forward to. "Well then, it sounds like we’re all in agreement."
"When can we start?" asked Shelby.
"Anytime you want,” Theo said. “Why don’t you and your grandmother start by coming over and taking a look at the yard?”
“That’s perfect,” Shelby said. “We can make a list of everything we might need.”
“I’ll contact Trevor about making sure the fence is secure,” Theo said. He looked at Shelby. “Do you think you can pick out a few doggy toys with me? I was thinking Wally could use some new ones soon anyway.”
“Of course! And we will need to come up with a schedule.” Shelby looked to her grandmother. "What do you think, Grandma? Will you help us with this?"
Alice paused. Her eyes went from Shelby to Theo and back. "I guess I could bake some dog cookies for you all. Help with the shopping."
"That's a great start," Shelby said. "And will you bring Scarlett? I'll be there too, of course."
Theo watched as the two women looked at each other, one young, one older, but he knew something special was happening between them.
"Yes," said Alice. "I will bring Scarlett over."
“No time like the present to come by,” said Theo. “Unless that doesn’t work for you two?”
Alice nodded. “We’ll clean up here and meet you at your house within the hour.”
Chapter 15
Shelby grabbed her old, but still functioning, laptop and the baggie of leftover cookies and put them in her backpack. They had tried to sneak out the front with Scarlett resting quietly in her bed. But the dog would have none of that. She wanted to add her input to the meeting, so she accompanied them as they proceeded down Seventh Street. They turned toward the lake when they reached Misty Meadow Lane where Theo lived. Alice held Scarlett’s leash, and for the first time since Shelby had moved here, they were all taking a walk together. The trip had been the breakthrough Shelby had been hoping for, and now a walk and a project they could work on together might do the rest. Shelby was glad her grandmother’s waist-expanding baking hobby gave Alice another way to be involved. And she’d noticed Alice had put on a little lipstick before they left the house.
Theo’s presence at their house today, and his offer, had shifted things. A tiny glimmer of hope fluttered in Shelby’s heart. Maybe, just for now, she could let herself feel it. As they reached the end of the quiet road, Theo’s ranch-style home, surrounded by old growth blue oak and Pacific madrone, came into view. A stone walkway led to the front door, where Theo waved to them from behind a screen door. As he opened it, Wally trotted toward them with a tired, old woof to show them this was still his territory.
“I haven’t seen my dog move that fast in a long time,” Theo said. “But then I can’t remember the last time we had three lovely ladies come to visit.”
Shelby liked being called a “lovely lady,” and from the look on Alice’s face, she did too. “We brought the rest of the cookies from our meeting,” Shelby said. “They’re in my backpack.”
“Thank you for that,” Theo said. “Come on in.”
The house was natural wood inside with exposed beam ceilings and picture windows facing the backyard and lake. They offered the only light coming in the room, as the other windows had curtains drawn. Wedding and family pictures hung in the entry hall, everything neat and in order, except for a stack of unopened mail on a table by the door. Shelby remembered stacks like that at home with her mother, when Dana couldn’t face even opening them.
Shelby laid her backpack on the kitchen counter that looked like a large wood cutting board. She handed the cookies to Theo, who promptly put them out.
“These are definitely spoiling me from anything store-bought,” he said.
“Plenty more where those came from,” said Shelby, smiling at her grandmother.
Alice’s blush reminded Shelby of a young schoolgirl’s. Did she? Did he? Of course, she reminded herself, old people still had crushes too. She kind of liked the idea.
Theo guided them into the open concept living room, centered around a white-washed stone fireplace.
Alice walked over to the window. “What an amazing view you have.”
Theo moved beside her and followed Alice’s gaze across the lake. “My wife and I picked this spot several years ago,” he said. “I had just retired as the director of a nonprofit in Oregon. We’d been living on a lake, but the