way that could only be a light from Mason’s place, Sierra felt as alone as she’d ever felt after David’s death and wondered how long she’d feel this way before she did something about it.
Chapter Six
Sierra peeked through the ajar door into the boys’ dark room and smiled at them sleeping. Her mom had redecorated, swapping out the neutral “guest-room” quilts for blue-and-red-striped comforters. She’d added stained wood toy boxes at the foot of each twin bed. The comforters and toy boxes were for the boys to keep when they moved into their next home. They’d get to take something familiar with them, instead of another round of entirely new things.
New was fun and exciting to a point. Then, you just wanted to be around the things that made you feel comfortable, that made you feel like you belonged there because they were your things. You saw them, surrounded yourself with them and the memories they held.
With the boys settled for the night and happy to be here with their family, Sierra headed downstairs for the talk she knew her mother wanted to have about what came next.
She found her mom in the living room on the sofa, feet tucked up beside her under a blanket, and a mug of tea in hand. Sierra rounded the sofa, picked up her mug off the table, sniffed the fragrant apple cinnamon tea that reminded her of Big Red gum, and sat in the corner of the sofa, facing her mom.
“It can’t be easy to go through what you’ve been through this past year. Losing your husband . . . Well, I never thought you’d go through something like that so young. I know the fire took everything you owned, but you still have what’s important. Those boys. Your family.”
“Really, that’s all that matters, Mom. Getting the boys to safety . . . It was scary.” Even now, thinking about it made her heart race. “For a little while there, sitting in the car, surrounded by the heat, caustic smoke, and flames so close . . . I really thought . . .” She swallowed back the fear and took a sip of tea to calm her nerves.
Dede leaned forward and put her hand on her thigh. “You made it out. Now what? You as much as told Heather you’re planning to make a life here. Is that what you really want?”
Sierra sighed. “I don’t have many options.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Sierra had made up her mind the second she called home and knew that’s where she belonged. “Yes. I want to live here. I think the boys would be happy here. Going back to Napa . . . Well, there are too many memories.”
“Good memories that make you sad, or memories you want to escape?”
Leave it to Mom to dig deep.
“If we still had the house, I’d want the boys to be there, so they’d have an easier time remembering their father. But without the house, there’s only the ghost of him and our life there. It’s going to be a long time before everything’s rebuilt. I’ve been told it could take more than two years. That’s too long to make them wait. I don’t want them to settle in here then uproot them again. It’s too much. We’re staying put.”
“Okay, that’s settled. You’ll enroll them in school here, find a job, and once the insurance settlement comes through, you can buy your own place and start fresh.”
“I’m afraid the insurance settlement won’t be enough for me to buy a house here. At least not right away.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s the outstanding mortgage and—”
Her mother eyed her over her mug. “And?”
“Before David died, he took out a large loan.”
One eyebrow shot up. Her mother carefully asked, “Were you having financial difficulties?”
“No. Everything was fine until he took out the loan.”
Questions lit her eyes. “What did you use the money for?”
“I didn’t use it for anything. I only found out about it after he died.” Her gut tightened just thinking about that huge sum and the daunting task ahead of her to pay it off.
Dede sat up straighter. “You have no idea what David used the money for, do you?”
“No.”
“An investment of some sort?”
“Not that I could find.”
As always, her mother went the direct route. “An affair?”
Sierra shrugged and tried to stave off the ache in her chest and the anger that wanted to surge. “That would have been my guess, too, but I can’t find any evidence of one.” She couldn’t prove it