concerns took precedence to actually making decisions that extended beyond their need for a roof over their heads and dealing with the aftermath of the fire.
She’d done what she needed to do with the property.
There truly was nothing left for her to do here.
Overwhelmed by what came next and the abundance of decisions that had to be made to start a whole new life, Sierra trudged through the wreckage, walked down the porch steps one last time, her heart heavy that this was probably the last time she’d ever come here, and headed for the police car. She opened the back door, set her bucket on the seat, then turned back and looked at what used to be.
Emotion flooded her, sending tears down her cheeks. She pulled off a glove and brushed them away with clean fingers.
“You can rebuild,” the officer assured her.
Yes, I will. Just not here.
Her boys were counting on her.
But she had to face reality and listen to her heart. She didn’t want to be here anymore.
She wanted to go home to Carmel.
* * *
“Hi, sweetheart.”
“Hey, Mom.” Sierra stood outside the motel room door on the balcony overlooking the pool with her cell phone to her ear, so happy to hear her mother’s reassuring voice.
“It’s been a couple of days. I worried.”
The days since the fire had left Sierra drained. “I’m sorry. I went to the house yesterday. There’s nothing left but ash and burnt trees. Everywhere I looked . . . there was just nothing.”
“I can’t imagine.” Emotion tightened her mom’s soft voice. “We spoke about this the other day, but I’ll say it again. I’m happy to help in any way you need.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Just tell me how much you need and I’ll get it to you.”
She didn’t want to rely on her mother for financial support. That was more her little sister Heather’s MO. “Right now I need something besides money.”
“Anything.”
“I want to come home, Mom.”
“I’ve got your old room and the spare bedroom all ready for you.”
Relief swept through her. Her mom offered the second she found out the house was lost. Overwhelmed in the moment, and since, Sierra hadn’t been able to really think or plan.
“When will you be here?”
“Tomorrow?” She hated to impose, but she also wanted to get the boys settled.
“I can’t wait.” Her mother’s excitement eased Sierra’s mind.
“Thank you for this. I’m out of options.” At least it felt that way.
“I’m always here for you, Sierra. This is still your home no matter how old you get.”
Tears clogged her throat, but she pushed the words out. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart. Everything is going to be okay.”
She really needed to hear that right now.
Sierra outlined her plans for the trip home, thanked her mom one more time, and said good-bye with a lighter heart and a belly full of anticipation.
This felt right. With everything of her old life literally left in ashes, she needed a fresh start.
So did the boys. They’d been through so much this past year, losing their father and now their home.
She walked back into their latest rented room and stared at her boys sitting on the queen bed in the fourth motel they’d moved to in the last three weeks. Their treasures she’d found at the house yesterday sat on the nightstand beside them. They’d been so surprised and excited to get them, but also sad that the few items had been all that was left of their belongings. She felt the same way.
One of the guys at the fire victims center took a hammer and screwdriver to the lockbox and popped it open for her. David’s cuff links had survived. So had their wedding rings. The jewelry hadn’t come out unscathed. The metal had turned black and tarnished, but the diamonds were eerily bright and sparkly. Maybe one day she’d have them reset into new men’s rings for the boys. They could wear a piece of what bound her and David together.
Backs against the propped pillows, Danny and Oliver were deep into a cupcake baking show on the Food Network. Eventually, they’d ask to go to the local grocery store to pick up some treats.
They deserved something sweet for being such troopers. They missed their friends, their own things, and even school.
Sierra pressed her hand over the stack of papers sitting on the small table by the window. They were all she’d managed to grab on her mad dash out of the house to beat the fire. All these months after David’s