Una’s brow folded.
“Why don’t I call her and see if she can come in. Would that be better?”
The girl nodded.
“Can I tell her who’s asking for her?”
She nodded again. “Una. We only met a couple of times before.”
Taylor picked up her office phone, the sturdy old-fashioned land line kind. “Are you sure she’s the person you need?”
Una was looking at a wall of quilt block patterns, but she nodded.
Taylor dialed Hannah’s number, but there was no answer. Not even voicemail. This time her face wrinkled in confusion. She hated it when people didn’t have their voicemail set up. She switched to her personal cell phone and sent a text instead. “No answer, I’m so sorry. Do you want to hang up your coat?” Taylor waved at the coat rack.
Una shivered.
“You’ll be warmer without that wet jacket on. And we have hot water for coco or tea if you want.”
Una unzipped her sweatshirt and hung it up, but still shivered.
While waiting for a response from Hannah, Taylor made the child a cup of cocoa, only spilling a little as she stirred the full paper cup. “Hannah is usually pretty good at answering messages. Do you want to get comfy and wait around?” Taylor waved toward the armchair covered in linen with French words in scribbled text, the one that sat in front of her mom’s quilting show playing on a loop.
Una accepted the cup and sat, watching the videos.
It felt good leaving her in her mom’s care. Safer.
Taylor sent another text, this time to Sissy. “Una is in the shop. She wants Hannah. How did she get here? What should I do?”
Sissy responded immediately. “I’ll be right there.” She was almost literally right there, bursting through the front door, shaking rain from her jacket. “Ooh, Taylor! This day has been the worst! Can I grab a cup of tea while I shop? You aren’t closing up, are you?”
“Sure, yes, tea! Let me get it. And no, we’re staying open a little later today…” Taylor raised an eyebrow.
Sissy nodded. “I’ve got to get going on this graduation present for Dayton. I can’t believe we’re losing another one of the old gang.
“Cooper has another year after this doesn’t he?” Taylor asked.
“Yes, yes, but Dayton skipped a grade in middle school. I could have killed the Reubens for doing that. But then when your sister left school even earlier, I had to just give up, didn’t I?”
Taylor poured hot water from the water cooler into another paper cup and grabbed a bag of Tetley.
Despite the ruckus Sissy was making, Una hadn’t looked up. In fact, she had sunk into the chair a little more, one arm wrapped around herself, the other holding her cocoa up like she wanted to hide behind it.
Sissy spotted her. “I need a new walking foot for my Husqvarna. You have those somewhere?”
Taylor led her to the wall of notions that was behind the video. “We have all sorts of machine accessories right here.
Sissy froze, a big smile on her face. “Why Una Woods! What are you doing out here?”
Una looked up, wide-eyed with confusion. She shivered again and her little cup of cocoa shook spilling cocoa on her jeans.
“Sorry for startling you. Don’t you remember me? I’m Reynette’s niece Sissy. We met at the barbecue. Your mom was very welcoming to all of us crazies from Reynette’s family.”
Una sighed with her whole body and looked relieved. “Hi Mrs…”
“I’m just Sissy to you, okay? Even though Reynette’s gone, we’re family.” Sissy dragged another armchair over and sat down. “I need to get off my feet. It’s been a long day. Isn’t this show good? I’ve always loved Laura Quinn’s quilt advice. Taylor’s isn’t bad either.”
Taylor wanted to join them, but Una looked fragile and if Sissy didn’t crush her with the weight of her personality, the two of them together might.
“Is your mom here?” Sissy asked. “I don’t see her.” She made a show of looking all around the store.
“No,” Una said. “I came to see Hannah. She said I could if I ever needed anything.”
“Hannah from Reynette’s shop? Now why would she do that?”
Una shrugged.
“Listen, Hannah’s a sweet girl and I’m sure she meant well, but she’s not family. What can she do anyway? I’m here. Can I help?”
Una nodded. Then she took a deep breath. “We just came home from three days in Belize, but Mom and Guy want to go back. They want me to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Sauvage this time, but I don’t like it there.”
