“My favorite places. Where are you going now?”
“To my mother’s house. I need to drop my stuff there.”
“Your home?”
“The very one,” she muttered. “Now give me my backpack and go away.”
“I’m not sure why the hell I bother with you.”
“Neither am I.”
She looked around them as they walked.
“You forget how beautiful this place is when you’ve been gone a while. It’s like you block it out, and then tell yourself it’s not all that you thought it was… but it really is.”
Newman made an agreeing sound, because she’d pretty much nailed how he felt when he left Howling.
“I’ve always thought of them as guards,” she said, pointing at the redwoods. “Protectors.”
“Me too.”
They didn’t speak again, and minutes later they walked into her street. Her house was down a driveway, tucked out of sight. He’d never been there before, but knew where she had lived.
“I got it now, thanks.”
“All good.” He ignored Hope as she reached for her backpack, and kept walking down the drive. He stopped at the end when faced with a pristine little white house. It had green trim, and flower beds running along the front. No weeds or leaves were in sight, and the windows were sparkling.
“Did your mom use a ruler to plant those?”
“You’ve met my mom, right? What do you think?”
“I’ve never been here before.”
“No reason to start now.” Hope grabbed the backpack and gave it a tug, sending him backward several steps.
“Hope?”
Both of them looked to the now open door, and there stood Militant Lawrence.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Mom.” Hope walked to where her mother stood in the doorway. Not overly tall, her mouth was formed in its usual tight line. She wore black, also usual, and thick-framed black glasses. “They’re new,” Hope said.
“I need them for reading, and as I was just doing so, they are still on my face.”
“Well, it’s good to see you.”
“And you.”
She moved forward and kissed her mother’s cheek, then felt a hand pat her shoulder. That was as close as it got to a warm greeting in the Lawrence household. Very aware of Newman watching, she turned and motioned for him to hand over her pack. Instead he moved to her side.
“When was the last time you saw each other?”
“Four years ago.”
“Then for the love of God, hug each other.”
He was angry, and that confused Hope. Why was he angry that she wasn’t hugging her mother? This was just how they did things.
