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The workshop keys were on the hook beside my jacket. I took them down and slipped them into my pocket, already considering which table would give us enough room to spread out Goldie’s plans.

“Bring your plans back tonight,” I said. “I’ll show you the workshop, and we can figure out where to start. I need to get Sienna to the store and feed us first.”

“I’ll get some dinner in town. That gives me time to go through my notes.”

I took my phone from my pocket, and Goldie gave me her number. She drew hers out of her coat when I called it, then saved my contact while I added her name. Her screen was still lit when she looked up at me.

“Call when you’re ready. I’ll come back.”

A sweet strawberry smell reached me from the hallway. Sienna appeared in sneakers and a zip-up sweatshirt, with her hair brushed smooth and a little purse hanging across her chest.

“I’m ready, Dad. I brought my money in case there are clips I like.”

She stopped beside me, and I took a breath that turned out to be a mistake. Under the strawberries was enough vanilla to fill the foyer. I pressed my lips together while Sienna checked the clasp on her purse, and Goldie looked from her to me and laughed softly.

Sienna raised her chin. “It’s strawberry cupcake, Dad. Do you like it?”

“I like it, sweetheart. Next time, one spray will do.”

She sniffed her sleeve while I reached past her for my jacket. Goldie was smiling when I opened the door for her, and I had the distinct impression she’d enjoyed watching me find an answer.

“Good luck with the shopping, Sienna. I hope you find some clips you love.” She stepped onto the porch, then turned toward me. “I’ll talk to you later, Duncan.”

Cold air moved through the open doorway as she went down the steps. I watched her cross the gravel, walking briskly now, with one hand holding the loose end of her scarf against her coat. At the SUV she looked back and lifted her hand, her smile visible in the porch light.

I’d agreed to look at machinery I’d refused to touch when Lisa asked. There would be old parts to find, work to turn down, and a crew waiting for answers tomorrow. As I put on my jacket beside Sienna, I was already looking forward to the moment Goldie would pull into the drive again.

***

By a quarter to eight, two empty roller packets lay beside the comb on the kitchen counter, and Sienna was curled up on the sofa with a book. Pink foam showed through neat sections of her dark hair. We’d eaten chicken and potatoes after the store, gone through the costume page together, and spent longer getting the back of her hair rolled than I’d expected.

The dishes were in the dishwasher. I put the comb away, took my phone into the kitchen doorway, and called Goldie.

“We’re home, and I’m ready to show you the workshop,” I said when she answered. “Come out and stay awhile. I’d like to see how your plans fit what I’ve still got here.”

“I’ve just finished dinner. I have the revised layout and some videos from this afternoon that should help. Give me fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll meet you outside.”

I ended the call and went to check on Sienna. She’d tucked a blanket around her feet, and her phone was on the cushion beside her.

“I’ll be in the workshop with Goldie. Keep the sound on so you’ll hear me when I check in, and call if you need anything. I’ll come back before bedtime.”

She turned up the volume. “Can you bring me some water before you go?”

I filled her glass and set it on the side table, safely away from the stack of library books. She thanked me without looking up from her book, and I bent to kiss the small patch of forehead left clear by the rollers.

Goldie’s headlights swept the front windows as I was putting my jacket on. I stepped onto the porch while she parked, then went down to meet her. This time she reached across the passenger seat for a large work bag and hooked it over her shoulder before shutting the SUV.

“I found The Copper Kettle on Maple Lane,” she said as we started along the side of the house. “Nell Baird introduced herself, then introduced me to the people at the next table. By the time I’d finished my soup, I had three recommendations for breakfast.”

“Nell’s owned the place long enough to know who needs feeding.”

“Well, she was very good at it. I’m glad I stopped there.”

The light from the house reached partway down the stone path. Beyond it, leaves covered the ground between the trees, rustling whenever the wind moved through the upper branches. We rounded the back corner and headed toward the workshop, about thirty yards farther on and offset from the house. The windows were dark. A broad door for moving large pieces faced the gravel service drive, with a smaller entrance at the end of our path.

Goldie shortened her stride on the last few stones, where leaves had collected against the threshold. I brushed them aside with my boot and unlocked the door.