“Where do they live?”
“In the hills. All alone in the forest. It’s not far from our cabin, but I don’t want to stay. It’s creepy.”
“Guy’s parents are creepy?” Sissy leaned forward, like a protective hen.
“No, I like Grandma and Grandpa, but I don’t like to be up in the woods, especially at night.”
“But why did you want Hannah?”
“She said she’d help me if I ever needed anything. I took the bus here and I want to stay with her.”
“You don’t want to stay with Hannah. What does she know about kids? She’s practically a kid herself. You come home with me, all right?”
Una swallowed.
“I hope I don’t scare you. You don’t have to come home with me. Why don’t you go stay with your brother?”
Una frowned.
“With Jason.”
She shook her head a little. “Oh yeah. I forget he’s my brother. He’s so old. My friend Freya asked if he was my grandpa.”
Taylor did the quick math. In his mid to late 40s…he was too young to be her grandpa, but she could see why kids would wonder.
“Would you rather stay with Jason?” Sissy repeated.
Una scrunched her mouth. “I could stay with Gilly. I like her.”
“Why don’t you call her?”
It was strategic of Sissy not to make Una call Gracie, especially since sending her to Gilly and Jason was technically sending her to her dad. Nonetheless, Taylor texted Gracie.
“Were your Grandparents expecting you?” Sissy asked.
“Not yet. Mom and Guy are still home.” She looked up and then down quickly.
“Do you need Gilly’s number? We can probably find it for you. And let me get you more cocoa.” She held her hand out for the cup.
Una passed it over.
Sissy carried the cup to Taylor. “Call Cooper and tell him to get here with my Breadyn. Breadyn and Una are about the same age. I suspect Una will be willing to come home with me if there are people her own age around.” Her whisper didn’t carry. Taylor was impressed.
As directed, she texted Cooper to come to Flour Sax with his little sister.
A few minutes later, while Sissy and Una watched the quilt show and warmed up, Fawn and Breadyn showed up.
“Hey Sissy.” Fawn dragged Breadyn over to the chair. “Cooper said you wanted us.”
Taylor dropped her head into her hand. Leave it to a teen boy to screw this up.
“Oh good! Yes. Thank you. Hey Breadyn-Butter.” Sissy scooped her daughter into a side hug and gave her a kiss. “I needed your opinion on some fabric for Dayton’s blanket.”
Breadyn’s face brightened. Taylor was impressed. The kid must like fabric, which was remarkable in a town like this. Most kids resented it at best.
Sissy led Breadyn to the line of fabric that made Shara of Dutch Hex so angry.
“I don’t think Dayton will like that,” Breadyn said. “It’s for babies.”
Fawn stared at Una for a minute. “Una?”
Una looked up, her face transformed by relief. “Fawn!” She jumped and ran to her, giving her a big hug. Una was almost as tall as the soft faced young woman, but made out of a tenth of the material.
“What on Earth are you doing here?” Fawn asked.
Una looked around the room. “This is my sister,” she said with pride. “When Dad and Reynette got married, I finally got
a sister.”
Fawn laughed. “I had to wait longer than you.”
“It’s going to be okay now,” Una said. “I’ll stay with her.”
“You’re welcome to stay with me, of course, but where did you come from?” Fawn kept one arm around Una as she talked.
Una told her the story of the scary house in the woods and her parents shipping her off. This retelling was more dramatic.
Sissy watched from across the room, her face pinched in disappointment.
“You can stay with me tonight, Una, but only if you call your mom and tell her where you are. She is going to be worried sick. That bus ride over the mountains takes forever.” Fawn clucked.
“It does, and I got super car sick. I puked, but I didn’t tell the bus driver.” She looked embarrassed but also laughed.
“The best part about us being sisters,” Fawn spoke to Una, “is that I’ve known her since she was born. She doesn’t remember because I didn’t see Gracie all that much, but you know, Gracie was one of my best college friends.”
