometrically tiled path disappeared into the overgrowth. Although the untamed plantings seemed to have reclaimed every available space, Tessa saw the curving river through the mess. She judged the safest route and high-stepped through the yard, praying snakes had not made Honeysuckle Hollow their home too. Bats and cats were startling, but snakes elicited another level of freak-out.
Tessa propped her hands on her knees, leaned over, and peered into the murky water. Algae bloomed on every surface beneath the water, creating a green haze, and there appeared to be no water circulation. The pump required electricity, so the river had been stagnant for at least two years. Now it was the perfect breeding ground for mosquitos. Tessa felt a nip on her neck and slapped her hand against it. A fat orange koi with three white spots forming a triangle on its back swam over and lifted its lips to the surface, asking for food.
“Well, hey there, fella,” she said. “I can’t believe you’re still alive. I don’t have any food for you. I suppose you’re sick of eating algae, huh? I’ll see what we can do about fixing the water pump. I bet swimming around in your own—in icky water isn’t your idea of paradise.”
A brilliant red cardinal landed on a low branch of the oak tree and chirped at her. The spring wind picked up again and brought with it the sweet, spicy scent of cloves and an echoing sound of laughter.Must be neighborhood kids, she thought, even though she wasn’t sure therewereany neighborhood kids on Dogwood Lane other than Lily’s two-year-old daughter, Rose.
Tessa surveyed the rear facade of Honeysuckle Hollow. The exterior brick of the house had survived the abandonment better than the paint and the wood, but those were easy to repair. She hadn’t inspected the second story yet, and she needed to assess its current state before she left.
The staircase creaked like a pair of old man’s knees as Tessa ascended it. The upstairs smelled hot and sad, like an old barn left to rot. There were four bedrooms and two full bathrooms upstairs, including the primary room and its adjoining bathroom. At some point in the history of the house, someone installed carpet over the hardwood in the bedrooms. Now the carpets were dingy and stunk of mildew and urine. Tessa tried to breathe only through her mouth, even though Lily once told her that when people breathed through their mouths, it meant they were tasting the smells. Tessa gagged. Nobody wanted totastewhat she smelled.
With a bit of imagination, Tessa could see how magical the primary bedroom had been. With its high vaulted ceilings in the turret of the house and a bay window stretching across one wall, this space could be a retreat. The middle window of the set had shattered panes. Mold covered the carpet beneath the window, and Tessa knew she would find it damp. She backed out of the room and walked toward a pair of French doors that led to a covered balcony overlooking the backyard. Some of the boards were rotted and one was missing entirely.
Tessa pulled out her notepad, jotted down a few notes about the house, and decided to return to her office. She would call Mrs. Steele and fill her in on the state of the house. Tessa already had ideas about how to bring light and shine back to Honeysuckle Hollow, and she hoped she would be able to encourage Mrs. Steele to repair a few of the minor problems before putting the house on the market. Tessa knew a local contractor who might be willing to lend a hand to repair a home that had helped so many people.
Tessa parked the Great Pumpkin up the street from her office. She grabbed her purse and the house listings she’d tossed into the front seat. Time hadn’t allowed her to visit any of the possible houses for her, but she’d get around to viewing them soon. As she walked up the sidewalk, she passed by Scrambled just as Nell Foster exited the building with an armful of to-go bags. Nell’s rumpled clothes and frizzy red hair made her look as though she’d had the kind of day that made it easy to forget to brush her teeth or make sure her shoes matched, which was a departure from the flawless law-clerk attire she wore during the week.
Tessa paused. “Hey, Nell. You need a hand getting those to your car?”
Nell glanced up at Tessa and blinked. Her brown eyes seemed to look straight through Tessa, focusing on nothing. Then her bottom lip trembled, and her body sagged forward like an empty paper bag.
Tessa hurried over and grabbed the bags from Nell’s arms. “Hey, are you okay?”
Nell’s exhausted expression revealed all Tessa needed to know about howokayNell wasn’t. Her lips were pinched as though she’d been eating lemons. She wiped at her watery eyes, smearing her eyeliner across her cheeks. She reached up to pull her fingers through her curly hair, but they caught in snares of knotted curls. “I could really use a hot shower or a long soak in a tub or a ticket to Bermuda. Don’t suppose you have any of those handy?”
Tessa cradled the bags in her arms and grabbed Nell’s shirtsleeve with her hand. She tugged Nell down the sidewalk to a bench.
Tessa propped the bags beside her on the bench seat. “What’s happened?”
Nell released a shaky sigh. She swirled her hands in the air. “Oh, whathasn’thappened? We lost both our cars and our house and our clothes and our food in the flood, and we moved in with Liam’s mama who has a one-bedroom house.One bedroom. Can you imagine? Three adults and three children. It’s a nightmare.I’ma nightmare. Look at me. I look like the hobo version of Raggedy Ann, and the children are practically barefoot and wearing the same clothes they woke up in on Saturday—oh, I’ve washed them, of course, but it doesn’t matter. A few more days like this and they’ll probably call me an unfit mother, and they’d be right. I’m unraveling like an old sweater. I yelled at Ava this morning for chewing her cereal too loudly. And the boys, they have so much energy that they’re bouncing off the walls. Literally. Liam knows I’m at the end of my short rope, so he’s ridden over the ridge to see if he can find us an extended-stay hotel room. Ican’tkeep living with his mama in that tiny house.” Nell closed her eyes and inhaled a shuddering breath before dropping her head toward her chest and crying.
Tessa put her hand on Nell’s arm. Tessa had been throwing a pity party for herself for days, but here in front of her sat a woman who had lost more than Tessa hadandwho had nowhere to go. At least Tessa had the Borellis’ apartment to stay in until she found a place. She felt selfish for not giving much thought to what the other townspeople might be going through because of the flood.
The wind swept down the street and ruffled the house listings sticking out of Tessa’s purse. She glanced at them and thought of Honeysuckle Hollow and how it had helped people during their times of devastation and need.
“The food smells delicious. Scrambled has the best comfort food,” Tessa said.
Nell’s smile was tired and slow. “Doesn’t it? Cecilia made a special side for me. She called it Hopeful Hash Browns. You think they’ll give us hope?” Nell’s awkward laugh exposed how silly she thought the question was.
“If you believe they will give you hope, they will. Having hope is a good thing. Are you driving the food back to Liam’s mama’s?”
Nell shook her head and pointed toward the downtown park at the end of the street. “The kids are with Liam’s mama, probably swinging from the monkey bars and daring each other to jump off the top. I’m bringing the food to them.”
“I have an idea,” Tess said. “Go eat with them, and when you’re finished, see if his mama will watch the kids a little longer, and you come to my office. I’m going to make a few calls to some of the landlords who have rental properties and see if I can find y’all a good deal on temporary housing.”
Nell’s brown eyes widened. Sunbeams reflected off her pale-pink cheeks. “Can you do that? Do you think you can find us a place in town?”
Tessa nodded. “I do. Come back and see me after you eat.”
Nell hugged Tessa spontaneously. “Thank you, thank you. With the kids in school here, it would be so much easier if we could find something in Mystic Water. I wasn’t even thinking about renting—well, to be honest, I haven’t been thinking coherently at all—but if we could find a place big enough for us . . . Gosh, Tessa, thank you so much. Really, I’m going to cry again.”
Tessa patted Nell’s arm. “I don’t mind helping. It’s my job to find homes for people.”
Nell stood and struggled in vain to smooth the wrinkles from her clothes. “You’re a lifesaver.”