“That’s right.” Taylor was relieved. She liked this much better than her running away to someone who was practically a stranger.
Sissy had wanted to use this surprise visit to advance their investigation, but Taylor’s first want was for Una to be safe and comfortable.
“Hey, Una, your dad is at Jason’s. After we call your mom, we’ll go see him.” Fawn pulled a phone out of her coat pocket. “Then we’ll get something to eat and go home. I’m staying at the big house right now. I hope that’s not as scary as the woods.”
“I’m fine, but don’t call Mom, please. She’ll drive down here and get me, and I’ll be in so much trouble.”
“That’s why you wanted Hannah, huh? Because she wouldn’t have made you call your mom?”
Una grinned ruefully. “Hannah is cool. She isn’t the kind of person to call a mom, I’m sure of it.”
Fawn laughed. “I’ll call Gracie and we’ll hit the road. Sissy, you got Breadyn? I need to take care of something.”
Fawn was a different woman with this child to care for. Strong, confident, warm. Taylor’s heart dropped. As far as she knew, Fawn didn’t have any kids of her own. Not that a woman needed kids. Who knew if Taylor would ever settle down and have a family of her own? But the difference in Fawn was stark. Fawn had so much untapped potential.
Fawn greeted Gracie on her phone, but she took the call outside.
A few minutes later she came back in.
“Una, you are in serious trouble. You know that, right?” Fawn frowned sadly at the young girl.
Una straightened her back, firming herself, but her face looked young.
“Good thing your mom hates driving over those hills in the rain, my friend. She said you can stay the night with me, but she’s coming here tomorrow.”
Una nodded, chin up. “Then we have time to figure out how to convince her I can stay with you while they’re gone.”
Fawn shook her head, laughing. “Good thing Monty likes you. Otherwise he’d drive you home himself.”
Una rolled her eyes. “Monty. He’s hilarious.”
Una grabbed her jacket. “Thanks. If Hannah calls back, tell her never mind.”
“Una,” Fawn was asking as they left. “Why didn’t you just ask your mom if you could stay with me? She knows I’d say yes.”
Taylor didn’t hear Una’s answer. The door swung shut and the ringing bells drowned her out.
Sissy sidled up to Taylor. “I could throttle Cooper. How dare he send Fawn? Now how will we get Una to tell us all about her family life?”
“We could always bring donuts over tomorrow, before Gracie gets there.”
Breadyn was right behind her mom. “Donuts sound good to me.”
Taylor had forgotten the old adage that “little pitchers have big ears.”
“Come on, Breadyn-Butter,” Sissy said. “I don’t really want fabric. I was just hoping we could drag Una home with us if you were with me.”
Breadyn grimaced. “Could you please stop calling me Breadyn-Butter in public?”
Chapter Twenty-One
The next morning Sissy had grabbed donuts from the little grocery store on the edge of town and picked Taylor up before she called Roxy to tell her they weren’t filming. She sent her best employee a quick text as she grabbed her coat and hopped into Sissy’s van.
As they drove the few blocks to the gorgeous old house across town, they came up with their game plan.
“First, we fill her with donuts. Then we just chat a bit, casually about how Thanksgiving was. What she likes or doesn’t like about their little vacation place in Belize.”
“Is it me, or is that kind of impressive for a surf shop owner?” Taylor stroked the top of the donut box that Sissy had trusted her with.
“Maybe Una knows how they can afford it. Kids often say things they don’t realize they aren’t supposed to say.”
“Think she’d accidentally out her stepfather as a murderer by saying he’s in terrible debt and needed an increase in child support from Art?” The sugary aroma of the hot-from-the-fryer donuts was overwhelming. Taylor hoped Una would leave her some.
Sissy pulled the e-brake viciously as they parked. “No, because I don’t think Guy did it. But surely with enough sugar Una will tell us something that we need to know.
“Wait. Real fast. Whatever happened with the samples for the police?”
Sissy scrunched her mouth in extreme displeasure. “Nothing. They didn’t care. In fact, they implied I was nuts.” She exited the car, slamming the door shut.
Taylor wasn’t sure Sissy was in the right mood to cajole a pre-teen. She dearly hoped Una liked donuts.
Also, Taylor wondered what kid around that age would be up on a random morning at 7:30.
“Sissy…” Taylor nudged her when they got to the door. “Why isn’t Una in school?”
“That’s a question only she can answer, I think.”
Fawn greeted them at the second round of knocks. She had bags under her eyes, but otherwise looked happy and put together. She was snuggled in a perfect winter morning outfit of yoga pants and slouchy wide necked sweatshirt.
Sissy held out the box of donuts. “Didn’t want you to have to do all the work for Una.” Fawn accepted the box and let them in. “It’s hardly any work.” They walked to the formal
dining room. As always it was full of unopened boxes, but the table and chairs were out, and Una was sitting at one. She was dressed in jeans and a T, probably the same as last night, and completely enthralled with something on an iPad.
“Hey Una, heads up.” Fawn set the box on the table and pushed it across the smooth surface to the kid.
“Umm. Thanks.” Una grinned. “Give me five more minutes and I’ll be done.”
“Una is finishing up her day’s schoolwork. She’s ahead right now with the online program and could take some time off till January, but her goal is to be all done for the year in May.” Fawn beamed.
“Nice.” Taylor watched the kid whiz through some screens online and wondered what she could be learning that fast, but at least their question about why she wasn’t in school had been answered.
“Why don’t you join me in the kitchen for some coffee?” Fawn asked.
They followed her, Sissy with longing glances at the studious Una.
“How did visiting Art go last night?” Taylor asked.
“But first how did the call to Gracie go?” Sissy interrupted.
“Gracie was beyond pissed.” Fawn answered Sissy’s question first. “And I can’t blame her. I tried to frame it as her daughter was safe and sound, etc., but she had been freaking out lookin everywhere for her. Una caught that bus at six forty-five in the morning. It took her almost twelve hours to get here. Gracie hadn’t heard from or seen her child in all that time.”
“But it’s only a forty-five-minute drive…” This bus trip was impossible for Taylor to fathom.
“Sure. Cars don’t drive down to Lincoln C
ity first and stop a million times on the way.”
“Una must have been terrified.” Taylor sipped the coffee Fawn had brought her. It was strong and black. She wanted to ask for cream, but remembered what state the fridge was in.
“Una claims she was only car sick, but I bet that was at least in part because she was scared.” Fawn poured herself a cup of coffee too.
“When did Gracie realize she was gone?” Taylor sipped coffee again. She still wished it had cream.
“Una is almost twelve. Guy has always worked the shop and Gracie homeschooled, but Gracie goes in to work more now that Una is older. Sometimes Una goes to the shop to do her schoolwork, but sometimes she gets to stay home alone. On days she stays home she sometimes goes to the library…” Fawn sounded like she was trying to clear Gracie’s name in family court.
“Why didn’t Gracie just send Una to school when she decided to go back to work?” Taylor was confused by this schedule. An ‘almost’ twelve-year-old home alone all day seemed like a terrible idea. “Or why go back to work if you still wanted to homeschool? It doesn’t make sense.”
Fawn narrowed her eyes. “Gracie is brilliant. That’s part of why Art fell in love with her. She won’t let on, but she really is. She’s a better teacher for someone as smart as Una. And right now, Una doesn’t need her around every day.”
Taylor held her hands up in surrender. She was no genius and she wasn’t a parent. What did she know? “So she must have been at the library the day Art had his accident.”
“I think so.” Fawn agreed.
“But if Una caught the bus that early, how did they not notice?” Sissy demanded. She didn’t look like she wanted to give this parent a pass on the neglect. Sissy was the kind of woman who would at least claim to always know where her kids were at all times. And half the other kids in Comfort, Oregon as well.
“I didn’t ask for specific details. Gracie just said that she had left for work really early yesterday. They had some kind of construction going on. She kissed Una’s forehead at like five and left.”
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